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The best books for learning card games
You may not need a book at all. For the games we teach, our rules pages explain the rules in plain words and the practice games let you try them. A book helps when you want a game we have not written up, or when two people remember the rules differently.
Here are eleven to consider. Four cover many games, five are about one game or one kind of game, and the last two are a history of playing cards and a book of card magic. Each says who it is for and what it gives up.
If you want one book to start with, take Card Night. If you already know which game you want to learn, go straight to the books for one game at a time.
How we pick
We have not read these books ourselves. What a book contains comes from its publisher's description. Where we found an opinion from someone else, such as a bridge teachers' association, a game historian or a cribbage writer, the pick names them. For the four collections we found little beyond what their publishers say.
In each of the first two groups, the first book is the one we would suggest first. That is our judgment, and where we are less sure of a book, the pick says why. The last two books do not teach a game, so they come last. We do not order books by what they earn us.
In October 2026 we matched every link to its book by ISBN, the number that tells one edition from another. We cannot see Amazon's stock or sellers, so look at the listing before you buy. Where we have a reason to think a book is hard to find new, the pick says so.
Books that teach many games
If you want to learn several games, or you do not yet know which one you want, start here. These come first because they suit the most readers.
Card Night
Best for someone who wants to learn several games from one book
Will Roya's Card Night teaches 52 classic games with step-by-step, illustrated instructions. It has two indexes, one by difficulty and one by the number of players, so you can find a game for the people you have. The publisher names Hearts, Bridge, Rummy and Go Fish among them. We put it first because the next three have narrower jobs. One is for looking rules up, one is aimed at children, and one is for people who already know the usual games.
Gives up: depth on any one game. With 52 games and the story of famous decks in 256 pages, each game gets only a few pages, so it will not settle every argument about the rules.
Hoyle's Modern Encyclopedia of Card Games
Best for settling arguments about the rules of the standard games
The publisher describes Walter B. Gibson's encyclopedia as an A-to-Z guide to card games, from All Fours to Zebra Poker. It lists the games alphabetically, explains the rules with symbols, charts and drawings, and points you to variations of each game. A glossary and index gives definitions of terms and the other names for each game. If you already own According to Hoyle or Hoyle's Rules of Games, both on our rules page, you probably do not need this one as well.
Gives up: it was first published in 1974, so games and rule changes since then are not in it. It also covers poker, which this site does not teach.
The Ultimate Book of Family Card Games
Best for a family teaching children, or anyone starting with the easiest games
Oliver Ho's book has over 50 games sorted by type and difficulty. One retailer's description says they range from easy ones such as Snap to hard ones such as Euchre. The publisher names Rummy, Spades, War, Old Maid, Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Hearts, and says each game has instructions, winning strategies and illustrations.
Gives up: depth for experienced players. Over 50 games in 128 pages leaves each entry short, so an experienced player will want a fuller book for the games they care about most.
Card Games Around the World
Best for players who know the usual games and want new ones from other countries
The publisher describes Sid Sackson as a leading inventor and collector of games and an expert on game history. He chose over 60 popular games from Asia, Europe, the British Isles, Latin America and the United States. Most need only a standard deck, and some will be familiar, such as Whist, Cribbage and Hearts.
Gives up: long entries. Over 60 games in a short paperback leaves little room for each. It is also a reprint of a 1981 book, and its description names Poker and Blackjack, which we do not teach here.
Four more general references are on our rules page: According to Hoyle, Hoyle's Rules of Games, The Penguin Book of Card Games and Card Games For Dummies.
One game at a time
If you play Canasta, Solitaire, Bridge or Cribbage, start with the book for that game. The order here is how sure we are of each book, not how popular its game is.
Ultimate Guide to Modern Canasta (2nd edition)
Best for people who play Modern American Canasta and want rules and strategy in one book
Sue and Alan Silberstein founded the Canasta League of America in 2012 to standardize the rules of Modern American Canasta. They wrote this book with Jennifer Jackson-Strage. The publisher says it follows the league's current rules, and the league's own website features this second edition as its guide to Modern American Canasta. It is first in this group because the league's founders wrote it and the league promotes it.
Gives up: it teaches Modern American Canasta, the league's standardized version, so check that your group plays it. Classic Canasta and Hand and Foot are played differently. The 2024 first edition has its own listing, so check that you are buying the second.
The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games
Best for Solitaire players who want many more games than the usual one
The publisher says Albert H. Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith's book gives instructions, the time each game takes and the odds of winning for over 225 games. They include Klondike, the game most Americans mean by Solitaire (our rules for it), and Canfield. The game historian David Parlett credits the authors with settling conflicting rules and being the first to sort solitaire games into logical groups. A list of solitaire books with notes on the Solitaire Laboratory website calls this one perhaps the best ever, with only Parlett's own 1979 book as a rival.
Gives up: the winning odds are only approximate, and that same list says they appear to be frequently, sometimes wildly, inaccurate. It is also an old book. The edition we link is a small paperback first printed in 1983.
A Taste of Bridge
Best for a complete beginner who wants a short course before a first game of Bridge
Jeff Bayone owns a large New York bridge club and has taught Bridge for more than 40 years. He based this book on the club's beginners' course, a series of six lessons. It won the American Bridge Teachers' Association's Newcomer Book of the Year award in 2018, the first year the association gave that award.
