Games and Puzzles

Bridge, chess, poker, blackjack, betting and game design, both instructional play and the culture around the table. Read by players trying to get better and by readers who find serious thinking in games.

70 books

Books 70

Beat the Dealer

T1 Beat the Dealer

Edward O. Thorp · 1962 · Revised second edition 1966 is the standard text.

Fortune's Formula: The Untold Story of the S

T2 Fortune's Formula: The Untold Story of the Scientific Betting System That Beat the Casinos and Wall Street

William Poundstone · 2005 · Kelly criterion and information theory: the intellectual lineage Medallion trades on.

T2 Roll the Bones

David G. Schwartz · 2006 · The standard general history of gambling.

Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?

T2 Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?

William Poundstone · 2012

Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to O

T2 Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody

William Poundstone · 2014

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

T2 Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

Jason Schreier · 2017 · Development economics told through ten troubled productions.

Nate Silver · 2024 · Long treatment of Bankman-Fried and the expected-value culture he ran on.

T3 Super Casino

Pete Earley · 2000

The Ultimate History of Video Games

T3 The Ultimate History of Video Games

Steven L. Kent · 2001

Bringing Down the House

T3 Bringing Down the House

Ben Mezrich · 2002 · The MIT blackjack team; dramatised and disputed in places.

Mohnish Pabrai Howard Marks

The Poker Face of Wall Street

T3 The Poker Face of Wall Street

Aaron Brown · 2006

Marc Andreessen

Replay: The History of Video Games

T3 Replay: The History of Video Games

Tristan Donovan · 2010

T3 Console Wars

Blake J. Harris · 2014 · The console market Sony entered with PlayStation and eventually took.

Jason Schreier · 2021 · Studio closures and the industry's labour instability.

