The essential guide for beginning and intermediate craps players has been reduced to under $10. More than 575,000 copies of this classic easy-to-read guide have been sold

• Easy-to-follow instructions
• Full-color illustrations and photographs
• Instruction on:
  1. Authentic Chinese Mahjong play
  2. Cantonese Mahjong play
  3. Shanghai Mahjong play
  4. American Mahjong play
  5. The 12-tile versions of the game

In this one comprehensive volume, by America's leading authority in the field, is everything anyone, from novice to expert, needs to know to play poker to win.

This is the biggest, most complete, and most authoritative book ever written on poker—everything there is to know about the Great American Game from the rules of each variation to the most expert instruction on playing the odds. Albert Morehead, author of more than 70 books on the rules and procedures of card games, has taken most of the mystery and even more of the luck out of winning—“Poker is a game of skill. If you aren’t beating the game, you’re being outplayed.

A big part of poker's appeal is that, at its essence, the rules are same everywhere. For the most part, you play with a deck of fifty-two cards, four suits, and thirteen ranks. The best five card hand takes the money. There are (some wild home game variations notwithstanding) only five combinations of actions: check, bet, call, raise, and fold. The purpose of this book is to provide a uniform set of rules for the most popular poker games spread in public cardrooms. Some rules apply to all games. Some apply to particular games. In deciding upon which rules to use, the rulebooks of nearly every major cardroom in the country have been consulted. Where rules differ, the authors have given preference to the rule that best serves the interest of fairness in the game. Indeed that is one of the first rules of the game: that all rules should be interpreted with the spirit of the game in mind. Beyond the issue of fairness, which is paramount, the next greatest weight has been given to the efficiency of the game--getting more hands out per hour benefits everyone: players get more hands, the house gets more rake, dealers get more tips.

After fairness and efficiency, the next most important factor is simplicity. All other things being equal, where there is a simple and a complicated way to do things, the simpler rule has been chosen. Lastly, tradition has been considered. The game has a great history, and the aforementioned variables being equal, the traditional rule has been given preference. Fairness, Efficiency, Simplicity and Tradition: the foundations of the Rules of Poker. An additional factor in establishing rules is inducing action. Although it is not as important as the other influences, action is important to the game. Rules can be constructed and interpreted to encourage action, or to inhibit it. All other things being equal, when one rule would limit action and another would induce it, the authors have given preference to the rule that will encourage players to get involved and play the hand. That said, there are other reasons for preferring one rule to another. When several different rules applying to a certain situation meet the tests of fairness, efficiency, simplicity and tradition, the preferred rule is listed first, and an alternate rule--or rules, if there are several--are listed afterward as Alternate Rules. At times, explanatory notes and/or examples are added after a rule. When interpreting a rule, the explanatory notes and examples should be taken into consideration. These notes and examples, together with the Definitions and Appendices for suggested procedures at the end of the Rules, are the components of Cooke's Rules of Real Poker. While some players and cardroom managers may not agree with all the rules included, it is hoped that the comprehensiveness of Cooke's Rules of Real Poker will result in it being used as a standard in cardrooms across the country. The inclusion of alternate rules that may be used in lieu of the preferred rule at the discretion of cardroom management is an attempt to address the legitimate differences of opinion regarding exactly what rule should be in force at a given establishment. Cardrooms will have the choice of adopting Cooke's Rules exactly as they stand, or Cooke's Rules as modified by house policy.

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE

Cowboys Full traces the story of poker from its roots in China, the Middle East, and Europe, through the back rooms of saloons and the parlors of U.S. presidents to its evolution as a global phenomenon. It describes how early Americans took a French parlor game and turned it into a national craze by the time of the Civil War. It explains how poker, once dominated by cardsharps, is now the most popular card game in Europe, East Asia, Australia, South America, and cyberspace, as well as on television. Along the way, James McManus examines the game's remarkable hold on American culture, seen in everything from Frederic Remington's paintings to countless poker novels, movies, and plays. Cowboys Full is raucous and fascinating, a lively, definitive history of the game that, more than any other, explains who we are and how we operate.

Two of the best dice rollers in the nation share their secrets and tips for craps players looking to get an edge on the game in this exciting guide. Thoroughly explaining their proven techniques with photos and detailed descriptions, the authors make the system easy for anyone to learn--whether a veteran or not. Components of the strategy provided include how to set the dice to improve the odds of hitting different sets of numbers, how to throw the dice in a controlled manner, why using the 5-Count will reduce the house's edge, and how to push the casino to offer a better game than the standard. Without removing any of the excitement of gambling, this guide teaches how to approach the table with improved odds that could lead to bigger winnings.

This book develops the concept of "gamble-play media", describing how some gambling and gambling-like practices are increasingly mediated by digital technologies. Digital gambling brings gambling closer to the practices and features of videogames, as audio-visual simulations structure users' experiences. By studying digital gambling from media studies, videogame and cultural studies approaches, this book offers a new critical perspective on the issues raised by computer-mediated gambling, while expanding our perspective on what media and gambling are. In particular, it critically analyses terrestrial, mobile and online slot machines, online poker and stock trading apps through a selection of case studies.

A course in power poker from one of the greatest players ever.