Gambling Books

ECS · Apr 12, 2007

Lets name some good gambling books, like true/fictional stories.

What made me think of this was I just bought and read a book, although right now I cant think of the damn name. It was a true story about a guy who raked the casinos for a ton of cash on the roulette wheel by past posting bets.

ECS · Apr 12, 2007

Btw, I just remembered the name of the book, of course its something I should of remembered anyways American Roulette

Pretty interesting book

koolzie · Apr 12, 2007

just bought a book on holdem tournaments
it was pretty good
www.tournamentwinner.com

booze · Apr 12, 2007

Bringing down the house...MIT Blackjack team

The Odds...Alan Boston, Joe Lupo and the Stardust, etc. some great sports betting stories

ECS · Apr 12, 2007

Thanks booze, ill check those out. I have seen tv shows about the MIT team, but books are usually better. Ill check that out

ECS · Apr 12, 2007

Well I just bought Bringing down the house for 4 bucks, still on the lookout for some more good ones

WVU · Apr 12, 2007

bringing down the house is a great read. There is a poster here who was affiliated with the MIT team.

ECS · Apr 12, 2007

Id like to find a book about how to play blackjack better, like how to count cards and other tips, not the basic stratagy

WVU · Apr 12, 2007

ECS said:
Id like to find a book about how to play blackjack better, like how to count cards and other tips, not the basic stratagy

The days of counting are basically over. You will find some good games, but they do not last long.

ECS · Apr 12, 2007

WVU said:
The days of counting are basically over. You will find some good games, but they do not last long.

What do ya mean?

WVU · Apr 12, 2007

ECS said:
What do ya mean?

if tables are not already dealing from sleeves or automatic shufflers then they are switching to 6/5 blackjack and other variants that destroy any possible advantage you may get from counting.

Deck penetration used to be much better as well.

Advantaged gamblers and card counters are everywhere. Now with the internet and gambling boards all over the place, when someone finds a casino with generous rules and/or very deep penetration then they get swamped with pros (mostly wannabes) and are quickly found out and the rules are changed on the spot

DonDollars · Apr 12, 2007

I was searching in regards to this topic a while back. After reading a ton of them, this is a superstar list of those books (in my opinion):

Positively Fifth Street
Amarillo Slim in a World of Fat People
Smart Money
Telling lies and getting paid
The Man with the $100,000 breasts: and other gambling stories
The Odds
Bringing Down the House

RobFunk · Apr 12, 2007

"Beyond Counting" by James Grosjean is the most sought after book on gambling and used copys will fetch somewhere between 300-400$.

There is also a limited edition copy with additional content that James only gave to his friends.

It is a casino advantage play guide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Grosjean

EVincent · Apr 12, 2007

I thought Smart Money was going to be a little more informative than it was. Was disappointed in the end.

RobFunk · Apr 12, 2007

E Vincent said:
I thought Smart Money was going to be a little more informative than it was. Was disappointed in the end.

Nobody gives up real secrets. Thats why the Grosjean book is on a pedestal.

squeeze3 · Apr 12, 2007

"Smart Money" was a disappointment. It chronicles the ups and downs of a betting syndicate as they make wagers in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, no insight is offered as to how they come up with their value plays. Lot of discussion on how to shmooze the sportsbook managers, but the season chronicled is 1999, and I believe the internet has made much of this material obsolete.

In all fairness I was about half way through the book when I left it on a bench in the mall by accident, so I never finshed it. I realized my mistake when my wife and I made it to the car, but I decided it wasn't worth the 10 minute walk back to retrieve it. I do believe Internet gambling is discussed in the second half, but I never got that far. Perhaps the secrets of the betting syndicates are revealed as well, but the first half is just so slow that I have no desire to finish it.

squeeze3 · Apr 12, 2007

Just saw your post e-vince.....doesn't sound like the second half of Smart Money was any better than the first.

ECS · Apr 12, 2007

Don Dollars said:
I was searching in regards to this topic a while back. After reading a ton of them, this is a superstar list of those books (in my opinion):

Positively Fifth Street
Amarillo Slim in a World of Fat People
Smart Money
Telling lies and getting paid
The Man with the $100,000 breasts: and other gambling stories
The Odds
Bringing Down the House

Ive read positively fifth street and amarillo slims book, both pretty good.

How are the other ones? Minus Smart money....

ECS · Apr 12, 2007

Well I just bought The man with the 100,000 breast and other gambling stories for 5 bucks. Pretty good thus far, I wonder if anyone has ever tried some of the things in the book (especially the comp one)