Harry Anderson's Games You Can't Lose: A Guide for Suckers

I first read "Games You Can't Lose" by Harry Anderson over a decade ago. This book sparked my interest in gambling and betting (maybe not a good thing...). That having been said, "Games You Can't Lose" is an amusing little overview of games of chance which is chock full of proposition bets and tricks that would work perfectly at the local tavern to win you a couple of drinks. Anderson has amusing games, such as playing poker by picking the cards you want right out of the deck! (Read the book for the angle.) When you see Anderson playing Judge Stone in Night Court or the recurring bit part in Cheers as "Harry the Hat" you will realize that he really was not acting!

Harry Anderson won acclaim as the affable judge in Night Court. He was also well known for his cameos on Cheers, where he swindled Norm, Cliff and crew with relative ease. Harry Anderson was also a successful magician, and has hosted several cable specials on the subject. Before all of that, Harry Anderson was a con man, and a good one at that. In this little volume, Anderson sets forth a number of entertaining cons, and strategies that can be used at the bar. For the most part, these swindles are not going to make you rich. In fact, these cons are immediately apparent for most people. If they are not apparent from the start, they will be apparent at the conclusion. It is because of this that Mr. Anderson declares that you must perform these tricks in an entertaining way, or else you might run into some well deserved violence. This book is not supposed to be a definitive list of street crime. What this book really represents is a system of thinking, a system that you can use to create more of your own games that can provide some fun at the bar. Anderson also has a decent field guide to avoiding scams. Casinos, carnivals, and street cons are all described. For many people, this should be required reading. This book is extremely entertaining. Harry Anderson writes in a quick and witty style that gives the reader the sense that Anderson is a throwback to the speakeasies and mobster era. If you're looking to make money scamming John Q. Public, don't buy this book. If you're looking for a quick and entertaining read that is fairly informative and will provide you some interesting time killers, get this book.

this book has a lot of very cunning tricks you can do to other people and you are guaranteed not to lose at any of them ,which leads to collecting a lot of bets.

This book is great. The guy who gave it 2 stars is misguided. The bits in this book are priceless. There are several bar bets, stunts, gambling advice and cons. The best part is that it is such a fun read. Definitely read this book some day before you die!!

When I was in high school I bought this book at Disneyland, and read it from cover to cover on the plane-ride back. It's absolutely the funniest, most memorable book I've ever read, and even now, 7 years later I still share anecdotes with my friends, such as "How to take your vest off without taking of your jacket", "Fooling the 3-card Monty", and various other tricks and stories.I too have lent this book out to my "friends" and have never had it returned to me. It's really a shame the book is out of print, because I really wanted to buy it all over again.