Gambling Books

This book is excellent for the small stakes player. There is lots of good information. It can get a bit complicated with all the stuff you have to learn and remember from the book -- but failing to follow the strategies outlined in the book will result you in being a long term loser in small stakes poker.

This is a great book for those who already have some experience playing Limit Texas Holdem. It takes your game to the next level. Sometimes you should go for that gutshot straight. Fit or fold is not always the best option. Always know the pot size and your break even odds. This book is not designed to keep you safe and away from traps. It is designed to get you the maximum profits from aggressive play. Advanced concepts include partial outs and outs for backdoor flushes and straights. What is your hand really worth. Other concepts include starting hand evaluations, overcalls, counterfieting, reverse domination, hidden outs. You were always aware of reverse domination (A2 beating AK on a flop of A Q 2), Counterfeiting (A2 vs AK, board of A Q 2 5 Q - AK wins as the pair of Queens counterfeits the pair of 2s. The second Queen was a hidden out). This book gives you plenty to think about and apply in you lifelong game of poker. Here are the essential concepts to raise your game to the next level. Happy fishing.

This is not a book on No-Limit Hold'em. I think the title is a little deceiving. It should be called Small Stakes Limit Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play. This book is about LIMIT Hold'em. I am a small stakes NLH player and was looking for a book on NLH. There is a lot of good advice on how to play Limit Hold'em in this book for beginners. However, most of the stuff in this book a good player will all ready know.

Mistakenly I took this to be a no limit book about small stakes tables. This book only discusses limit hold 'em strategy. As a result I started playing limit hold 'em and use the strategies with success. Unfortunately, I really want to be good a no-limit (as TJ calls it, "the Cadillac of poker"). I think having read this book will help my NL game, but only by abstraction.

Make no mistake, this book is for the limit player. I think any limit player will find this book a must read.

this book is great. it really does a great job of teaching simple and advanced concepts in an entertaining way. I was actually laughing out loud thru some parts of the book.

after reading it thru twice my game has drastically improved.

There is both good and bad to this book; but I'm happy to say that by the end, the good outweighed the bad and left me glad that I read it. The book has a well-crafted, detailed, and complex storyline, and is populated by entertaining if occasionally cartoonish characters. Fortunately, Armstrong's main character, Danny Pellegrino, is fully-developed and very engaging, and my interest in him more than made up for the foibles in some of the lesser players, and in fact kept me turning pages in the addictive manner of a craps shooter sticking around for one more come out roll even when the table seemed to be going cold.

As another reviewer mentioned, Armstrong very clearly knows his subjects, to the point where you would be very hard pressed to believe he hasn't either walked in Danny's shoes or known someone very closely who did. The level of detail he puts into his environment - be it "direct marketing," gambling, private aviation, small-time mobsters, etc. - is extremely immersive. Armstrong's love of detail is a two-edged sword, though, and where the book falters is in writing style. Armstrong makes the novice mistake through most of the book of "telling" rather than "showing" - piling on pages and pages of descriptive narration about even the most minor character, rather than letting his characters interact through action and dialogue to reveal what we as readers need to know. In effect, he tells the reader what to think, rather than letting us reach our own conclusions through observation; and I always feel like that sort of spoonfeeding is indicative of an author's lack of trust in his own ability to craft something in a way that the reader will naturally go where the author wants. So, at first, I concluded that Armstrong was a guy with a really great idea for a story whose skills as a novelist were not the equal of his imagination - but as he turned over more and more cards, he revealed his hand to be stronger than I first assessed. In the last few chapters - when Pellegrino meets the architect of the book's central gambling system - the mood, tone and style of the book change dramatically for the better. Unlike the narration-heavy first two thirds of the book, the last section is mostly dialogue - almost in the Socratic sense - revealing a philosophical ambition that I never saw coming during the early chapters. These final chapters are thought-provoking and genuinely moving in a spiritual way that made me take another look at the title with a sudden understanding that this book was not REALLY about what I thought it was about.

