Ghosts at the Table: Riverboat Gamblers, Texas Rounders, Internet Gamers, and the Living Legends Who Made Poker What It Is Today [Hardcover]

Des Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2008

Destined to become “the new poker classic, a must-read” (Mike Sexton, top poker player and promoter), Ghosts at the Table is the game’s first definitive history. With verve and wit, internationally renowned poker personality Des Wilson traces poker’s Wild West origins in Deadwood, South Dakota-where “Wild” Bill Hickok was said to have been shot holding aces and eights-to the annual World Series of Poker and amazing high-stakes games of modern-day Las Vegas. It’s a story full of unforgettable characters-riverboat gamblers, Texas rounders, roadside hucksters, and living legends-who have helped make poker the world’s most popular game.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A colorful classic...A remarkably thorough history of the game of poker...A must-read history-biography book...A book to relish and enjoy for the facts compiled, the questions answered, and as a resource to help you enjoy the game more than ever, as a player or observer."--CasinoGaming.com, 5/14/08

"A long look at the history of one of the most popular card games of present day...For those whose eyes have ever stayed glued to a cable poker tourney, this book's a sure bet."--Bookgasm.com, 5/15/08

"Wilson makes an elegant and entertaining case for the idea that poker's current popularity can be directly linked to its long and colorful history...Every time you sit down to play, you sit down with the 'ghosts at the table.' This book will teach you their names and their roles in the ongoing, endlessly fascinating history of poker."--"Card Player" 5/21/08

"An engaging narrative that occasionally resembles a "whodunit"-styled detective novel, with Wilson himself taking on the role of lead investigator...Wilson doesn't shy away from difficult or controversial subjects."--PokerNews.com 5/23/08

"From the dusty roads of Tombstone and Deadwood to the early Vegas playing parlors to today's internet whiz kids, Des Wilson takes us on a colorful, interesting and well researched journey. His writing style--direct, no nonsense--is perfect for the history of a game--a high stakes game, indeed--where nonsense is clearly not tolerated."--Blogcritics.org 5/19/08

"The saga of poker from its Wild West origins to today's show-biz scene in Las Vegas...Wilson concerns himself with contemporary as well as departed guests of the game...Wilson's time machine conveys him from the days of riverboatgambling to the age of cyber poker and all stops between."--"Magill Book Reviews
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""The American Interest," November/December 2008
"Not just a history of poker. Wilson's travels throughout America are as much a part of the book as the actual history of poker he relates...His autobiographical detours work...Wilson is a sympathetic character, as well--a legitimately nice guy, and it comes through."

About the Author

Des Wilson, a former political activist and businessman, is today a journalist, well-known poker personality, and author of the highly acclaimed Swimming With the Devilfish. He lives in London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1st Da Capo Press Ed edition (April 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306816288
• ISBN-13: 978-0306816284
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poker history comes to life, June 1, 2008

By 

David G. Schwartz "writer, historian" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghosts at the Table: Riverboat Gamblers, Texas Rounders, Internet Gamers, and the Living Legends Who Made Poker What It Is Today (Hardcover)

Wilson starts his book with a helpful preface that divides poker into four ages: the initial frontier stages, that lasted from the game's introduction to the US to the closing of the frontier, which in poker terms correlates with the last mineral booms in the 1890s/1900s.

The second age starts much later, with the heyday of the Texas road gamblers in the 1950s. This is a short era that is followed by the Las Vegas era, which symbolically began with the first World Series of Poker held at Binion's Horseshoe in 1970.

The final age of poker is the current boom, fueled equally by television and the Internet, which most people would date to 2002.

It's a good division, though it neglects the "rank and file" of poker in some ways. The thousands of backroom poker games that sustained the "sport" during the first half of the 20th century, for example, are nowhere here. There's good reason for that-they were mostly undocumented, and little heralded. For good reason. There is nothing exceptional or heroic about them. But history is rarely exceptional or heroic.

The book properly begins with Wilson checking into the Bullock Hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota, and learning that a real ghost lives there-the spirit of Seth Bullock, the original proprietor, who frequently shows his disgust over the current staff's lassitude by shaking the odd plate or turning on a random blender.

That's when I realized that the ghosts of the title aren't a metaphor: for Wilson (and for poker players) the legends of the past really are ghosts, who still have an incorporeal presence and can still do us harm.

