How Many Poker Books Are There? A Free List Of All The Poker Books Ever Written!

How many poker books are there?

There are currently 622 poker books on the market. You can find a free list with all the books at the end of this article.

You are probably wondering how did I come up with this number? The answer is simple, I counted them.

Since I couldn’t find online the correct number of all the poker books ever written, I went to various websites (mainly Amazon and Goodreads) and put all the poker-related books together into one file. It took me a few weeks to get all the data together, so the received poker book stats are as close to the actual numbers as possible.

It’s essential to assume that I missed a few books because some are no longer sold or mentioned on any website. But you can be sure that the total number of poker books received (622) is the closest to the real number you can find anywhere on the Internet.

If you know of any books that I missed, please let me know, and I will be happy to add them to the list.

Anyway, let’s look at some interesting stats that the book list allows us to pull:


Who has written the most poker books in history?

The author that has written the highest number of poker books is Jonathan Little, who published 30 books. On the chart below, you can see the top five poker book writers:


Number of poker books per author chart


AuthorNumber of Books
Jonathan Little  30
Tom McEvoy27
David Sklansky22
Mason Malmuth19
Mike Caro18
Doyle Brunson14



What is the oldest poker book?

The oldest poker books that mentioned poker include:

  • Hildreth, J. (1836) Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains
  • Green, Jonathan H. (1843). Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling
  • Cowell, Joe (1844). Thirty Years Passed Among the Players in England and America
  • Anners, Henry F. (1845) Hoyle’s Games

The first book that stated the rules of poker is New Handbook of Game by Bohn, Henry George. It was printed in 1850:

How Can You Get A Poker Audiobook For Free?


TitleAuthorPublished
New Handbook of GamesBohn, Henry George1850
The American card playerDick, Willium B.1866
The Modern Pocket HoyleTrumps 1868
The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and VictimsSteinmetz, Andrew1870
Rules for Playing PokerSchenck, Robert C.1872
The Game of Draw Poker Mathematically IllustratedWinterblossom, Henry T 1875
The Complete Card PlayerBlackbridge 1875
How to Win at Poker  John Moss1955
The Education of a Poker Player (High Stakes Classic)Herbert O. Yardley1957
The Cincinnati Kid: A Novel  Richard Jessup1963
Win at Poker  Jeff Rubens1968
Scarne’s New Complete Guide to GamblingJohn Scarne1968
Complete Guide to Winning PokerAlbert H. Morehead1973
Amarillo Slim’s Play Poker to Win: Million Dollar Strategies from the Legendary World Series of Poker Winner  Amarillo Slim Preston1973
Winning Poker SystemsNorman Zadeh1974


How many female poker book authors are there, and how many authors in total?

 

Three hundred twenty-seven people wrote at least one book about poker. Out of 327 writers, only 13 are women (two books with a woman as co-author). Such a small number of female writers proves that poker is a male-dominated game.

female poker book writers


TitleAuthorPublished
Annie Duke: How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at the World Series of Poker Annie Duke 2005
Decide to Play Great Poker: A Strategy Guide to No-Limit Texas Hold ’Em Annie Duke 2011
Heads-Up Tournament Poker: Hand-by-HandAnnie Duke 2013
How to Turn Your Poker Playing into a Business: Knowing What to Deduct to Improve Your Odds With the IRSAnn-Margaret Johnston2005
Girls’ Guide to PokerEliza Burnett2006
Poker Wit and Wisdom: Everything You’ll Never Need to Know About PokerFiona Jerome2006
Poker Face: Master Body Language to Read and Beat Your Opponents Judi James2007
Peak Poker Performance: How to Bring Your ‘A’ Game to Every Session Patricia Cardner2016
Shuffle Up and Deal Susan DiPlacido 2010
For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker Victoria Coren2009
The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win Maria Konnikova2020
Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground PokerMolly Bloom2014
Outplaying the Boys: Poker Tips for Competitive Women Cat Hulbert2005
Fundamentals of PokerLynne Loomis (co-author)2000
The Professional POker Dealer’s HandbookDonna Harris (co-author)1998

Which years have the highest number of poker books published?

Years 2005, 2006, and 2007 were the years the highest numbers of poker books were published. The high numbers of poker books printed in those years are presumably the effect of Chris Moneymaker. A 27-year-old accountant, winning the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and a US$2.5 million prize contributed to spreading poker around the World and publishing a high number of poker books.


Years with the highest number of poker books published


YearNumber of poker books published
200554
200647
200741
201434
201033
200832
201332
201132
200430
201527
201227
200324
200923
201720
201618
199712
201811
201910
20009
20029
19999
20019
19969
19957
19847
19986
19924
20204

Please click here to get the list of all the poker books ever written! I hope you will find it useful 🙂

9 Comments
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  1. Two books with a women as co-author:

    Fundamentals of Poker by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis

    The Professional POker Dealer’s Handbook by Dan Paymat, Donna Harris, and Mason Malmuth

  2. For Your information, Bartek.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_poker

    Early books discussing poker:
    Hildreth, J. (1836) Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains, Wiley & Long, New York: mentions poker
    Green, Jonathan H. (1843). Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling, Philadelphia: Zieber
    Cowell, Joe (1844). Thirty Years Passed Among the Players in England and America
    Anners, Henry F. (1845) Hoyle’s Games: refers to Poker or Bluff, 20-deck Poker, and 20-deck Poke
    Bohn, Henry George (1850) New Handbook of Games: stated the rules of poker in print for the first time
    Dick, Willium B. (1866) The American card player
    Trumps (1868) The Modern Pocket Hoyle New York: Dick & Fitzgerald
    Steinmetz, Andrew (1870) The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims, London: Tinsley Brothers
    Schenck, Robert C. (1872)Rules for Playing Poker, private circulation
    Winterblossom, Henry T (1875) The Game of Draw Poker Mathematically Illustrated
    Blackbridge (1875) The Complete Card Player

  3. I am writing a book on business body language and talk about poker face.

    Can I determine how many of the books you have identified talk about poker face (that is, without getting and reading all of them!)?

    Thanks for your help.

  4. Hi Bartek

    Winning 7-card Stud, Ashley Adams, 2002 Kensington/Lyle Stuart
    Winning No Limit Hold’em, Ashley Adams 2012, Lighthouse/Prostar
    Winning Poker in 30 Minutes a Day 2020 D&B Poker

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