Byron Walker's Magic Books

Rare Gambling Books
To order any item from this page, please contact Byron Walker at
byron.walker@comcast.net
510-276-1854
POB 3186
San Leandro, CA 94578
Business Hours: 9AM to Midnight - Pacific Time

Old time photo of Blacks playing cards with one “Sharp” passing an ace under the table between his toes to his accomplice while their “Mark” examines his hand.  Oversize photo is 11” by 14” and suitable to decorate your game room.  $15



The Cincinnati Kid by Richard Jessup.  1963 first edition, third printing.  A fine copy in near fine dust jacket.  A classic novel on gambling later made into the 1965 hit movie starring Steve McQueen.  The first edition sellers price these in the hundreds of dollars.  $30

The Amazing World of John Scarne.  1956 first edition.  Very nice, clean copy in very nice dust jacket.  $25

Playing Cards: History of the Pack and Explanations of its Many Secrets by W. Gurney Benham.  London, Spring Books.  196 pages, pictorial cloth in colorful dust jacket, both in very nice condition.  Large format with many pictures in color.  $40


The Master Mechanic by I. G. Broat.  1979, first American edition, 323 pages, HB in DJ.  A novel of a “young man who sets out to be a master mechanic, a supreme manipulator of dice and is tutored by the best.”  $20

Gamblers Don’t Gamble by Michael MacDougall.  Frontispiece and 16 other full page photographic plates of cheating methods.  This is the 1940 second printing with page 167, not in the first printing, added.  My last copy - very worn but a complete hardbound reading copy.  $10


How Gamblers Win by Eddie Joseph.  22 pages, 8 ½ by 11.  Out of print.  $15

A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming by Catherine Perry Hargrave.  1966.  xx plus 462 pages plus color plates, 1,462 illustrations.  The bibliography covers 75 pages.  $20

Play the Devil: A History of Gambling in the United States from 1492 to 1950 by Henry Chafetz.  1960, 475 pages.  Fine copy in VG dust jacket.  A comprehensive history including your favorites such as George Devol, Jonathan Green, John “Wanderings of a Vagabond” Morris, John Phillip Quinn and the rest.  Included is a five page bibliography.  $30




Shoot the Works: A Complete Manual of Dice Manipulation by Ed Marlo.  48 pages in pictorial wraps, well-illustrated.  A fine copy - $6

John Scarne Explains Why You Can’t Win: A Treatise on Three Card Monte and its Sucker Effects by Audley Walsh,  1972, 47 pages, 43 photos of play.  Included are early photos of Scarne and Walsh, definitions of gambling terms.  $5

Poker: How to Play – How to Win by Walter Gibson.  1974, 143 pages.  A nice copy, hardbound in dust jacket.  $10

If You Must Gamble by Maurice Lenihan.  1946 First edition.  127 pages, original blue cloth with gilt title.  Lenihan covers horses (with one system that works), dice, roulette, bridge, poker, pools, rummy, lotteries, bingo, keno.  $15

Memoirs of a Gambler by Jack Richardson.  1979 First Edition.  255 pages, hardbound in dust jacket.  Experiences in gambling, primarily with cards and dice and with a cheater or two.  $15

Tip on a Dead Crab by William Murray.  1984.  230 pages, fine copy in fine dust jacket.  The adventures of “Shifty” Anderson, sleight of hand artist and gambler.  $20


Gambling Collectibles by Leonard Schneir (with Price Guide).  1993, 160 pages, 8 ½ by 11, full color throughout.  The best guide to collecting gambling items published.  This also contains a chronological Check-List of Antique Poker Books (1836-1941), Bibliography, Gambling Contacts, etc.  A nice copy.  $25

The Great American Pastime: Notes on Poker, the Game and the Players by Allen Dowling. 1970 First edition, a fine copy, hardbound in dust jacket.  244 pages plus 16 pages of photographic plates of gambling collectibles, etc.  $25

 