Without spoiling the ending, I'll say that the payoff when Danny learns the truth regarding the mysterious system is a deliciously fun twist that -- when I took the time to think about why I didn't see it coming -- made a certain statement on its own about human nature. While the resolution of the action portion of the plot (the mobsters chasing Pellegrino) is more contrived and less satisfying, the aforementioned spiritual aspect of the book seemed to speak directly to me and made a lasting impression that was far more than what I expected to get from this read. So, I really feel comfortable recommending this book, especially to someone who is not as picky as I am about style. It certainly delivers in terms of content, from the very detailed window it opens on the world of Danny Pellegrino's passions - gambling, flying, mail fraud - to the entertaining characters and plot line, right through to a surprisingly meaningful message.

An easy read and a amusing story, that well could be true. The characters are vivid and you probably will recognize several of them. Personally, I think the book would make a interesting movie, or certainly a TV show worth watching

"I absolutely LOVED your book. First, you pulled off a near impossible stunt here - you actually got me to read an entire fiction book from front to back in 2 days! I haven't read a complete fiction book in years (I am a non-fiction junkie)... but you certainly sucked me in with your book.

A fabulous read for anyone looking to escape with a great story - and learn a thing or two about the marketing business along the way.

Highly recommended read.

I passed up going out on a Saturday night to stay home and read GOD DOESN'T SHOOT CRAPS by Richard Armstrong. I was hooked from the first page. It's relentlessly readable, the definition of a page-turner.

Mr. Armstrong writes with an unhurried grace and a gleefully outrageous charm that sneaks up on the reader and holds him willingly captive. He possesses a virtuoso knowledge and the rare ability to make every character and situation believable and beguiling. Most impressive is the degree to which he deftly weaves the sordid with the sublime, the comic with the criminal.

It's hard to believe this is his first novel. He achieves effects that seem to elude the talents of more prolific authors. I found myself laughing out loud at some sections and driven to profound thought by others. Mr. Armstrong tackles the deep, eternal mysteries of life, wraps them in a cross-country tale of greed and gangsters, and infuses every page with his personal warmth, cheerfulness and wit.

You get the singular feeling he really ENJOYS these characters and the situations they find themselves in. And that infectious delight spreads to the reader, making the narrative spring to life in a most pleasing and winning way.

Ambitious, literate, supremely hilarious and with the ultimate unexpected ending, it's a story that stays with you and provokes you long after the book ends. Buy it, read it, love it -- today.

God Doesn't Shoot Craps was an excellent read. Entertaining, thought provoking and insightful. 5 BIG stars to Richard. Great work - can't wait to see the movie!

Well I was ready to hate Moonraker because of the movie. So if you hated the movie...try the book. It isn't campy with the Space Shuttle at all. It has a rocket as the object, but it really isn't about that. The beginning part of the book is about cards. I loved it. However it starts getting bogged down in the middle section and then like all Ian Fleming books it wraps up really quick. I just felt the ending was just too contrived. I liked it because I was prepared to hate it, but it's still not that great. It's the best of the first three but that's not saying much. I would recommend it just for the beginning section because it shows how James Bond thinks and rationalizes things. Plus he doesn't get the girl at all in this book.

Hugo Drax is not in the first line of 007 arch-villains, and the plot of "Moonraker" likewise is not one of the most exciting James Bond yarns in the original run of novels by Ian Fleming. Yet both manage their moments of squirmy pleasure.

Bond encounters Drax first at a posh British gaming club, to which Bond's boss M belongs. Drax is England's hero of the hour, as he's building Great Britain's first nuclear rocket. But M suspects Drax is cheating at cards, and sets Bond against him in a game that ends unhappily for the rocket builder. Bond then finds himself pulled into Drax's orbit again when murder calls at Drax's rocket base. "HELL IS HERE" warns a flashing neon sign, and so it is.

