Books on gambling/betting worth reading.

[Porfirii]

I am used to seeing that in this section we talk about sources of information such as news in the media or youtubers, but little is said about the books worth reading on probability that could help us better understand the mechanics of gambling and betting.

I don't know if this thread will have a long run, but at least I would like to give it a try. So, what popular books, essays, etc. have you read that you think are worthwhile in order to improve our knowledge on the subject?

My picks would be Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow, Taleb's The Black Swan, and I've started now reading Fooled by Randomness, by Taleb too.

Although these are essays, I think they are quite easy to read.

What about you? Time is scarce and precious, and reading is time consuming, so: Any book to recommend that is worth the effort of reading?

[obuoma]

I have not read a book relating to gambling before, I never felt the need and even if I want to start reading books relating to gambling now, I do not know what information I will be looking for and what aspect of my gambling I hope to improve with those knowledge. Maybe it could be because I see gambling as something for passive income and not as an occupation. But I do know that no knowledge is a waste so I might give these books a shot, maybe it will help with the phycological aspect of gambling.

[Sammye3]

Wow, I think this would be a really good experience and could help with irresponsible gambling lifestyle, because I could already see where this is going though I haven't thought about this or ever imagined if there was ever a book for gambling lifestyle. Maybe there could one for discipline, self control and decision making but never thought about the term "gambling" as a case study for reading.

I would want to see what people here on this thread have to say on this, I would really love to look out for more knowledge on this and what effect it could have on my gambling lifestyle. This book should contain the experience of gamblers and I would learn a lot from this definitely.

[Gozie51]

Actually I have seen so many books online to read about gambling but I don't really consider them as what is needed to succeed in gambling because gambling itself doesn't follow a particular scripted way where the human mind must do or work in a particular way to achieve a particular result. Although, most of what is recorded as gambling book may be the experience of someone and the question is whether a gambler most be structured to gamble the way the writer gambled or if you are going to have same luck. I don't expect same result with what is written down and the emotional reality on ground. Reading them may be to know the experience which may not also be the same thing.

[blomen]

i don't think anyone with a gambling problem to the extent of addiction will read these books. the deeper the problem, the harder it is to accept it, and reading these books means admitting that you are an addict, or at least that you are heavily involved in gambling. i have never seen a regular smoker research the harms of smoking.

for those who decide to break free, the most important step will be to stay away from anything related to gambling. every time the word “gambling” appears before you, it will come to mind and serve as a reminder.

[Free Market Capitalist]

Regarding poker, there is a classic that I read back in the day Harrington on Hold'em.

I see that the books listed by the OP are not exactly focused on gambling, although they can help by providing a global perspective.

I think that nowadays, rather than books, if you want to understand how casinos work and the underlying mathematics, you will learn more from articles and YouTube videos (from quality sources) or even “chatting” with AI if you already have some knowledge and want to learn more.

[Accardo]

Frugal gambler by Jean Scott, in this book I learnt about the house edge, casino comps, and that players will always lose even when they've won the jackpot. The writer won so many comps, and she mentioned that through comps one could be a professional gambler, without it, the player has nothing to win. It's quite a good read.

[Rashlyowl]

Gambling & betting is not just about luck, if we understand enough, we can leverage our chances. It is an irony for me to be involved in gambling while I don't have strong literacy about it. In fact, more or less I will get something after I finish reading those books. Thanks bros @Porfirii, I think I will start from the local books we have.

[Darker45]

I cannot recall reading a book which is focused on how to improve oneself in gambling. I can only recall reading short materials on blackjack and poker many years ago. I guess the only gambling book I read was Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. It wasn't focused on improvement, though. It was rather a true-to-life story of brilliant MIT students who counted cards in Vegas. The book was a fun read.

I don't think the books mentioned in the OP are considered "books on gambling/betting".

[Derekfunds]

I don't think reading a book or books will help a gambler understand or know the mechanics of gambling and betting because if it will... Then I believe before now people would have done it years back and testify but so unfortunate no one has done it and I personally, I don't believe or think reading of a book will help me understand the mechanics of gambling more than I understood it now. There's actually nothing to read if you know gambling is a game of win or lose and a game where winning is not guarantee and loss is inevitable so I don't think there's something that is more than this or is the book going to teach how to win regularly lol, off course it can not...

[Ronsbit]

Gambling is more of practicals than a theory. Anything about theory likely has to do with one's experience while gambling, which they had encountered while in the exercise. Although there is nothing bad about reading such books, as they would help enlighten gamblers more on gambling techniques, but practicing it would give more firsthand experience and knowledge about how it works. So while reading, it will be nice to see yourself in practice of what you are reading because that would help you gain the art of mastery, but it does not guarantee you a consistent win after all.

