Gambling is risky business, especially for recreational gamers. All casino poker rooms are populated 24/7 by serious players capable of emptying the pockets of any less experienced guests. While predators and crooks are a minority, they are there; these types seek out the uninitiated and rarely fail to deplete their bankrolls. Even a few dealers are out to make an easy buck, but the house and fellow players tend to keep that minority in line. Still, the poker room is a better bet than the house games, at which even professionals become losers over the long haul. All the author learned over thirty years of visiting casinos a couple of times a week is told in The Gamblers.