Published in 1955, this third entry in the 007 series gets off to a leisurely start. We meet Bond in a typical light day at the office, practicing at the pistol range, reading dull reports, thinking about lunch. It's an arresting portrait of a superhero struggling with ennui and a sense of purposelessness. He wonders almost forlornly if he'll make it to 45.

The entrance of Drax, a red-whiskered dynamo with a fierce temper, shakes Bond out of his rut by plunging him into that most exciting of espionage activities, high-stakes bridge. It's a masterful sequence by Fleming, in large part because he doesn't stop and explain how bridge works. Fleming goes from strength to strength introducing us to the title figure, the rocket Drax proposes to send off in a test launch that will culminate in a splashdown in the North Sea...well, according to some figures.

"There the gleaming rocket stood, beautiful, innocent, like a new toy for Cyclops," Fleming writes. "But there was a horrible smell of chemicals in the air and to Bond the Moonraker was a giant hypodermic needle ready to be plunged into the heart of England."

That's a good foretaste of the masterful build-up Fleming creates, offering a bit more mystery than the usual Bond thriller. The resolution is where the novel pulls up short. Fleming doesn't do enough to throw you off the right scent, to the point you wonder why Bond can't add up two and two. There's another damsel-in-distress car chase straight out of "Casino Royale", and even an Austin Powers-style "My Fiendish Scheme" dissertation from the villain. The Soviets put in a totally unnecessary appearance.

"Moonraker" can still be safely recommended to the Bond novice. It's a fun ride with a lot of unusual angles. Certainly it wasn't spoiled by the film of the same name, and Fleming handles the novel's locale (southern England entirely) with his usual gimlet eye. You stride with Bond inside a century-old London club, walk along the white cliffs and smell the salt air. There's even a romantic subplot with a capable British policewoman that has a resolution quite unique for the Bond series, and wonderful for the way it gives you a glimpse of Bond's deepest self.

"The gain to the winner is always less than the loss to the loser" is how Bond thinks of life. "Moonraker" gives you an idea what he means; an enjoyable one all the same.

I've been reading all the Fleming James Bond novels in order, and so far this one is my favorite. It stands out for a couple reasons:

1) Bond never goes to outer space.

2) I won't spoil it for you, but something about the epilogue is unexpected, and sets the James Bond character of the books apart from the James Bond character of the movies. I was completely surprised, and it really rounded out the character and made him more human.

The adventure itself is fun. Tropical locale with a beautiful female companion--it's hard to get tired of stuff like that. But what I do get tired of is Bond being sent to beat some villain at gambling. He just did that in "Casino Royale," and it didn't sound like government work to me then, either.

Still, the rest of the plot is fun, and Bond's victory at the end is not without cost. Rather than portraying him as the super-spy of the movies who dashes around unscathed no matter what's going on around him, he gets pretty messed up. (And no, that's not the epilogue surprise I was talking about earlier.)

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In that case, Star Wars must feel very flattered. Back in the late 1970s, everyone seemed to be trying to use what they thought were the lessons of Star Wars's success (mainly have a lot of lasers and space stuff) and came up with a long list of failures. The James Bond series, at something of a creative nadir, decided to get in on the act, using the closest thing Ian Fleming seemed to have to a Star Wars-based novel, Moonraker. Cinematically, it would not be a high point for Bond.

The book - which has almost nothing to do with the movie - on the other hand, is a lot of fun. After a slight drop in quality between the first two novels, Casino Royale and Live and Let Die, Fleming is again in fine form with Bond novel number three.

This story opens with Bond recruited by M to do a personal mission. One of the members of M's club is apparently cheating at bridge (which is being played for high stakes cash); since Bond is a master card player (as demonstrated in Casino Royale), M asks him to prove that the member, Hugo Drax, is actually cheating and to stop him with a minimum of embarrassment. This Bond does, with a rather clever maneuver. (A side note: unlike Casino Royale, where Fleming explains the rules of baccarat, elementary bridge knowledge is assumed; if you are totally unfamiliar with the game, you might get a little lost).

