Gambling has resonated with people around the world for more than two centuries. For some, gambling is a great hobby; for others, once they lose, try to stay away. Of course, there are other categories of people who are curious about this kind of entertainment in one way or another.
Books about gambling and betting are a great way to experience the full range of emotions of gambling, to live the story of the main character in the gambling narrative and still not spend a penny. Except for buying a book, but that’s a different kind of spending…
In this article you will find a selection of five books on gambling that will engage the story and diversify your leisure time.
“Moorman’s Book of Poker”, Chris Moorman
Moorman’s Book of Poker is a unique book that closely interweaves the learning and success story of renowned poker player Chris Moorman. It is a book that has resonated with the entire poker community. And its special value is its continued relevance, while other poker books are fast becoming outdated and needing to be updated.
The success of the book and its uniqueness has been confirmed not only by public acclaim, but also by the success of the author herself. Chris was the first player to make over $10 million in online poker tournaments, including GamStop free poker sites. It should be noted that he was no less spectacular at live tournaments either, as he managed to win $6 million in prize money there!
The book will show the author’s thinking in various situations, tell him how to play his hand when there is nothing on the flop, and many other unclassical situations. In addition to the usual stories and verbal explanations, the book provides analysis of the hands played and detailed comments on all points. Reading this book makes you feel as if you are training with a personal trainer and reading critical reviews of poker tournaments at the same time.
“Thinking in Bets”, Annie Duke
Annie Duke has created a true masterpiece that not only reveals the secrets of successful betting, but also teaches how to make decisions in the face of uncertainty. And it is worth noting that the examples and lessons in her book are not just limited to sports betting, but can also be used in other areas of life, making them universal. Duke offers a holistic approach that should be viewed in the big picture rather than individual stories.
The book is a tremendous success among users and receives the highest feedback. By the way, The New York Times described her book as an example of a modern investment scheme. The book does not focus on specific solutions to certain situations, but teaches how to find solutions and analyze possible outcomes.
For those who have not heard of Annie Duke before, note that she is not just a brilliant business consultant and book author, but also a professional poker player and teacher. You’d be surprised, but it was she who led Ben Affleck to win a major tournament. Personal accomplishments include owning a WSOP bracelet and winning $4 million in prize money. This girl’s book is sure to change the way you think.
“A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market”, Edward Thorp
An ordinary mathematician’s fortune of $800 million is a good reason to read his book and find out how he got so rich. We think so! But maybe we’re being a little misleading when we say that Thorp is an ordinary mathematician, because in fact he is a real genius and a legend!
Edward Thorp is the man who invented the method of counting cards and proved that beating the dealer is real. It was his sensational method that led to a revision of the rules in different casinos and created a new world of gambling. Professor mathematician did not change his mathematically flawless method and tried to find loopholes for further casino gambling in Vegas. Instead, he set his sights on another economic giant, Wall Street.
The financial maths laid down by Thorp then still applies today. And we all live in it. And A Man of All Markets is not a simple autobiography or maths textbook, it’s a true masterpiece! In it the author recounts different episodes from his life, his achievements, ambitions and experiences. The plot twists like a Hollywood thriller, with one difference – it’s all real events from his life.
We don’t want to reveal all the cards, but the intensity of his life would be the envy of James Bond himself.
“The Biggest Bluff”, Maria Konnikova
“The Biggest Bluff: How to Learn to Pay Attention, Manage Yourself and Win” is a book in which the author has described research into the psychological make-up of players. In particular, it deals with poker players. The author and part-time psychologist Konnikova used psychology to describe human behaviour and its prediction. Konnikova’s focus is on poker. An in-depth knowledge of player behaviour will be useful in other types of competitive gambling as well.
The author has won more than $311,000 in poker. This figure has increased with each passing month, and the woman has continued to sit at live poker tables with her opponents. At the same time, she continues to develop her psychology skills and put them to good use.
“The Biggest Bluff” is an entertaining book about how one woman went from being a poker novice to one of poker’s most “scary” women.
“Bringing Down the House”, Ben Mezrich
The author is the American Ben Mezrich. This is his first known novel, published in 2002. Since then he has written four more stories. The last one is Billionaire Willing, about Mark Zuckerberg.
The theme of the book is how to beat a casino. It’s a fiction novel, not a handbook or a textbook on the game. The plot develops around a group of students led by an MTI professor. They came up with and implemented a blackjack scheme that allowed them to beat a Las Vegas casino. The action goes beyond dry mathematical calculations and the process of counting cards at the casino table.
The novel depicts the experiences of each of the team members, revealing their personalities and conveying the full range of emotions. The reader in the book will encounter not only successful games of blackjack, but also a number of resulting problems. The story is so interesting that it forced Hollywood filmmakers to make a film based on the story, ’21’.
Conclusion
This selection of books about gambling will not leave anyone indifferent. Each of the books has the potential to inspire you to play or simply to start new ventures. But for readers who identify themselves as compulsive gamblers, we would recommend checking out a selection of books on dealing with gambling addiction.