Scarne's Encyclopedia of Card Games

This book provides a remarkable glimpse into the remarkable mind and the remarkable world of John Scarne. Mr. Scarne can often be verbose and confusing, and he is decidely 'full of himself'. Nonetheless, this book is well worth tolerating, because it is a treasure-house of information and history about every card game you've ever heard of, as well as many that you've never heard of at all. If you are interested in card games and their histories, you should have this book.

For casual card players, this book is a comprehensive guide. I have never seen so much detailed card-game knowledge assembled in one place. Scarne not only provides basic rules of the games, but also describes variations, strategies, and little-known factoids. This is primarily a reference work and is not designed for 'straight-through' reading.