Drax does more than play cards, however; he also is a wealthy man who is currently building a new type of missile for England called Moonraker. When a killing takes place at his facility, Bond is asked to help investigate and check out the security; with the first missile test just days away, it is imperative that all sabotage attempts be stopped.

Is Drax a generally okay guy who just cheats at cards, or is there something more sinister going on? It wouldn't be much of a Bond book without a grand villain, and Drax fits the bill. In fact, he is in certain ways, the first true Bond villain that fits the standard stereotype: he will eventually explain his whole plan to a helpless Bond and then leave the super-spy alone in a supposedly inescapable trap.

Outside of the villain's name and the fact that a rocket is involved (although one never intended to go into space), the book and movie are completely dissimilar. What's nice about the book is that we get to see what Bond does between assignments and a little bit about his background. Even his age - thirty-seven - is mentioned. As a minor thriller, Moonraker is quite successful and is an entertaining read.

While I always knew that many films of the James Bond series drifted into camp and outright cheesiness, I never realized how much of a disservice some of them did to the source material until I read the novels. And wow--Moonraker in particular, while one of the better '70s entries in the film series, bears no relation to the gritty homeland security thriller written by Ian Fleming.

The titular Moonraker is an missile designed by British hero Sir Hugo Drax. Drax's invention is set to thrust Britain into the forefront of the Cold War arms race--with the Moonraker, the British will be able to target any European capital with a rocket capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. When the novel begins--on Monday--the Moonraker is set to be tested in just a few days--Friday, when a missile carrying a dummy warhead will be fired into the North Sea. Security is tight on the project--British prestige is at stake.

But 007's boss has other things on his mind. Drax is a fellow member of Blades, a gambling club, and M is convinced that Drax cheats. At bridge. Since Bond is between missions at the time, M drags him along to a late-night game of bridge, where Bond outfoxes Drax to the tune of £15,000. Unbeknowst to them, the same night one of Drax's subordinates was killed by a German engineer in a murder-suicide.

Mere hours after fleecing Drax at the cardtable, Bond is sent to him as a replacement. It seems the murdered man had misgivings about the security of Drax's project, and with so much at stake and so little time on hand, the Ministry of Defense wants no mistakes. Things are not, of course, what they seem, and it soon becomes apparent that the Moonraker is in the hands of madmen.

Like the Bond film, there is a certain measure of predictability about the whole proceeding; of course Bond will live, of course he will save Britain. Unlike the film, Fleming's novel has Bond make all-too-human mistakes, get battered and bruised, and even--spoiler alert--get rejected by the girl. And the novel moves so briskly, investing each and every point of the plot with tension and suspense, that even the mystifying bridge game at the beginning is exciting. Moonraker is pure entertainment.

Highly recommended.

I am not kidding! The only thing this book is good for, is if you need to start a fire. Judging by the way it reads, it probably wouldn't even burn decently. There is absolutely no worthwhile information in this book. It is hopelessly outdated to put it mildly. The gambling culture has changed a lot in the last decade and while there seems to be a shortage of up-to-date information, this book is worse than most.
What information it does contain is often incorrect. Frank Scoblete doesn't have a clue as to what he is talking about with gems like "I don't trust poker machines" "no one I know has ever won playing video poker over the long haul" Right, better to place your money on a drunk throwing dice at a table, I guess. There are tons of quotes like this where he is putting forth an opinion that is just plain incorrect. I could list dozens of them, but it isn't worth my time.
In any case, I have read and own dozens of gambling books that contain at least some useful information. This is certainly not one of them. Do yourself a favor and steer clear of this joke. Unless you are interested in 30-some odd pages of definitions at the end of it. I guess he wanted to make the book longer. I really didn't need things like "bluff" defined for me.

