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Dr. Albo
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Ricky Jay |
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Gambling & Bunco |
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To order any item from
this page,
please contact Byron Walker at
byron.walker@comcast.net
510-276-1854
P.O. Box 3186
San Leandro, CA 94578 |
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Jonathan Green – Gambling
Unmasked! or the Personal Experience of J. H. Green the Reformed Gambler. 1848 “Third Edition, Improved”. G. B. Zieber & Co, Philadelphia. 312
pages, Frontispiece of the author (with tissue guard) and all 6 additional
plates present. Copy has been trimmed
and rebound in drab but solid boards with cloth spine. Only minor foxing to the early pages. $350 |
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Erdnase – The Expert
at the Card Table. The famous
“Centennial Edition” published anonymously in 2002 for the 100th
anniversary of the highly valued first edition.
Limited to only 750 copies and long out of print. The closest facsimile published – gold
stamped on front cover and spine on green cloth. New copy in original shrink wrap with
informative Publisher’s Note on this production. $125 |
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Shams, or Uncle Ben’s
Experience with Hypocrites by John S. Draper. 1899, 412 pages in attractive pictorial,
silver stamped maroon cloth. Back cover
water spotted, otherwise good. “Uncle
Ben’s trip to Chicago and California and his experience with the shams and
sharpers of the Metropolitan world” $45 |
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The Odds Against Me
by John Scarne. 1966, 537 pages plus 16
pages of photographs. This is the
expanded version, not just the 412 page The Amazing World of John Scarne (1956
with no photos). A fine copy in fine,
price-clipped DJ. $30 |
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MacDougall on Dice
and Cards by Mickey MacDougall.
1944, HB, vi plus 90 illustrated pages.
Cheating at craps, poker, gin rummy and black jack, interesting Glossary
of terms, etc. Nice, clean copy. $20 |
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Sting Shift: The
Street-Smart Cop’s Handbook of Cons and Swindles by Lindsay Smith and Bruce
Walstad. 1993, 128 pages. A fine compendium of cons, carnival game
swindles, shortchanging, pickpocketing, gypsy scams, etc. Extensive Bibliography and Glossary of
terms. New copy. $25 |
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Dealing Casino
Blackjack by Thomas Hughes. 1979
First Edition with the fine photos. Iii
plus 59 pages, 8 ½ by 11, 46 large clear photos.
Two pages of cheating, Glossary of terms. Nice clean copy. $20 |
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Nick the Greek: King
of the Gamblers by Cy Rice. 1969
First Edition. xv plus 235 pages.
Explains some of his cheating methods along with great anecdotes. Fine copy in fine DJ. $20 |
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Play Gin to Win
by Irwin Steig. 1965, 142 pages, fine HB
copy in near fine DJ. Contains 8 pages
on cheating, 9 pages on card memory, 5 page Glossary, etc. $15 |
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The Big Con: The
Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game by David Mauer. 1949 Pocket Books Edition. 316 pages.
A decent SB reading copy. $10 |
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“Yellow Kid” Weil –
Con Man as told to W. T. Brannon.
1957 Pyramid Books Edition. 192
pages. A decent SB reading copy in
pictorial yellow (appropriate) covers.
$10 |
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Making Lemonade the
John Scarne Way by Bill Ragsdale was introduced at the Conference
on Magic
History Nov 8, 2013 and sold out in an hour. This
is the biography of John Scarne, well illustrated
with photos, many
in color, New edition enlarged to 76 pages, 8 ½ by 11. Included
is a 22 page Checklist of Scarne’s books, articles, films and
games. $25 |
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A Grand Expose
of the
Science of Gambling by “An Adept”.
A nice HB reprint, gold stamped on front cover and spine,
of the rare
1860 treatise on cheating. “A complete disclosure of the secrets
of the art as
practiced by professional gamblers”. This
has a new Preface by David Ben. Limited to
only 500 copies, xiv plus 167 pages. New
copies, only $45 |
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Finding the Center by
Antonio Zuccaro. 2011, limited to only
750 copies, numbered and signed by the author on the tipped in color
frontispiece, 79 pages, 123 photos,
bibliography. The only comprehensive
book on the legendary center deal. New
copies - $29 |
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The Gamblers. Time-Life Publication, 1978. 240 pages, 8 ½ by 11, in plush brown embossed
covers with a poker cheating scene on the front cover. Color and b & W photos throughout of
gambling apparatus, often for advantage play.
Bibliography. Fine copy of a
beautiful book. $25 |
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Facts and
Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards by William Andrew
Chatto. London, 1848 First Edition, viii
plus 343 pages plus 8 pages of ads plus many plates and illustrations throughout.
Original brown embossed cloth, title on spine in gilt. Chipping at top and bottom of spine,
internally a fine, unmarked copy with all pages, plates, end papers, etc. In fact, largely unopened. Although overlooked by Toole-Stott, this
contains some card magic, cheating at cards, references to Reginald Scot, and a
Bibliography of early works. $150. |
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Erdnase – The Expert at the Card Table.
A new 2015 hardbound edition by Chuck Romano. The classic text has been re-typeset and the
original artwork cleaned and enhanced for greater clarity. The full 205 pages has been nicely bound in
the familiar green cloth with gold stamping on the front cover and spine to
match the 1902 First Edition and retain its charm. $50 |
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Revelations by Dai Vernon.