The Raw, Rowdy World of Poker by Allen Dowling.  1973 first edition, a fine copy, hardbound in dust jacket.  230 pages.  $20




Luck: Your Silent Partner by Lothrop Stoddard.  New York, 1929, 336 pages in original cloth.  Pages 80 to 105 are  Luck and Gambling, including “Don Marquis poses as a sucker for card sharps and wins!”  Very nice copy.  $20



Lotteries and Sweepstakes by C. L’Estrange Ewen.  1972, a very nice hardbound reprint of the uncommon 1932 edition.  403 pages with reproductions of old and quaint illustrations.  Mint copy.  $20



Gambling and Gambling Devices by John Phillip Quinn is a nice reprint of the 1912 classic on advantage gaming of all types.  308 well-illustrated pages of holdouts, bugs, gaffed dealing boxes, shiners, three card monte moves, and much, much more.  I have several mint copies at only $8

Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill by John Nevil Maskelyne is a nice reprint of the 1894 classic on advantage play.  xvii plus 315 pages, this edition includes the added “Preface to the Second Edition”, a recent preface, and the 1917 obituary of Maskelyne.  With the great frontispiece of his fellow gamblers seizing and holding down Kepplinger to discover his holdout!   I have several mint copies at only $6

Rummy That Noble Game by A. E. Coppard.  1932, The Golden Cockerel Press, limited to only 1000 copies.    A fine press publication.  A good copy, hardbound in dust jacket.  $45

Richard Seymour,  The Compleat Gamester.  The sixth edition, London, 1739.  Toole-Stott conjuring #625.  This edition has the chapter of card tricks entitled "Some Diverting Amusements Upon The Cards".  (The first four editions were titled "The Court Gamester" and do not include magic).  This edition also includes "Frauds of Play" (cheating).  324 pages.  Frontispiece is photocopy, otherwise complete.  Binding is solid but ugly.  Consider rebinding.  $1000

George Henry Fisher, Stud Poker Blue Book. 1934 first edition. 112 pages. piece torn from lower right corner of front cover, otherwise a very nice clean copy.  $20


Dice: Deception, Fate & Rotten Luck by Ricky Jay.  2003 First Edition, hardbound in dust jacket, both fine.  $20

Casino Game Protection: A Comprehensive Guide by Steve Forte, 2004.  627 pages, 8 ½ by 11, hardbound.  The most comprehensive and up to date guide to cheating ever published.  A beautiful book with color photographs throughout.  List price is $200, this as new copy is only $160

Although the cover text is 125 Tricks with Cards or Sleight of Hand, 5 pages (page 60-64) are An Exposure of the Card Tricks Made Use of by Professional Card Players, Blacklegs and Gamblers.  The final section is a 1940 catalog of Johnson Smith & Co. The card trick section also has marked cards, shiners, etc.  Original pictorial wraps.  $25  Card Sharpers Tricks Exposed!  (cover title)  Canfield's Expose is the text of the first four and last two pages, Modern Magic is the center section.  96 pages in pictorial wraps.  Front wrap chipped, otherwise very good.  (Canfield's section is on card sharping, short change, swindles, crooked carnival games).  $25




Master Key and Run-Up Systems, anonymous, 56 pages, combines two scarce booklets, on card marking and on stacking cards.  I have several mint copies at only $3


Dealing With Cheats by A. D. Livingston.  1973 First Edition.  "Illustrated methods of cardsharps, dice hustlers and other gambling scoundrels".  320 pages, nice copy HB in DJ.  $20

Audley Walsh, Dice Deceptions.  (cover title is Dice Dexterity) 1953. 32 well illustrated pages.  $5 Senator Crandall,  How to Stack Dice. 20 well illustrated pages.  Mint copy.  $5

Poker Demonstration by Tom Osborne.  1946, 16 pages.  Several demonstrations of card handling skill in dealing poker hands, with patter.  Included are suggested preliminary maneuvers before switching decks.  I have several VG copies so only $2