This book is very good. Totally excellent! I was suprised that it contained such detailed information regarding the games offered in gambling casinos. Specifically it is really good on how to take advantage of the casino, and make use of the best advantages regarding best odds on the games. It is also truthful about other games and what you real odds are. I found this very refreshing, as some books seem to rely on luck more.
It's also very good on explaining comps. What they are. How to get all the comps you can. How to use them, rather than just going for the usual mugs, free meal, or towels. How to is big in my game, so I enjoyed the advice and stories.
All and all I have been impressed with this book, and the only thing I would say negative is it's challenged me to "bring" up my math skills.

After reading this book about 4 or 5 times over, I've come to the conclusion that this is a decent book, and I emphasize decent. It isn't anything extraordinary or amazing, it is a solid book that teaches you how to gamble smart. The common misconception that people have when buying gambling books is they think they are going to get some magical betting system that will gaurantee them a win every time they step into a casino. Sorry guys, but that's not going to happen. The sooner you you realize that, the better.

What Scoblete does is he teaches you the basic fundamentals of all the general games(and some that I've never even heard of) and provides the best possible strategies for all of them. His sections on blackjack and craps are the best. So if those are your games(which they should be if you're a serious gambler) then I would highly recommend this book to you. Some people laugh at his 5 count pass and come strategy, but after playing it and researching it, I found that it actually works. What is most misunderstood about this system is that it doesn't help you win so much as it helps you avoid losing by not betting during cold streaks. All the math jockeys out there will tell you that you can't predict when streaks will occur, that a seven can come up at any time no matter when you bet, and by using this system it will not mathematically improve your odds, and they're right. BUT, at the same time, it will not reduce your odds of winning either since his system incorporates the use of craps' basic strategy anyway by betting the pass line and come and taking the odds. It merely stretches your bankroll so you can play for a longer period of time and, as a result, rake in more comps.

Finding a biased wheel IS the only way to beat roulette and it has been proven that biased wheels DO exist by testimonials I have heard from casino managers from several Las Vegas casinos. But it sounds like too much work for a game that is so hard to beat. Especially when you can just walk ten feet away and play craps for better odds. The chapter on the 'Day in the Life of a Guerrilla Gambler' is entertaining but I wouldn't go as far to say that you could make an entire movie out of it(like some of the other reviews have suggested), considering it's only 35 pages long and the average movie script is about 200 pages long. But Scoblete is an outstanding writer. The chapters on comps, gambling myths, bankroll management, and the ten commandments of gambling are very good. The chapters on roulette, baccarat, pai gow and video poker are adequate.(I didn't even bother reading the chapter on slot machines.)

There are two reasons why I gave this book 4 stars in stead of five. The first reason is that he has a 27 page chapter on all of the junky carnival games people play(caribbean stud, sic bo, super pan nine, etc). He explains each game in light detail, tells you the optimal strategy for it, and then follows it up by telling you to avoid playing these games at all cost. It just seems like a waste of a chapter. If you're suppose to avoid these games in the first place, you don't need to waste your time learning them. The second reason I gave this book 4 stars is because it has a terrible poker section. Scoblete makes it painfully obvious that poker is not his game of choice, plus poker is way too complex of a game to be taught in a simple sixteen page chapter. His poker section is only for severe amateurs. If you want to become a poker pro, I would suggest Doyle Brunson's SUPER SYSTEM and David Sklansky's THEORY OF POKER.

In conclusion, if you want to learn how to play quick and smart at all of the general casino games, this is a very good book and I would definitely recommend it(pro or amateur), especially for its price. I know this was a long tutorial, but I thank anyone and everyone who had the discipline to sit and read the entire thing, and I hope you found my input useful.

This was my first book by Frank Scoblete and everyone should study this material before they enter a Casino. Frank will give you a good time and save you money. He is a great writer and the information is right on. Well worth the money.

