John Scarne (1903–1985)

Scarne knows cards really very well. Unfortunately he also likes to talk about how brilliant John Scarne is. If you can get past that there is a great deal of information, well presented in this book. (though ignore the chapter on blackjack, time has moved on quite a lot for that game since this was written)

Amongst the good stuff is a clear demonstration of the gamblers fallacy and a quick demonstration of the advantages of knowing a single card that is either in or out of play.

This book includes an excellent photographic section on "Cheating at Cards."

The details and descriptions of all the tricks in this book were written by John Scarne. Many of the tricks are Scarne's own creations. Where a performer is listed, it indicates that he was the originator of the trick, performs it frequently, helped to improve it or avows that the trick is a favorite of his.