Sucker's Progress: An Informal History of Gambling in America

by Herbert Asbury

Originally published in 1938, Sucker's Progress is a complete look at old-time gamesmanship in America. From Midwestern riverboats to East Coast racetracks, Asbury explores the legal, and illegal, history of gambling in pre–World War I America. With a keen eye and acerbic voice, Asbury defines the world of gambling as one of "sharpers" and "suckers": those who excel at the games by cheating, and their victims. From notorious gambling havens like Chicago and New Orleans to lesser-known outposts in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio, Asbury examines the gambling houses, big and small, which peppered the American landscape. Also included are photographs and details of the lives of some of America's most famous gamblers, including Mike McDonald, John Morrissey, and Richard Canfield, as well as their infamous counterparts like "Canada Bill" and "Charley Black Eyes," who made their names as grifters and con men. Asbury also details the games these men played, describing the rules and origins of a number of dice and card games. From one-dollar lottery tickets to thousand-dollar poker antes, America's love of gambling thrives today, but it was during Asbury's era that gambling was established as an American passion.

Genres: History, Crime, Nonfiction, True Crime

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Herbert Asbury (September 1, 1889 – February 24, 1963) was an American journalist and writer best known for his books detailing crime during the 19th and early-20th centuries, such as Gem of the Prairie: An Informal History of the Chicago Underworld, The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld and The Gangs of New York.

Reviews

[E. Kahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sympathetic account of the lynching of 5 alleged gamblers by the "respectable" citizens of Vicksburg (with the assistance of the local militia the Vicksburg Volunteers) must be the low point in a book largely composed of uncritically repeated tall tales and urban legends, and unremittingly boring when actually truthful.

[James]

I realized about halfway through this book that I wasn't really interested in who ran a card house for 2 years in New Orleans starting in 1867 and what different games they played there. That said it is a good history of what games were played in America leading up to the early 20th century. I'll probably skip ahead and get to the more recent (a mere 100 years ago instead of 150) time frame and finish it up later this summer.

[Roger Tavares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing research about the history of gambling in America.