[glimmertwin]

It's a funny thing about poker books -- they all seem to regurgitate the same old half a dozen stories about Titanic Thompson, Puggy Pearson, Johnny Moss, etc. etc. Surely with such a rich legacy, these guys must have more than the same bunch of stories?

Des Wilson has a new history of poker out, Ghosts at the Poker Table, but I haven't had a look at it yet, so I can't vouch for it. However, one book that is worth a gander is Herbert (Gangs of New York) Asbury's book, Suckers Progress: An informal history of gambling in America. Because it's an old book, it at least has the advantage of not rolling out the same six stories about Titanic Thompson, Puggy Pearson, Johnny Moss, Amarillo Slim, etc. etc. etc. I think all of those stories originate in Jon Bradshaw and Nik Cohn's Fast Company: How six master gamblers defy the odds and always win which is well worth a read -- but you'll know all the stories already.