As Wilson admits in the preface, this is not an exhaustive history of poker as a historian would write it, chronological narrative interspersed with hard-won quantatative data about numbers of card decks sold, arrest for poker-playing, and the like. Instead, it's an impressionistic journey-literally-through the past and into the present of poker.

Wilson's strategy is to revisit the scenes of past poker greatness, from Tombstone to Texas to Binion's Horseshoe, and through research, interviews, and observation, try to recover what is lost. Luckily, many of the figures of the last three eras are still alive, and those that have passed on are survived by friends, rivals, and associates. There a real richness of detail here, and no matter what your previous knowledge of poker, your insight into its history will be enriched Ghosts at the Table.
Two sections that stand out are Wilson's conversation with Amarillo Slim, probably the most controversial poker figure in its modern era, and his investigation into the disappearance of 1979 WSOP champion Hal Fowler.

Wilson's writing on Slim has a balance that is rare-most people either love or hate the lanky rounder-and the facts that Wilson's unearthed about Fowler, while in the end a bit underwhelming, are a neat bit of detective work, and show an inquisitiveness that's too rare in most students of the game. Ditto for his questioning of the Johnny Moss/Nick Dandalos proto-WSOP 1949 match, which has attained apocryphal, if not mythic status.

One of Wilson's strengths is to integrate the present of poker into its past. The reader really sees how today's players slowly took control of the game from the legends of the near past. In the future, historians will be grateful for such an immediate account by a knowledgeable observer of the earliest days of online poker, and of the proliferation of poker in Europe.

As an active narrator, Wilson himself becomes a character in the book. This has the potential for disaster-should the writer show up as a swashbuckling hero, the reader might be turned off by the braggadocio. But Wilson appears as an honest, curious, student of the game, who's taking a trip and bringing a few close friends-including you, the reader-along with him. He's the foil to some of the game's legends and rising stars, driving Amarillo Slim's ranch and listening to his act, seeking out Bobby Hoff in a California card room, and almost invisibly eliciting recollections from other poker icons. When he does step into the frame-in the book's coda-it is for him to try his luck at the 2007 World Series of Poker. Since he's humble without being self-effacing, the reader can't help but root for him.

Don't view this as a narrative-see it as a collection of stories told to you as you're driving down a dark, endless Texas highway (or English road) on the way to your next big game. If you are a poker player or are just curious about this quintessentially American game (and its ghosts) you should definitely read Ghosts at the Table.

2.0 out of 5 stars The Author bluffed and lost, October 25, 2010

By 

C. Reichwald - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ghosts at the Table: Riverboat Gamblers, Texas Rounders, Internet Gamers, and the Living Legends Who Made Poker What It Is Today (Hardcover)

I bought this book with high hopes of getting a rich history of poker, but after finishing, I felt like I was taken on five minute mini-journeys of a wanna be mystery writer.

I'm sure the author meant well, but he tried to create, then un-ravel many mysteries of poker's past. And while the attempt was admirable, I was never drawn into his vision. It was actually one of the first books I've read in a while where I debated not finishing it simply because it was kind of boring and lacked depth.

The middle part of the book regarding the Texas Road gamblers was probably the best as some of the old timers are still alive and you do realize you're looking at living legends when you see them play. But even that portion lacked a depth I was hoping for.

I realize it's a lot to ask with so much to cover, but I think the author could have done better. Saying that, even though the book's covering of many players was shorter than the biographies of "Deal Me In," I thought "Ghosts at the Table" did a more concise job of hitting the present day gamblers.

I was disappointed by this book, and in fact you could go to Cardplayer or other sites to actually read a detailed history of poker in archived Magazines they keep online.

It was definitely not a one star book, but I don't think I can give this more than two.

4.0 out of 5 stars FRESH NEW LOOK AT AN OLD GAME, June 20, 2008

By 

Hal Grothjan (Southerrn California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ghosts at the Table: Riverboat Gamblers, Texas Rounders, Internet Gamers, and the Living Legends Who Made Poker What It Is Today (Hardcover)

WELL WRITTEN, EXCELLENT PICTURE OF POKER SINCE THE 1800S. VERY ACCURATE WITH PLENTY OF NEW MATERIAL.