Why You Lose at Bridge

T4 Why You Lose at Bridge

S. J. Simon · 1940

Secrets of Professional Turf Betting

T4 Secrets of Professional Turf Betting

Robert L. Bacon · 1961

Bridge Squeezes Complete or Winning End Play

T4 Bridge Squeezes Complete or Winning End Play Strategy

Clyde E. Love · 1968

My 60 Memorable Games

T4 My 60 Memorable Games

Bobby Fischer · 1969

Test Your Bridge Play

T4 Test Your Bridge Play

Edwin B. Kantar · 1974

The Grasshopper

T4 The Grasshopper

Bernard Suits · 1978

Doyle Brunson's Super System: A Course in Po

T4 Doyle Brunson's Super System: A Course in Power Poker

Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson · 1979

The Complete Book on Overcalls in Contract B

T4 The Complete Book on Overcalls in Contract Bridge

Mike Lawrence · 1979

The World's Greatest Blackjack Book

T4 The World's Greatest Blackjack Book

Lance Humble, Carl Cooper · 1980

Complete Book on Balancing in Contract Bridg

T4 Complete Book on Balancing in Contract Bridge

Mike Lawrence · 1981

Modern Bridge Conventions

T4 Modern Bridge Conventions

William S. Root, Richard Pavlicek · 1981

Two over One Game Force

T4 Two over One Game Force

Max Hardy · 1982

Complete Book on Hand Evaluation in Contract

T4 Complete Book on Hand Evaluation in Contract Bridge

Mike Lawrence · 1983

The Mathematics of Gambling

T4 The Mathematics of Gambling

Edward O. Thorp · 1984

Better Bidding With Bergen

T4 Better Bidding With Bergen

Marty Bergen · 1985

Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players

T4 Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players

David Sklansky · 1988

How to Play Card Combinations

T4 How to Play Card Combinations

Mike Lawrence · 1988

How to Play a Bridge Hand

T4 How to Play a Bridge Hand

William S. Root · 1990

T4 Bridge My Way

Zia Mahmood · 1991

The Expert Beginner

T4 The Expert Beginner

Danny Roth · 1992

To Bid or Not to Bid: The Law of Total Trick

T4 To Bid or Not to Bid: The Law of Total Tricks

Larry Cohen · 1992

Winning Blackjack for the Serious Player

T4 Winning Blackjack for the Serious Player

Edwin Silberstang · 1993

Points Schmoints!: Bergen's Winning Bridge S

T4 Points Schmoints!: Bergen's Winning Bridge Secrets

Marty Bergen · 1995

25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know

T4 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know

Barbara Seagram, Marc Smith · 1999

Eddie Kantar Teaches Modern Bridge Defense

T4 Eddie Kantar Teaches Modern Bridge Defense

Eddie Kantar · 1999

Standard Bridge Bidding for the 21st Century

T4 Standard Bridge Bidding for the 21st Century

Max Hardy, Mike Lawrence · 2000

Advanced Bridge Bidding for the 21st Century

T4 Advanced Bridge Bidding for the 21st Century

Max Hardy · 2002

Bridge: 25 Steps to Learning 2/1

T4 Bridge: 25 Steps to Learning 2/1

Paul Thurston · 2002

25 More Bridge Conventions You Should Know

T4 25 More Bridge Conventions You Should Know

Barbara Seagram, David Bird · 2003

Frank Stewart's Bridge Club

T4 Frank Stewart's Bridge Club

Frank Stewart · 2003

Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs

T4 Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker

James McManus · 2003

T4 Rules of Play

Katie Salen Tekinbaş, Eric Zimmerman · 2003

Two Over One in a Nutshell: Modern Concepts

T4 Two Over One in a Nutshell: Modern Concepts for Winning Bridge

Dee Berry · 2003

T4 One of a Kind

Nolan Dalla · 2005

Jason Calacanis

The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide K

T4 The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time

Michael Craig · 2005

Chamath Palihapitiya

Two Over One Game Force Quiz Book

T4 Two Over One Game Force Quiz Book

Max Hardy · 2006

How Life Imitates Chess

T4 How Life Imitates Chess

Garry Kasparov · 2007

The Art of Game Design

T4 The Art of Game Design

Jesse Schell · 2008

Nir Eyal Ryan Hoover

Modern Losing Trick Count Flipper

T4 Modern Losing Trick Count Flipper

Ron Klinger · 2009

Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better

T4 Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can 89 Change the World

Jane McGonigal · 2011

T4 Free-to-Play

Will Luton · 2013 · Games operator on retention, whales and the shape of monetisation curves.

Trading Bases: A Story About Wall Street, Ga

T4 Trading Bases: A Story About Wall Street, Gambling, and Baseball

Joe Peta · 2013

Thinking in Bets

T4 Thinking in Bets

Annie Duke · 2018

Ana Fabrega Julian Shapiro Marc Andreessen Michael Mauboussin Mike Cannon-Brookes

T4 Game Changer

Matthew Sadler, Natasha Regan · 2019

Bertalan Meskó Demis Hassabis

A Theory of Fun for Game Design

T4 A Theory of Fun for Game Design

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Patrick Collison

Around the World in 80 Hands

T4 Around the World in 80 Hands

Zia Mahmood

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Bridge: 25 Ways to Be a Better Defender

T4 Bridge: 25 Ways to Be a Better Defender

Barbara Seagram

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Defensive Signaling at Bridge

T4 Defensive Signaling at Bridge

David Bird

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T4 Fantasy Life

Matthew Berry

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Gary Vaynerchuk

Fiend Folio: Tome of Creatures Malevolent an

T4 Fiend Folio: Tome of Creatures Malevolent and Benign: (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons)

Don Turnbull

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T4 Japanese Chess

Trevor Leggett

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Learn to Play Go: A Master's Guide to the Ul

T4 Learn to Play Go: A Master's Guide to the Ultimate Game (Volume I) (Learn to Play Go Series)

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Patrick Collison

My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles (Dove

T4 My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles (Dover Recreational Math)

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Patrick Collison

New Minor, Fourth Suit, Forcing Notrump Resp

T4 New Minor, Fourth Suit, Forcing Notrump Responses: The Complete Guide to the Use of Modern Bidding

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The Chicken from Minsk: And 99 Other Infuria

T4 The Chicken from Minsk: And 99 Other Infuriatingly Challenging Brain Teasers from the Great Russian Tradition of Math and Science

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Patrick Collison

The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Ta

T4 The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling

Adam Kucharski

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Patrick O'Shaughnessy