This book helped me incredibly understand the odds and help beat the casino at their games. I recommend it.

In some ways this could be considered a story about negotiating terms and conditions - these factors were key in determining the outcome of "the game". Very interesting backstories about some of the players that appear at so many final tables of big tournaments.

This is a great book, I believe for a poker player although someone who wants insights into the High Stakes world would also enjoy it. It was absolutely riveting and it was extremely difficult to lay it down. An exceptionally fast read. I would recommend the book wholeheartedly. The ending was a bit off with the author forcibly interjectedly himself into the story. I found that trivial and quite unnecessary.

This book was very interesting and hard to put down. It talks about a lot of the poker pros that live and play in Las Vegas and L.A. And is a good insight into some of the highest stakes poker games in the world. If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to be a high stakes poker player you should read this book. It is also very interesting to read about what goes on behind the scenes in the high stakes poker rooms in Las Vegas.

Michael Craig does a great job of mixing reportorial style with novelistic pacing. He tells the story of Andy Beal, a very rich man even among rich men, whose motivations for taking on the greatest poker players in the world by definition transcend the money. At the same time, he raised the stakes for the heads-up hold 'em games to levels never before seen -- even among the highest stakes players who joined financial forces to accept the challenge. Craig also gives insight into the "gambler's mindset" -- that itch that sits in the mind of anyone who gets off in a casino -- as it applies to the game of poker. This is the most interesting part for me, as poker is the only widely spread casino game where the house's advantage is 100% but capped (in other words, they charge a fee or "rake", rather than making money off of a statistical advantage). Thus, Poker combines the skill and gambling -- which is why it attracts some of the brightest people you will find in a casino. Michael digs into this phenomenon, both in his interviews of Beal and of many of the successful players who played against Beal.

This book is a must-have for any poker player or enthusiast. It's an awesome story of the biggest cash game in the history of poker! It takes you inside and behind the scenes of a poker game which very little people were privileged enough to see. Michael Craig, the author, is a regular writer for several leading poker magazines, including Card Player magazine (where he first broke the story). He was the only journalist allowed to get close to the action. He does an excellent job in giving you the most accurate details of the game. He introduces the players as they assemble to take on their wealthiest opponent ever, Texas billionaire Andy Beal. It's full of surprises, colorful characters, and of course, drama. You won't want to put it down once you start reading it. I bet on it!!

I am not crazy about playing slots--but to get free room at the Venetian (LV) I need to put in hours each day, each visit. The Scoblete book is the most informative overall I've read so far on a subject where random chance is the rule. The chapter about which slots are loose was probably good advice--but people don't hear coins falling into the hopper any more--coins have been replaced with paper receipts. Paper payoffs also skew the advice in that excellent chapter on money management. These days most people deposit bills, not coins, into the slot machine and there is no bucket of coins to use or to reserve. Mr. Scoblete needs to revise this book. If he still gambles, I'm sure his well-thought 1994 guidelines would benefit from updating. I would be first on line to buy the new book. The organization and research of "One-Armed Bandit" are outstanding.

I laughed so hard at certain chapters in this book that my sides hurt. I also learned a great deal about how the slots work and their history. There are some excellent strategies in this book as well. Definitely a book worth buying.

I bought this book few days ago. I finished reading in a day. This book spent most of the time telling stories about gamblers but not the method to win a jackpot. The author does not have much experience in playing jackpot machine, he merely did some interview with real gamblers and casino employee. There is no pictures, no facts or figure to illustrate. In my opinion, It can only be consider as a easy to read book on jackpot. Do not expect to win anything after reading it.

I found this to be extremely interesting reading, as well as entertaining and informative. I don't think any of the tips and tricks in ANY slot machine book will apply at "Indian Reservation" casinos, but this book is a must read for any fan of Jersey, Vegas, Mississippi, or other non-reservation casinos.