Poker Deal by Harry Canar.  1958. 13 pages.  Fine copies. $2
The Gambler's Paradise by Joseph Ovette.  12 pages.  Mint copies.  $2 Frank Wallace, Poker:  A Guaranteed Income for Life by Using The Advanced Concepts of Poker  1970.  275 pages.  Fine copy in fine dust jacket.  Nice glossary, nice bibliography.  $20




Secrets of Gambling by Al Price.  1956, 128 pages in pictorial wraps.  Included is a 12 page section on cheating with cards and dice and a 9 page glossary of terms. $20 

The Why, How and Where of Gambling in Nevada by Basil Woon.  1953 First Edition, x plus 122 pages in stiff pictorial wraps.  Included are chapters on poker, blackjack, craps, farobank, keno, roulette, etc. and one on crooked play.  This very nice copy has a lengthy SIGNED INSCRIPTION by the author and the previous owner paid $37.50 in 1984.  $25





Tossing Broads by Tony Giorgio (“ Broads” being underworld slang for playing cards).  2009, 30 pages.  The first half is devoted to Giorgio’s recollections of the cardmen associated with the Magic Castle – Charlie Miller, Dai Vernon, etc.  The second half is devoted to “ the real work” on tossing broads, that is, three card monte, illustrated with 23 color photographs.  $24

MacDougall on Dice and Cards by Mickey MacDougall.  1946, vi plus 90 pages.  Illustrated directions for cheating at craps, poker, gin rummy and blackjack.  Fine copy in fine but price-clipped DJ.  $20

Gaming Through the Ages – the beautiful 1961 Harrah’s gambling calendar, with 12 full color scenes of gambling through the ages, with descriptions.  The calendar is complete with all 12 scenes, the calendar months printed on rice paper, the descriptions of the scenes following the months, in the original gold on black covers.  A fine piece.  $35



How to Play Poker and Win by Sidney Radner.  1957, 94 pages in pictorial wraps, with illustrations in red and black throughout.  The final two chapters cover Sid’s specialty – the methods of poker sharps.  $15

Radner on Dice: How to Win, How Gamblers Cheat by Sidney Radner.  1957, 96 pages in pictorial wraps.  A comprehensive guide to fraudulent play, with some great anecdotes.  $15

How to Spot Card Sharps and Their Methods by Sidney Radner.  1957, 95 pages in pictorial wraps.  “Exposes the crooked cards, devices and methods used by gamblers to cheat at card games”.  Illustrated with many photos and line drawings.  $15

How to Win at Pinochle and Other Card Games Including Gin Rummy, Red Dog, Black Jack by Rufus Perry (one of the many pseudonyms for Walter Gibson).  1957, 92

pages in pictorial wraps.  Pages 84-92 are devoted to cheating at all four games.  $15

How Gamblers Win by “A Retired Professional” is a fine reprint of the Fitzgerald Publishing Company reprint of the 1868 Dick & Fitzgerald classic.  To add to the intrigue, the 1868 edition was a re-written version of the 1865 edition by Gerritt M. Evans.  Whereas Evans taught you to be a card cheat, the D & F version taught you to protect yourself from card cheats while covering the same material.  I assume this change was made to avoid criticism by the moralists.  Added to this edition is a new Preface by David Ben and Introduction by Steve Forte.  New copies, HB in DJ - $45  

A selection of  Gambling Catalogs

H. C. Evans & Co Gambling Catalog 1918-19.  A nice reprint of their 64 page, well-illustrated catalog of playing card trimmer shears, Perfection Corner Cutter, various dealing boxes, keno goose, layouts, playing cards, carnival gambling games, and much, much more.  I have several mint copies at only $2.50

Mason & Co Gambling Catalog, 1941, The Aristocrat Line.  A reprint of their October 1, 1941 catalog.  24 pages, 8 ½ by 11, well-illustrated of dice accessories, keno goose and supplies, wheels, dice layouts, chuck luck cages, faro equipment and much, much more.  I have several mint copies for only $2.50