Scarne's Guide to Modern Poker [Paperback]

John Scarne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 1984

This book can change your gambling future! John Scarne, who is widely recognized as today's greatest gambling expert, reveals the secrets and strategies you need to increase your enjoyment - and winnings - at the world's most popular card game. Scarne lays down the rules of all 117 forms of poker - including the latest variations like Texas Hold 'Em - making this book invaluable as a source of new games and as the arbiter in any disputes. Where at one time the ultimate verdict on rules was 'according to Holye', today it is 'according to Scarne'. Learn how to: bet like an expert; protect yourself from poker cheats; use probabilities to enhance your game; balance caution against betting courage; bluff successfully; master the twenty vital strategies every expert player must know; handle your money wisely over an evening game - and over a poker lifetime.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (September 14, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671530763
• ISBN-13: 978-0671530761
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,609,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars best starting point I've found, January 11, 1999

By 

Erik Bergerud ([e-mail] (Quincy, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scarne's Guide to Modern Poker (Paperback)

Scarne is arguably the greatest mind this century on poker. If you are looking to learn how to play the most popular poker games, this book is for you. He also shows the reader how to apply proper strategy to each game. This book is not for poker experts, but the topics in the book must be mastered before you sit at a Vegas poker table. After reading this book, I was easily better than the players at local card games.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little something for every kind of poker player, July 2, 2001

By 

Mary P. Campbell "math geek" (Flushing, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scarne's Guide to Modern Poker (Paperback)

Scarne's Guide to Modern Poker, though over 20 years old, holds more useful info on poker than I've seen in any other poker book. Scarne covers topics such as rules for Draw and Stud Poker, with many variants, some major poker probability principles, money management in poker games, which poker games to avoid, and popular poker cheats (something most poker books ignore). This book deals exclusively with real poker games, played in a group of people, where the only possible house take is a fixed percentage or amount per pot (and he shows you how to figure out if a commercial poker house is giving you a bum deal). If you want to learn how to deal with video poker or casino poker games like Caribbean Stud, let me tell you right now -- you can't possibly make money in the long-term playing those games. Scarne himself will tell you this in one of his other gambling books.

There's basic sound advice to be found in this book, advice you will find elsewhere: obvious things such as don't borrow money to play poker, don't play against people highly superior to you at poker, and don't play when drunk or emotional (unless you really want to lose money). However, there's advice I haven't seen elsewhere (except when they're copying Scarne): ways to prevent common card cheats, ways to calculate whether one should stay in a pot based on pot size versus your odds, and ways to mix up your play, so as to make people uncertain of your style -- so that people will stay in the pot when you've got a sure winner, and so that people will drop out when you're bluffing. I've used this last bit of advice in playing poker with friends; they know I play close to the vest (I'm very conservative on risk), so when they see me calling & raising bets, they think I know I have a sure thing. I've gotten away with some pretty horrendous bluffs with this technique. The name of the game is: don't do it too often.

There are complaints about the number of stories Scarne tells about himself (and sometimes he refers to himself by name, and I go back to check who wrote the book.) Actually, in most of the stories, Scarne's not the central character; rather, some prime poker player is the center of the story. Some of the stories of the tricks he's performed is rather neat. But more to the point, I think these stories are good examples of the kinds of tips and strategies he talks about -- he mentions stories of cheats, of bold betting, and of people who have gone from great poker players simply to good, because they lost betting courage and needed to find games more their monetary limit. More to the point, I feel Scarne is completely justified in "puffing himself up" in these stories of high-roller games and visits to the Merv Griffin show - he can back up his self-promotion with actual knowledge and skill. Scarne also knew how to write a book that would serve poker players at any level, giving specifics as well as general principles to follow. For those wishing to improve their games, this should be the first book you get.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Buy another book..., June 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Scarne's Guide to Modern Poker (Paperback)

There are many books out there that no poker enthusiast should be without. This is not one of them. Although mildly entertaining in the beginning due to the author's bombastic nature, the book becomes a truly tedious read. The biggest problem is that the book is dated (1984 copyright) and compiles poker strategy into general rules for five card draw and stud (forget about hold em or omaha). The author then expects the reader to extrapolate the given strategies into seven card games. As an added bonus, most of the strategy (if not obvious even to the most oblivious newbies) is either unsound or irrelevant. The only redeeming value of this book is for those who are seeking an encyclopedia of dealer's choice games. Please save your money or buy another book (Peter Steiner's Thursday Night Poker is superb for amatures, Slansky and Brunson are essential for aspiring pros).