[Fiatless]

This topic is innovative, thank you OP. I have read a few books on avoiding gambling addiction. One of the books is Might Bite: The Secret Life of a Gambling Addict by Patrick Foster. It is a good piece about the secret struggle of the main character on how to avoid addiction. Regarding gambling education, I prefer reading short articles about strategies. Maybe I will start from the books Porfirii shared since there might be spare time this holiday season.

[aysha9853]

Honestly I have never read a book about gambling or betting, most of what I learned came from experience and a lot of mistakes, that said this thread is interesting and makes me think it could be worth reading at least one book to better understand probability and risk instead of just relying on gut feeling.

[allfriends88]

What about you? Time is scarce and precious, and reading is time consuming, so: Any book to recommend that is worth the effort of reading?

Books that cover gambling must be quite extensive, whereas gamblers prefer to search for information on an as-needed basis, so I often use chatGPT help to simply find out the betting mechanics that I want and really need to know at that time.

[Juicyhome]

Honestly I have never read a book about gambling or betting, most of what I learned came from experience and a lot of mistakes, that said this thread is interesting and makes me think it could be worth reading at least one book to better understand probability and risk instead of just relying on gut feeling.

The books on gambling should be remedy for addiction anything outside that is useless to me, because book reading won't help your win a bet , they're not expert gambler. And no one is qualified to write on gambling winning but means of preventing addiction.

I'll not waste my time reading any book that won't help me win a bet, I'm not suffering from addiction I know my limits in gambling and I play gamble when I'm free and I expect nothing from it. If I win I celebrate, if I lose I let go without any strange feelings. I don't need to read to know these things.

[Hatchy]

What about you? Time is scarce and precious, and reading is time consuming, so: Any book to recommend that is worth the effort of reading?

That's a good thought. I've never really considered this part when it comes to gambling. Majority of us just focus on learning how to gamble or beat our games, but we never really dive deep into the psychology aspect of gambling. These kind of books and articles doesn't only teach us how to go about gambling but handling some financial issues in real life. I was going to ask if you have gone through these few one you've listed here? I'm not much of a reader because like you said it's time consuming.. Id rather listen to audio books which is much easier for me since I'm usually very busy most times of the day...

[rachael9385]

I am used to seeing that in this section we talk about sources of information such as news in the media or youtubers, but little is said about the books worth reading on probability that could help us better understand the mechanics of gambling and betting.

I don't know if this thread will have a long run, but at least I would like to give it a try. So, what popular books, essays, etc. have you read that you think are worthwhile in order to improve our knowledge on the subject?

My picks would be Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow, Taleb's The Black Swan, and I've started now reading Fooled by Randomness, by Taleb too.

Although these are essays, I think they are quite easy to read.

What about you? Time is scarce and precious, and reading is time consuming, so: Any book to recommend that is worth the effort of reading?

It is okay to read books on gambling but personally I think it is a waste of time to read such books because it is possible to everything there is to know about gambling without reading those books. I feel like people that sell those courses or books are just after making money from it. it is not really going to make much of a difference in the long run but it is also not a bad idea if you feel the need to get it

[bakasabo]

What exactly do people who read books on gambling expect to get? Gaming experience? Books dont give it. Secret strategy? If it is in a book then it is not secret. Help to win more often? You can read any science book, but it wont make you a scientist. Most of books about gambling are someone else life stories. Stories when a person took risk and won or lost. Those books can be motivational literature only. But do really people need that motivation to win if they gamble anyway.

[Rruchi man]

I have not read a book relating to gambling before, I never felt the need...

This is how people will feel as well, because considering the number of categories of books to read—books on self-development, books on business, books on romance, etc.—not many will be considering reading books to help them gamble better.

... but little is said about the books worth reading on probability that could help us better understand the mechanics of gambling and betting.

Another reason books on gambling and betting are not often mentioned is because not many people read books these days; everyone is in a hurry with life, and since resources from YouTube and some other digital platforms have made learning easier, it is now a number one option. 

[Crypto Library]

I actually never read gambling or betting books, But I must say that if the gambling book talks about positive and responsible gambling in detail, then reading that book will definitely bring positive results and time will not be wasted in that regard. Because we will read that book to learn about loss control and responsible gambling methods in gambling, which will be very beneficial for keeping our financial situation stable.
So from this point of view, I would say that if someone reads a book on gambling, it will not be a loss but rather it will be worthwhile.