I have read just about every book on slots but I resisted buying this one because I thought the information would be old and stale. Now having read it I have to agree with other reviewers that just about all slot books "borrow" heavily from Scoblete's work and are nowhere near as comprehensive. The book is a masterpiece of research and it is well written and extremely fun to read. I recommend this as the first and only slot stop you'll need before you try your hand at the one-armed bandits.

This series (I own all three) is very well written. Volume three is the workbook, which essentially a book-length quiz that you then grade yourself on, but it is very well done. I was able to identify weaknesses in my game and improve. Highly recommended.

I say spend the money and get all three volumes. Your purchase will pay for itself very quickly.

The first two books on No Limit Hold Em tournament strategy are the most helpful I've read. This workbook is particularly good at discussing post-flop play. I'm working through the problems - not done yet - but am looking forward to analyzing all the many flaws in my game!

With all the numerous poker books out there, Dan Harrington by far has the best set of books out there. The first one is amazing at covering all the basics to improve your skill, the second book is great with examples and how to handle the same hand differently, and the third is perfect to refine your game. Read the first one completely with understanding before moving on to the second and the third book. The workbook tests what you have already learned and will refine your decision-making. Highly recommended!

I had so much fun going through this book that I wish it never ended. You'll thoroughly enjoy testing your poker thinking against Harringtons extremely indepth comments. I've obviously read both of the other books but being forced to really think (in order to score points) is EXTREMELY helpful towards actually LEARNING the subject matter. If you enjoyed the first two. Buy this! If you dont have the first two, buy them, then buy this. Just do yourself a favour, study up and then attack this but write down all your answers to all the questions and number them (There's actually a score sheet in the back of the book). After I had gone through it I realised there is a section that categorises all of the errors you made so you can see where your game needs the most improvement but my answers were actually strewn about on bits of scrap paper so I couldn't make use of it...:S There's one or two questions where you might find yourself hard done by with Harrington not awarding points for what you may consider very reasonable plays but these are few and far between. For the most part he's pretty much spot on in his commentary.

I learned more about how to play no-limit hold'em tournaments from this exercise than the previous 10 books on the subject. The examples are clear and very well explained. The options are examined at every step and eliminated logically. One should probably have read his first 2 books before taking this test if you want to ace it.

As a former blackjack dealer and occasional sports bettor, I found this book unbelievably well-researched and the story told with a detailed flair. Looking back over the three years in which the author played the "front" in a major sports gambling operation, I found myself remembering many of those same weekends and wondering how he was sweating out having $500,000 in play over football games I remember watching.

What TSM brings is the story of a man who wanted to get himself on the inside -- after years of being on the edges of gambling as a reporter, the author takes his late 20's/early 30's hedonistic self on a wild journey for years. The money was great, the weekly thrills were probably intoxicating but, in the end, what did Michael really have left to show for it all?

Well, IMHO, I think he may have one hell of a story to tell.

My favorite aspects were the author's interaction with the various sports book bosses from Bally's, Caesars and the off-shore outfits. Each of them is the stereotype of what you would imagine but the author brings them to life and takes them out of a "two-dimension" cardboard character cut-out, which could have been so easy.

I'm a fairly hard grader when it comes to books, especially non-fiction works on sports, but I proudly give this 5 stars. Most exciting book I have read so far in 2008 -- and that's out of about 60 books thus far.

This is a tale about the thrills amid a real loss of perspective, especially regarding money. It may be the fantasy all 30-year-old men want to lead. He actually did it and we get the rewards of reading about it!

Bravo, Michael, bravo!

Very very very repetitive, probably could have cut the book in half if not more. If you like to read over nearly every bet this guy made they go ahead and buy this book, otherwise save your money.

The Smart Money was an exciting page turner; I found it similar to Bringing Down the House, except it explores the world of high stakes sports gambling instead of blackjack. It depicts Vegas and the action in a way amateur bettors only dream about. I do think the author was excessive with his thesaurus though. Also, the title is a little misleading, in that you never learn how the picks are made. Still, it's well worth the money and the time. You'll want to check out the current lines before you're finished.