The 1984 First Edition. A mint
copy in mint dust jacket. $100 |
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The Expert at the Card Table by S. W. Erdnase. 1944 Fleming Book
Company edition with added 13 page Critical Comments by Professor Hoffmann and
a new “Preface to the Enlarged Edition” by Paul Fleming. Back cover has a crease, otherwise the book is
near fine in the colorful dust jacket (with a chunk missing from the top and
bottom of dust jacket spine). $100 |
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The Magician and the Cardsharp by Karl Johnson. The story of Dai Vernon’s search for the
reclusive cardsharp Allen Kennedy and the center deal. 2005 First Edition, as new in as new DJ. Xii plus 351 pages plus 8 pages of
photographic plates. Seven page
Bibliography. $26 |
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Dealing With Cheats by A. D. Livingston. 1973 First Edition. “Illustrated methods of cardsharps, dice
hustlers and other gambling swindles”.
320 pages, 104 photos, Bibliography.
Fine copy in fine DJ. $25 |
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The Amazing World of John Scarne.
1956 First Edition. 412 pages. Previous owner’s name on
front free endpaper. Very nice copy in
dust jacket. $25 |
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Gambling Collectibles: A Sure Winner (with Price Guide) by Leonard
Schneir. 1993, 160 pages, 8 ½ by 11,
full color throughout. Nicely inscribed
by the author! The best guide to
collecting gambling items published.
Also contains a chronological check-list of antique poker books
(1836-1941). Bibliography, gambling
contacts (I’m listed), etc. VG copy of a
beautiful and useful book. $30 |
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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 |
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Ted Lesley’s Working
Performer’s Marked Deck Manual. 52
pages in pictorial wraps with a small supply of marking material. $20 |
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Revelation by Dai Vernon. 2008 first edition. 392
oversize pages (9” by 12”), HB in DJ
placed in an archival dust jacket protector at no charge.
This contains the entire text of Erdnase with Vernon’s long-lost
annotations and more than 160
photographs of Vernon’s
hands. Added are more than 100 pages of Vernon material
– Topping
the Deck, Walter Scott’s Second Deal, the Ping Pong Shift, Allen
Kennedy’s
Center Deal , lots of historical material and much more.
New copies – a bargain for only $65 |
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The Annotated Erdnase by Darwin
Ortiz. 1991, 270 pages 8 ½ by 11,
HB in
DJ placed in an archival dust jacket protector at no charge. The best volume to study Erdnase, plus
Appendex I (new moves) and Appendix II (the search for Erdnase, death
certificate
for Milton Franklin Andrews, etc.) New
copies - $45 |
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Gambling Tricks
With
Cards Part Two by Nick Trost. 1975
and long out or print. 27 pages, 8
½ by
11 in pictorial covers. (this material
is independent of Part One). Fine
copy. $15 |
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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 |
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Senator Crandall,
How
to Stack Dice. 20 well illustrated pages. Mint copy.
$5 |
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How to Win at Poker
by John Moss. 1973, 92 pages, a general
guide, strong on bluffing and detecting bluffing. Nice
poker quiz at end. Nice clean copy. $10 |
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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 |
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Poker Deal
by Harry Canar. 1958. 13 pages. Fine copies. $2 |
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The Gambler's
Paradise by Joseph Ovette. 12 pages. Mint copies.
$2 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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
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Tricks and Traps by Clifton
Wooldridge. 36 pages with the super
cover depicting seven of the swindles. A
scarce pamphlet from the early 1900s on crooked gambling,“swindles worked on the unwary”,
con games and “faker’s
snares”. I love that last
term….. A very nice, complete copy. $50
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Second to None: The
Art of Second Dealing by Simon Lovell. 2013
greatly enlarged and improved Second Edition. 156
pages, 112 photos. A
comprehensive treatise on the techniques,
magic applications, gambling applications and a historical review
– Erdnase,
Robert-Houdin, Poker by Hardison, etc. New
copies in stock. $30 |
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Cheating at Texas Hold-Em: A Modern
Guide to the Art of Deception and Illicit Play at the Card Table by
John
Born. First Edition, 2010.
560 pages, many hundreds of photos. The
majority of the ruses can be applied to
any card game. A beautiful and
comprehensive guide to card cheating. New
copies in stock. $55 |
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52 Ways to Cheat at
Poker by Allan Kronzek. 2008 First
Edition, xii plus 192 pages. “52
ways”
is quite modest as there are a lot more than 52 in here….. New copies in stock. Only
$13 |
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Don’t Get Taken!
Bunco and Bunkum Exposed is by Robert Steiner, past
national president
of the Society of American Magicians and lecturer on fraud and bunco. In this 206 page SB book he exposes the cons,
swindles and scams of con men, gamblers, psychics, blood readers,
carnival
operators, psychic surgeons, etc. Included
is a six page bibliography. Published in
1989 at $14.95, I have several new copies at
$14. |
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Hunt & Company
Gambling Catalog. 188 N. Wells St,
Chicago. 32 pages 3 ¾” by 6”, printed in
blue ink. Cheating
items throughout – Hunt’s Pippin, Floats, Acme Edge Work, Mysto Mark, Wonder
Cop, Luminous Work, Pepper Gold, Detachable Concealer, etc. Tiny piece from upper corner of front cover, otherwise
very nice. With illustrated instruction sheet on dice box trick. Both - $40 |
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