John Scarne is the master when it comes to all types of gambling. If you want to learn the best way of understanding what the true "odds" of the game are, read his books. He goes into detail about how people cheat at the games and what to do. His argument about different methods of play are very accurate in showing you how you will eventially lose. I have always played the game using the "true odds" and have managed to come out a winner. His presentation of using money management is very important and "MUST" be considered whenever you play. I would highly recommend this book to my friends.

If you want to know every thing about craps read this boo

This is a great book for knowing what is a good bet and what is not a good bet. For example, regarding the Crap Table, Scarne gives you the house percentage (P.C.)that is against you for every bet. He also gives you the odds for any type of roll or bet.

A marvelous reference guide to anyone who has pulled the handle of a "one-armed bandit" (aptly named, by the way) or turned the cards once or twice. This book covers all of the "games of chance" and some where you don't stand ANY chance at all. I've owned this book for years and it never ceases to entertain and educate. If you enjoy gambling as an entertainment this is a must-read. If you must gamble and cannot stop, this book just may save your life. Please remember, the house ALWAYS has an edge.

This book is the best. It is that rare gem, a reference book that can be picked up, opened at random, and read like a novel. Anyone who has bought even a raffle ticket should read this book.

I bet you will like this book! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Potential readers who want to quit the gambling habit, or just want to know more about the mathematics behind what they are doing, can do no better than to invest in this gem. Scarne will painstakingly show you why you cannot win in the long run, and provide insight into the gambling industry rarely available elsewhere. Helped me sort myself out..

This is no doubt one of the greatest books ever written by one of the world's greatest men. It's unfortunate that modern day youths don't know this great man. Unfortunately, I've never met him but I've read almost all of the books he's written and let me tell you, they're awesome!!! While his strategy on blackjack was wrong initially, he later revised them in "Scarne's Encyclopedia of Games." Personally, I'm a card manipulator and have a passion for games and gambling like he does. The time he put in to give us the correct odds and percentages shouldn't go unrecognized. I hope everyone will get a chance to read this book. Scarne's definitely the World's Foremost Authority on gambling. He definitely paved the way for the gambling books we have today!!!

This is a usefull tool in the world of magic, Its also great on the street. Hustling people is illegal but if you just ask for permission for where you set up and only take donations you'll be surprised at how much you make in one day. All in all this is a very usefull book buy it you wont regret it, also it is going to take a lot of practice, but it is well worth it.

fellow magician,
a friend in the buisness

Many magicians own the Classic book "Scarne on Card Tricks." But it is said if you want to keep a trick a secret, put it in print! Most of what's in Scarne on Card Tricks is no doubt a complete mystery to most laymen--and many magicians! Its a great book for the card beginner.

On the other hand, there's a lot of boring and tedious count-down stuff in there as well.

The book is BIG--over 300 pages of carefully detailed effects. It can be a little overwhelming to someone the first time he picks it up. How do you separate the wheat from the chaff?

Best, in my view, are the tricks that can be done TOTALLY impromptu, with very little or no stacking, when a deck is shoved into your hands and somebody says "Do a trick!".

Here are some of the effects that I have judged to be best, based on the above criteria:

The Upside down Deck by Francis Carlyle
Hit the Deck
Scarne's Follow the Leader
Cardini's Color Discernment
Card on the Ceiling
Card through the Handkerchief

Of course, You Do as I Do is also a classic, though it is fairly well known among magicians.

In short, a little work digging out the best tricks will make you a true card magician in most people's eyes, with enough practice and performing experience.

This is the definitive collection of non sleight-of-hand (you don't have to be quick with your hands) card tricks. I bought my first paperback copy in 1974 when I was still a schoolboy. Some of the tricks are easy but astounding, such that I've memorised two of them and have amazed my friends over the years until now. Since then, there hasn't been any other card trick manual that can beat this one, to the best of my knowledge.

John Scarne is today perhaps best remembered as a leading authority on gambling scams and card cheats. However, in his prime, he was one of the best magicians in America. In the late 40s, as stated in the Introduction, Scarne decided to gather for magicians a set of card tricks involving no sleight-of-hand. The result is "Scarne on Card Tricks". The 155 effects in the book range from quick tricks and puzzlers to more elaborate card demonstrations. All of the effects are attributed to either the originator of the effect or to a magician who used the effect frequently. The book clearly bears Scarne's unique genius not only in the selection and variety of effects, but in Scarne's improvements of the original effects. There is no doubt that anyone can put together a most entertaining routine with the material in this book. Two words of caution. First, the copyright of the book is 1950 and so some of the patter is clearly dated and needs to be revised for contemporary audiences. (Patter is the words or story that accompany the effect.) Second, because the effects are easy to do when practiced, there is a tendency to perform the effects before fully thought out. For every hour learning the basic effect itself, two hours should be spent on how to present it in an entertaining and interesting manner. The book itself, however, remains one of the very best in card magic. Scarne's work clearly stands the test of time. Frankly, the book is a steal at the published price. I bought two copies because I knew I'd wear one book out. I did. The book is that useful.

John Scarne was an authority on card playing, and he wanted you to know that. He never lets you forget. Scarne's book is filed with self-promotion, and that's actually part of its charm. A lot of the so-called "according to Hoyle" books describe various games competently, but this book has personality, bombastic though it is. It's a fun read.