This was an incredibly entertaining read. If you're not interested in Las Vegas, you probably won't enjoy this. If you're into sports but not sports betting, this might bring you around. If you're a sports bettor I think you'll enjoy this read.

The one thing I was missing was any specific example of how the picks were made. It's clear why Konik wasn't given access to the formulas and calculations. [...]. My respect and appreciation for what Google has accomplished is because they gave me a taste of how complex it is with PageRank. I wish this book had done the same with a single formula that would have illuminated while also not giving away the store.

Overall, the book is a good time. Check it out.

The Smart Money: How the World's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I don't get much time to read for pleasure and haven't read an entire book in 4 years. This book was suggested to me by a colleague as an entertainment read and entertaining it was. When he gave me the copy, I figured that I would read the cover (maybe the first and last chapter). Well, one page led to the next chapter and I eventually finished the entire book in 4 days. I have some prior knowledge of this business, yet I can honestly say that I learned a few things about the intricasies of the sports betting markets.

Great story and an easy read. You would be hard pressed to find a better storyteller and story in this genre.

This book is the book your looking for on no limit strategy. It explains many concepts that may not be clear to the starter player who wants to get deeper in knowledge. Many holdem books apply to limit poker but this book goes further into concepts that are started in supersystem and why doyle can makes certain plays.

Excellent book for the beginner to intermediate player to learn more about poker concepts. Well written and will definitely help your game.

This book is great. Well written, it clearly explains how now limit works. It is not for a beginner. I keep stopping and trying out the concepts before going on to the next. I am using implied odds and bet sizing to maximize my expectations. There is not as much math as some of his other books which is better for me.

I think this book gives a solid primer on no limit holdem, especially to the neophyte (like myself). I feel like there is some very useful information, such as when to call an all in from a short stack based on how you would profile the opponent (loose, tight, very tight, etc).

The Sklansky Chubukov ratings are nice to know (even though the numbers can only be used for one small situation in the small blind)

When I buy a poker book I am primarily looking to glean one or two important concepts and I think this book has done that.

See Wookborm's review for a more complete discussion of what is wrong here. I don't mind beginner's books, but they should be marketed as such. I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything new in this book, if you have spent any time reading up on no-limit on any of the popular online forums. Mastery of the material in this book does not look sufficient to beat the 25 cent big blind game online. I could only recommend it if you have no other no-limit book at all; but then, why not buy Harrington volume 1 or something else? This book is superfluous. I felt ripped off.

I bought this product a while ago. I get to LV once a year and Atlantic City 4 times a year. Most of the LV coupons are for the downtown casinos which I rarely have time to visit. I did use a few of the Atlantic City coupons, which about paid for the book. I did find some of the articles in the book interesting and informative.

used a bunch of these coupons already, it's a must have for a vegas vacation, probably saved over 100 bucks over the week using the 2 for 1 buffet coupons at places like The Silverton Casino (great place) The Sahara, New Orleans Casino, The Rio, Texas Station and several others. If you buy this book and use just 2 coupons it will have paid for itself in savings! Highly recommended.

Do NOT buy this book used. I did and when it arrived a good portion of the pages had been torn out. I sent it back and NEVER received my refund.
BUYER BEWARE!!!

LOTS OF FOOD COUPONS FOR VEGAS,,, PAYS FOR ITSELF WITH JUST ONE VISIT. LOTS OF 2 FOR 1 HOTEL NITES...

The American Casino Guide is well worth the money to use in Las Vegas. There are a few other out of state casino coupons but this is mainly for Las Vegas. Great buy one get one free buffet, shows and hotel offers. The only problem with this book is the binding. It's coming unglued in the middle, not a big deal though. A lot of info for new table gamers. Highly recommend this book!