Customer Reviews

Scarne on Cards: Complete Rules / How to Spot Cheaters / And How to Win at Poker, Gin, Pinochle, Blackjack and Other Games, Revised Edition

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John Scarne was an authority on card playing, and he wanted you to know that. He never lets you forget. Scarne's book is filed with self-promotion, and that's actually part of its charm. A lot of the so-called "according to Hoyle" books describe various games competently, but this book has personality, bombastic though it is. It's a fun read.

But Scarne wasn't perfect. His blackjack strategy is just plain wrong, so don't pay attention to it - Find a book on blackjack if that's what you want. Also, I find his description of cribbage very muddled and confusing. Some of the games are obscure, such as Radio Pinochle, which, as far as I can tell, was never played by anyone anywhere (despite his prediction that it was destined to be the most loved game in America).

The discussion of cheating was groundbreaking, and still worth reading. Scarne felt that games would be more honest if everyone knew how to cheat, so he includes not only a section devoted to the subject, but specific notes under each game's section describing cheating methods peculiar to that game.

I recommend it highly, but take some of his advice with a grain of salt.

A lot of people think they hate cards. They haven't read this book. Written by an acknowledged expert of card games, card tricks, and detection of cheating, the book starts out with a priceless explanation of how card sharks cheat, and how to spot it. His advice is always to just get up and get out when cheating is suspected. He then explains how to play poker, gin, pinochle, blackjack, and many others, with great advice on how to win within the rules. There are plenty of "complete Hoyle" type books with lists of rules, but this one goes them one-up with the priceless savvy it gives you about the real world.

"Scarne on Cards" has got to be the most entertaining book about card-playing ever written. John Scarne was a card-playing genius -- and a witty writer to boot. This book focuses only on a few of the most popular card games, specifically those that can be successfully gambled at -- poker, blackjack, gin rummy, pinochle. But the lessons taken from those games could be applied to hundreds of others. Scarne doesn't just explain the rules; he explains how the games are won. If you're only a marginal card player, even a cursory reading of this book will make you better. At times it's technical, but Scarne's style is anything but dry. You'll enjoy this book. It's worth the effort to find a copy.

John Scarne is a master. His life is as intriguing and entertaining as his card playing. The man was simply a genius. I am lucky enough to have uncovered copies of his books from my father. This book is one of them and I learned to play a lot of card games from it. Its truly unbelievable.

If you can find any Scarne books do so.

I loved this book as a teenager and recently reread it. Scarne gives a good overview of gambling strategy and mathematics, plus some info on looking out for cheaters. His style is great too and a trip back to the cool 50s and 60s.