Gives up: it is only an introduction. The publisher says it is meant to leave the reader wanting to learn more, so plan on a second book.
Bridge For Dummies (4th edition)
Best for adults who know nothing about Bridge and want a full-length guide
Eddie Kantar, a Grand Master of the World Bridge Federation and a two-time world champion, wrote it. It covers bidding and play in Rubber Bridge, the kind most often played casually, and in Duplicate Bridge, the kind played at clubs and tournaments. Karen's Bridge Library, a bridge teacher's website, calls it an entertaining, detailed introduction. BridgeChamp, an online bridge site, put it first in its 2024 list of ten books for beginners.
Gives up: length. At 432 pages it is a bigger first step than A Taste of Bridge.
Edition: this link is the 4th edition (2016, ISBN 978-1-119-24782-1). The publisher, Wiley, lists a 5th edition for March 2027. It says that edition focuses on 2-over-1 Game Force, the bidding system favored by serious club players and tournament competitors, and includes guidance on playing and practicing online. Both editions are titled Bridge For Dummies, so check the edition on the listing. In October 2026 the Barnes & Noble website showed the 4th edition as out of stock online, so it may be hard to find new.
Play Winning Cribbage (5th edition)
Best for a Cribbage player who knows the rules and wants to win more
DeLynn Colvert's book is about strategy: what to keep and what to put in the crib, how to play the pegging, and how the score should change your play. Its description says it is for players who want to improve their winning average with a local group or take on the American Cribbage Congress tournament trail. The Congress's website republishes tips from the book. A 2000 article on that site, by the cribbage writer George Rasmussen, names it among the five best-known cribbage books.
Gives up: it is a strategy book, so a beginner should learn the game first, from our Cribbage rules and the counting practice. It is last in this group because we found no publisher website for it. We also could not confirm that Amazon has new copies, so check the listing first. Amazon also lists a Kindle edition.
History and magic
These two do not teach a game. One is for readers who want to know where playing cards came from, and the other is for readers who want to do tricks with them.
A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming
Best for readers who want the history of playing cards
Catherine Perry Hargrave's book tells the story of playing cards and how they were made. It makes extensive use of the collection of the United States Playing Card Company in Cincinnati. It focuses on the cards of China, Japan, India, Europe, Russia and America, with more than 1,400 illustrations. It also has an annotated bibliography, a list of more than 900 items on cards and games, with notes.
Gives up: it is a long reference book first published in 1930, and it will not teach you any game.
The Royal Road to Card Magic
Best for a beginner who wants a step-by-step course in card magic
Jean Hugard and Frederick Braué's book has over 100 magic tricks and more than 120 illustrations, according to its publisher, Dover. It explains shuffles, false shuffles and cuts, and other sleights step by step, from the basics to harder moves. For the cards to use, see our magic decks guide.
Gives up: it is a reprint of a 1951 edition. It teaches from drawings, not video, and the harder moves take practice to learn from a page.
Side by side
| If you want to | Get | What is in it |
|---|---|---|
| Learn several games from one book | Card Night | 52 games, illustrated steps, indexes by difficulty and by number of players |
| Settle an argument about the rules | Hoyle's Modern Encyclopedia | Rules and variations for the standard games, in A-to-Z order |
| Teach children, or start with easy games | The Ultimate Book of Family Card Games | Over 50 games, sorted by type and difficulty |
| Try games from other countries | Card Games Around the World | Over 60 games from around the world |
| Learn Modern American Canasta | Ultimate Guide to Modern Canasta | Rules and strategy, from the basics to competitive play |
| Play more kinds of solitaire | The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games | Over 225 games |
| Start Bridge with a short course | A Taste of Bridge | Six beginner lessons |
| Learn Bridge from a full-length guide | Bridge For Dummies | Bidding and play, Rubber and Duplicate Bridge (4th edition; 5th due March 2027) |
| Win more at Cribbage | Play Winning Cribbage | Strategy for players who know the rules |
| Read the history of playing cards | A History of Playing Cards | Where the cards came from, with a long list of further reading |
| Learn card magic | The Royal Road to Card Magic | Over 100 magic tricks, with illustrations |
Common questions
Do I need a book to learn a card game?
No. For the games we teach, our rules pages and practice games are enough. A book is for games we have not written up, and for settling an argument. Groups play the same game in different ways, so even the best book cannot end every argument: agree which rules you are using before you start.
Is there a book for Euchre, Hearts, Spades, Whist or Gin Rummy?
We found none we could recommend. What turned up for single games like these was mostly self-published booklets and notebooks for keeping score. Older books on Gin Rummy and Euchre turned up too, but we could not confirm that they are still sold new. Start with our rules pages. For more, try the four books above that teach many games.
Are these books still in print?
In October 2026 the publisher's own website or store listed every book here except Play Winning Cribbage, which has no publisher website we could find. That does not tell us what Amazon has in stock, so look at the listing, and at the edition, before you buy.
Do any of these books teach poker or other betting games?
Some do. Hoyle's Modern Encyclopedia covers poker, and the description of Card Games Around the World names Poker and Blackjack. We have not seen the full contents of the other collections, so we cannot rule it out for them. We do not teach betting games on this site, and none of these books is only about them.