Ghosts at the Table: Riverboat Gamblers, Texas Rounders, Roadside Hucksters, and the Living Legends Who Made Poker What it is Today

by Des Wilson

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.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2007

About the author

Des Wilson is a New Zealand born British campaigner, political activist, businessman, sports administrator, author and Poker player. He was one of the founders of the British homelessness charity Shelter and was for a while an activist in, and President of, the British Liberal Party. He is now most well known for his writing on Poker.

Reviews

[John Pollard · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read on the history of poker. I personally like more hand discussion and explanation slotted in to the more general story telling. I really enjoyed the all too brief section at the end where Des Wilson describes his own entrance and progress in the WSoP.

[Santiago Mansilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read about poker history and the main players that help to creat the "poker boom" during 2003. Very entertaining, informative and well written.

[Ray Avedian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to other poker players. If you're someone who doesn't already like poker, like my wife, I doubt it will do anything for you and you will probably not think it's worth your time.

I really liked Wilson's tone and style, which made me feel I was hearing stories over a beer at a bar. I especially appreciated the part describing his search for and the final fate of Hal Fowler, the dude who won the 1978 WSOP Main Event by outdrawing Bobby Hoff 3 or 4 million times and then dropped off the planet.

I had three problems with the book which kept me from giving it a full five stars. These are idiosyncratic to me and might not bother you at all.
1) Wilson spends a fair amount of time talking about early to mid 19th century poker without ever explaining that the game was played with a 20 card deck, and that straights and flushes didn't count. That's enough to make it almost a different game from poker today and explains why those early stories always felt a little off somehow. For example, it always seemed strange to me that hustlers and conmen never rigged the deck to give their marks a straight flush and themselves a royal. Instead it was always 4 aces over 4 kings or something like that. Well, with a 20 card deck, 4 aces *is* the highest hand possible. In case you're interested, the 52 card deck appears to have been introduced in the second half of the 19th century, flushes came soon after, and the straight sometime in the early 1900's.
2) When he gets to talking about Doyle, Slim, and Sailor, Wilson tells how when they came to Vegas for the first time, they were beaten badly and humiliated by Puggy Pearson. Sounds like that would make a great story, right? Sadly, there's no elaboration.
3) Like I said earlier, one of my favorite parts of the book is when Wilson tracks down what happened to Hal Fowler. I had been hoping he would go into at least a bit of the same for Joey Hawthorne, who while not a main event champion was at least big enough to have written the lowball section of Super/System. But there's no mention of him.

Those points aside, the book is a good read, as I said.

[David Carraturo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghosts was an excellent read. I am a poker history buff and this book provided a thorough history of poker from its beginnings to present day. It was done chronologically and dispelled myths and half-stories that have perpetuated over time. Des Wilson's research was exceptional and well thought out. He did something that I would love to do, research and play the game I love all under the guise of writing a book. Brilliant, I have to tell my wife that I need to go off and research poker across the US for a year! His description of every aspect of the game, the players and the back stories was engrossing. I played at the WSOP in 2006 so I read his ending with acute interest. I would recommend this book to any poker player, which there are a lot of in this world. The only downside I see is that if you are not as passionate about the game/sport as I am, you may not have an interest in reading much of it and appreciate how much work was done to put the project together. Thankfully, there are millions of poker players that are Des Wilson's core audience that will enjoy this read.

[Malcolm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure fans will appreciate this, but I found this history of poker in many of its forms dull, laboured, and over-reliant on knowing who was who. I guess it comes down to the simple fact that I have trouble seeing cards as an engaging spectator sport.

[Jeff Brailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An incredible history of Poker in the USA. This is a must read for anyone who wishes to be a well-rounded player.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for poker players and history buffs. Stories about poker players in the wild west up until the present.

[Richard Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

some good stuff on the early days, but its padded out with the same old stories that have been told and printed 100s of times already.