Best book on general gambling?

popniklas · #1 01-03-2005, 08:46 PM

Hi! I'm thinking of buying a book on gambling in general (strategies, probabilities, info and advice on games etc) perhaps Sklanksy's "Getting the Best of It" or Malmuth's "Gambling Theory and other Topics".

Anyone has an opinion on which book to buy? Anyone wants to share their thoughts on one or both of the above titles?

Stew · #2 01-03-2005, 09:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Hi! I'm thinking of buying a book on gambling in general (strategies, probabilities, info and advice on games etc) perhaps Sklanksy's "Getting the Best of It" or Malmuth's "Gambling Theory and other Topics".

Anyone has an opinion on which book to buy? Anyone wants to share their thoughts on one or both of the above titles?

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't read the Sklansky book in question, but I can highly recommend Mason's GTOT.

amulet · #3 01-04-2005, 12:51 AM

"gambling theory" by mm and "getting the best" of it by ds are both terrific. more importantly, ther are MUST reads for all gamblers and MUST reads for all poker players. i got a tremendous amount out of both books.

Leduke · #4 01-04-2005, 04:43 AM

Hmm i haven't read any of these two books, but i can recommend David Sklansky The Theory of Poker. I applied some of his advices and they really worked. You can read about that book here

kiddo · #5 01-04-2005, 05:39 AM

What I found monst intertesting in Masons was the deep analyzes of winrates, bankroll requirements and how long a bad run can be and stuff like that (its a lot of math). If u are interested in theses things its a must read.

popniklas · #6 01-04-2005, 07:46 AM

Ok, I got the impression that they are a lot like each other and you only need one of them. But I take it that's not the case?

popniklas · #7 01-04-2005, 07:48 AM

I already own that book, but thanks anyway. (And yes, it is indeed a great book.)

avatar77 · #8 01-04-2005, 02:16 PM

If you are even remotely serious about gambling, why would you limit yourself to just one book? Both books are great, I would even include the other 2+2 gambling books such as Gambling for a Living

popniklas · #9 01-04-2005, 05:46 PM

well, i'm not exactly planning on trying to gamble for a living (at least not for a great while). mostly, i play (small stakes) poker, and i am buying and reading lots of poker books.

i have started to think about other forms of gambling, mostly sports betting, and i have set aside a small amount of money as a "sports betting bankroll", as an experiment to see if i am able to make it grow or not, during this year. perhaps i will succeed and move up to larger bets, perhaps not. so i don't really know if i am or will be "serious about gambling" in the sense you are talking about.

right know i'm inclined to buying GTOT. perhaps i will buy sklansky's "getting the best of it" and other gambling books as well in the future, but i don't feel that more than one book on general gambling is necessary for me right now.

avatar77 · #10 01-05-2005, 12:02 AM

Hey Pop,

If you are interested in sports betting, then you must get "Getting the Best of It". There is an entire section on Sports and Horse Betting. Sklansky also covers a lot of the other popular casino games such as slots, craps, Baccarat and Blackjack.

His section on Bayes Theorem and mathematics is also considered essential reading for serious gamblers.