Edmond Hoyle is one of the best known writers on the rules and play of card games. The phrase "according to Hoyle" came into the language as a reflection of his generally-perceived authority on the subject.

David Parlett is widely regarded as a games scholar of card games and board games. He is the author of many popular books on games and has also invented a number of board games, the most successful of which is "Hare and Tortoise" (1974).

John Scarne used to be the world's foremost authority on gambling, and particularly cheating at gambling. He was one of the best sleight-of-hand performers in the world, particularly with a deck of cards. John Scarne's reputation as the world's Number One expert on gambling is well established. What is not recognized sufficiently is his virtual genius for calculations, which is a key factor in his unique supremacy.

Robert Frederick Foster was considered to be the ultimate authority on parlor games (Foster's Hoyle), who specialized in bridge, also knew all about poker, chess, cinch, dice, hearts, whist, skat, Russian bank (his favorite) and dominoes. As an author he was very prolific and became quite popular.