But Scarne wasn't perfect. His blackjack strategy is just plain wrong, so don't pay attention to it - Find a book on blackjack if that's what you want. Also, I find his description of cribbage very muddled and confusing. Some of the games are obscure, such as Radio Pinochle, which, as far as I can tell, in never played by anyone anywhere.

The discussion of cheating was groundbreaking, and still worth reading. Scarne felt that games would be more honest if everyone knew how to cheat, so he includes not only a section devoted to the subject, but specific notes under each game's section describing cheating methods peculiar to that game.

I recommend it highly, but take some of his advice with a grain of salt.

John Scarne is a master. His life is as intriguing and entertaining as his card playing. The man was simply a genius. I am lucky enough to have uncovered copies of his books from my father. This book is one of them and I learned to play a lot of card games from it. Its truly unbelievable.

If you can find any Scarne books do so.

"Scarne on Cards" has got to be the most entertaining book about card-playing ever written. John Scarne was a card-playing genius -- and a witty writer to boot. This book focuses only on a few of the most popular card games, specifically those that can be successfully gambled at -- poker, blackjack, gin rummy, pinochle. But the lessons taken from those games could be applied to hundreds of others. Scarne doesn't just explain the rules; he explains how the games are won. If you're only a marginal card player, even a cursory reading of this book will make you better. At times it's technical, but Scarne's style is anything but dry. You'll enjoy this book. It's worth the effort to find a copy.

Overall, well written and accurate on most games, save blackjack. Ifa better understanding of blackjack is your aim, you will be betterserved by a Ken Uston book. But for gaming probabilty elsewhere scarne knew his stuff.

For casual card players, this book is a comprehensive guide. I have never seen so much detailed card-game knowledge assembled in one place. Scarne not only provides basic rules of the games, but also describes variations, strategies, and little-known factoids. This is primarily a reference work and is not designed for 'straight-through' reading.

This book has quite a few good points and strategies along with probability theory. I believe it will greatly improve a beginner and average poker players style if he/she reads and applies some of the basic principles herein. However quite a few of the strategies are common sense (never play with money needed for groceries -- duh).

Mr. Scarne himself is an egotist (anyone familiar with John Scarne should know this), so one must take him with a grain of salt while reading. Mr. Scarne believes his poker should be the definitive one. I don't think Scarne's rules will ever be "the rules" for poker, and his "according to Scarne" (takeoff of "according to Hoyle") stance on poker rules is a little outlandish. One must remember for all the card tricks and stunts he can pull (and they are REALLY good!), this man has never won a major poker tournament. You can build a cold deck, but that still is cheating in honest poker.

Anyway, get past the man for it is a decent treatise on poker strategy.

Humility is not one of John Scarne's traits but he has room to talk. The man is a genius in the realm of statistics, gambling, and gaming. He is self taught which makes his intellect even more astounding.

That aside, this book is all you need to play poker and play it successfully. By following the guidelines set forth by this genius it is only a matter of time before your experience catches up with your knowledge and you will be unstoppable.

Ok, maybe it takes alitte more work then that but you get the point. Scarne's books are the best, hands down. If you can find some of his older book (Scarne on Cards is my recommendation) pick them up. They are invaluable.

Scarne's Guide to Modern Poker, though over 20 years old, holds more useful info on poker than I've seen in any other poker book. Scarne covers topics such as rules for Draw and Stud Poker, with many variants, some major poker probability principles, money management in poker games, which poker games to avoid, and popular poker cheats (something most poker books ignore). This book deals exclusively with real poker games, played in a group of people, where the only possible house take is a fixed percentage or amount per pot (and he shows you how to figure out if a commercial poker house is giving you a bum deal). If you want to learn how to deal with video poker or casino poker games like Caribbean Stud, let me tell you right now -- you can't possibly make money in the long-term playing those games. Scarne himself will tell you this in one of his other gambling books.

There's basic sound advice to be found in this book, advice you will find elsewhere: obvious things such as don't borrow money to play poker, don't play against people highly superior to you at poker, and don't play when drunk or emotional (unless you really want to lose money). However, there's advice I haven't seen elsewhere (except when they're copying Scarne): ways to prevent common card cheats, ways to calculate whether one should stay in a pot based on pot size versus your odds, and ways to mix up your play, so as to make people uncertain of your style -- so that people will stay in the pot when you've got a sure winner, and so that people will drop out when you're bluffing. I've used this last bit of advice in playing poker with friends; they know I play close to the vest (I'm very conservative on risk), so when they see me calling & raising bets, they think I know I have a sure thing. I've gotten away with some pretty horrendous bluffs with this technique. The name of the game is: don't do it too often.

There are complaints about the number of stories Scarne tells about himself (and sometimes he refers to himself by name, and I go back to check who wrote the book.) Actually, in most of the stories, Scarne's not the central character; rather, some prime poker player is the center of the story. Some of the stories of the tricks he's performed is rather neat. But more to the point, I think these stories are good examples of the kinds of tips and strategies he talks about -- he mentions stories of cheats, of bold betting, and of people who have gone from great poker players simply to good, because they lost betting courage and needed to find games more their monetary limit. More to the point, I feel Scarne is completely justified in "puffing himself up" in these stories of high-roller games and visits to the Merv Griffin show - he can back up his self-promotion with actual knowledge and skill. Scarne also knew how to write a book that would serve poker players at any level, giving specifics as well as general principles to follow. For those wishing to improve their games, this should be the first book you get.