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Ghosts at the Table: Riverboat Gamblers, Texas Rounders, Roadside Hucksters, and the Living Legends Who Made Poker What It Is Today | 
 enlarge | Author: Des Wilson
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy New: $7.44
You Save: $18.56 (71%)
New (13) Used (17) from $5.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 230634
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.4
ISBN: 0306816288
Dewey Decimal Number: 900
EAN: 9780306816284
ASIN: 0306816288
Publication Date: April 21, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Destined to become “the new poker classic, a must-read” (Mike Sexton, top poker player and promoter), Ghosts at the Table is the game’s first definitive history. With verve and wit, internationally renowned poker personality Des Wilson traces poker’s Wild West origins in Deadwood, South Dakota-where “Wild” Bill Hickok was said to have been shot holding aces and eights-to the annual World Series of Poker and amazing high-stakes games of modern-day Las Vegas. It’s a story full of unforgettable characters-riverboat gamblers, Texas rounders, roadside hucksters, and living legends-who have helped make poker the world’s most popular game.
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| Customer Reviews:
From Hickock to Negreanu April 22, 2008
Good read - I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of poker from the early days of riverboats and gunslingers through the Texas/Southern Circuit of the mid 20th century to Vegas and now the world. Wilson weaves a good tale of the changes in the game through time, illustrated with numerous stories about events that actually happened but seem too fantastic to be true.
In researching this book Wilson visited many locations and interviewed many individuals that were pivotal in poker's path from the riverboat to today. And his portrayal of location adds significantly to his story. If you've read T.J. Cloutier's books you will recognize some of his favorite stories. And if you aren't familiar with the role played by Benny Benion in making Vegas the center of the poker world the section dealing with Benny's career should be an eye opener though his portrayal as a rather one-dimensional character simplifies a bit too much. Players familiar only with today's casino-based antiseptic game and who've never awakened to find a knot on their head and their pockets empty after leaving a game the winner will gain a new perspective from the hijacking stories. These stories alone are worth the price of the book.
If I like the book so much then why only three stars? Maybe it's because I know too much. For example on page 76, in a discussion of games in Odessa, Wilson writes of "nearby Graham" - well, Graham is about 250 miles from Odessa, and in the the middle of the last century with narrow two-lane roads "nearby" is hardly the proper adjective. Google Maps estimates the trip today to be 4 hours, 16 minutes. Based on my experience the last time I made that drive they're about on target.
And on page 93, in an apparent quote from Sailor Roberts, Wilson writes: "'This was the toughest place I've ever played in,' Sailor says. 'There were forty of us that hung around together there and, apart from Sailor and me, they were all either dead or in the penitentiary by the time they were thirty-five.'" Accuracy of the description of the Fort Worth stockyards area and Jacksboro Highway in the 30s through the 60s is not in question. However one does have to question whether Sailor referred to himself in the third person as well as in duplicate. I'd swear I've read that quote before but with it being attributed to someone other than Sailor Roberts. Wilson may have been quoting from another source such as Brunson, perhaps in "My 50 Most Memorable Hands". Since Roberts departed this planet long before Wilson began his research for the book it is obvious that the attribution to Sailor is an error.
Taken as a whole I do recommend the book. I'd give it five stars if my ignorance level were slightly higher. Can't do that though! I'd have much preferred to see this product after being worked over by a more knowledgeable editor.
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