John Scarne is internationally regarded as an expert gambler but he's also a magician who has been called upon by governments for consultancy (in gambling, we suppose, not magic). While it's a few decades old now, his Complete Guide to Gambling remains a critical reference book.

Referencing a broad range of gambling games, Scarne's book details rules, analyses strategic play, and offers tips and advice. It's also full of quotes and interviews from industry experts and celebrities known to the writer. Consider this book a practical dip into encyclopaedia of gambling.

Poker players will know that Harrington on Hold 'em is actually a series of three books that offers detailed analysis of tournament poker tactics. The trilogy helps you to read your opponents and the table, understand positioning, calculate potential hands and analyse strategy. Harrington even went on produce books on cash games and online poker. Even if you're a novice at poker, this is a crucial guide for any aspiring Phil Ivey or Doyle Brunson.

Edward O. Thorp proved his success at gambling in 1966 with Beat the Dealer - a guide to optimum Blackjack play (also well worth a read). Since then Thorp has mastered the financial markets and put pen to paper in 2017 to share the secrets of his success

Strictly speaking, A Man For All Markets this is an autobiography. However, written by a man who wants to share his enormous success, it reads like a 'how to' manual on how to be a gambler. The book is full of tips and tricks, maths and stats, and all from an amazing personal perspective. Consider this a guide of what not to do as much as what to do. A no-brainer for our essential list.

Proving how fantastical real life can be, Ben Mezrich charts the seemingly impossible feat of beating the house. In the 1970s and 1980s, six of America's brightest undergrads cooked up a daring plan to overcome the blackjack house edge by devising a card counting system. It wasn't strictly illegal, but certainly highly dodgy if you want to make it through to your graduation with your kneecaps intact. Indeed, at its height, whole casinos were full of MIT teams working the tables and winning fortunes.

The teams' notorious accomplishments have since been adapted into a Hollywood film, 21, starring Kevin Spacey. The film added in some bloody revenge from the casinos (which didn't happen in real life). But even without the violence, Bringing Down The House is still a tense, fascinating look at how systems can really win in the end - until the casinos get wise. Mezrich's sequel, Breaking Vegas, is also highly recommended.

John Scarne is internationally regarded as an expert gambler but he's also a magician who has been called upon by governments for consultancy (in gambling, we suppose, not magic). While it's a few decades old now, his Complete Guide to Gambling remains a critical reference book.

If the title intrigues you, you ain't seen nothing yet. Michael Konik, sports betting journalist and well connected on the on the high roller circuit, travelled American meeting crazy gamblers who can't resist a prop bet. His book is an amazing read, offering a collection of stories about the exploits and escapades of the hard-core gamblers who will do anything for money. The highlight is the titular man who took a $100k bet he wouldn't get breast implants. You can work out what happened next...

Former England cricket captain Atherton takes a searching look at the modern gambling scene since the introduction of the 2005 Gambling Act in the UK. Reflecting on every facet of gambling's broad reach Atherton's scrupulous gaze reveals a brave new world where gambling is more commonplace and accepted than many people realise.

From dabbling in stocks and shares to buying a lottery ticket, Atherton meets with everyone from the super-rich to the everyman to explore the modern state of gambling. The book was written in 2005 so we don't get too much the online poker boom, Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, or the rise of mobile gambling. Perhaps another version, Mr. Atherton?

Not just a great collection of poker stories, this is a superb list of authors uniquely celebrating every facet of the much loved gambling game.

Described here as the 'quintessential writer's game' this wonderful treasury has given a wide range of authors the opportunity to explore their passion for the game in creative fashion. Stories include a heads-up with Shakespeare, a ghost repaying a debt and a table that features Goldilocks, Beauty, and the Minotaur's Wife.

It's rare to have such a wealth of talented writers in one book, and even if you're not into poker it's intoxicating stuff. Superb bedtime reading to stimulate your poker ambition.

European society mid-1800s, and apparently no-one is impervious to the treachery of the roulette table. Everyone falls under its spell whether wicked or well meaning, from high society or low, they all succumb and are ruined./p>

Of course the tale of The Gambler is as fascinating to the modern gambler as the reason it is told. Dostoyevsky, with a weakness for roulette himself, has accrued substantial debt and is contracted to write a novella in a month to repay it. The result is a tale that speaks volumes of human weaknesses and our turbulent attitude towards gambling. An education to anyone who thinks they can handle their urges.