UBC: Knights of the Green Cloth
May. 9th, 2010 05:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
truepennyDeArment, Robert K. Knights of the Green Cloth: The Saga of the Frontier Gamblers. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1982.
Essentially, this book is a compendium of anecdotes about frontier gamblers, ranging from Luke Short to Soapy Smith. It is not in any sense academic, but it's fun and gossipy, and it does give a sense of the milieu. My major complaint is that, aside from the rules of faro, DeArment explains almost none of the arcana of nineteenth century gambling (and cheating), but throws phrases like "dealing seconds" around with abandon.
My favorite person in the book is Poker Alice.
Essentially, this book is a compendium of anecdotes about frontier gamblers, ranging from Luke Short to Soapy Smith. It is not in any sense academic, but it's fun and gossipy, and it does give a sense of the milieu. My major complaint is that, aside from the rules of faro, DeArment explains almost none of the arcana of nineteenth century gambling (and cheating), but throws phrases like "dealing seconds" around with abandon.
My favorite person in the book is Poker Alice.
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Date: 2010-05-10 08:08 pm (UTC)P.
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Date: 2010-08-29 09:56 pm (UTC)