About Two Plus Two Publishing LLC

Two Plus Two Publishing LLC began in 1987 when Mason Malmuth self published his first book Winning Concepts in Draw and Lowball. These were quickly followed by Blackjack Essays and the original version of Gambling Theory and Other Topics.

In 1988, Mason and David Sklansky did their first collaboration and the original version of Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players appeared. This was followed by Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players (written with world class player Ray Zee) approximately a year later. Both of these books were self-published with demand surpassing all expectations.

Also, during the 1980s, all of David's books had gone out of print. But by the end of the decade, David had retrieved the rights to them. These included Winning Poker (now known as The Theory of Poker) and the original Hold 'em Poker. At the end of 1989, David and Mason decided to unite all of their books under one "umbrella," and a new company which for lack of a better name briefly became known as Malmuth Publishing.

A few months later, the 1990 edition of Gambling Theory and Other Topics was released. Since this book contained lots of mathematical equations, Mason felt it was important to have an equation on the cover. So starting with the original 1987 edition, the equation, 2 + 2 = 4, done with card pictures had appeared. But in 1990, the cover was redrawn by a professional artist. Upon seeing it, both David and Mason agreed that they had also found a much better name, and "Two Plus Two Publishing" was now officially in existence. (The LLC was added many years later.)

Today, Two Plus Two offers 35 different titles, all on poker/gambling, by 16 different authors including former World Series of Poker Champion Dan Harrington, Bill Robertie, Dr. John Feeney, Dr. Alan Schoonmaker, Nick Grudzien, Collin Moshman, and Donna Harris in addition to David, Mason, and Ray Zee. Many of these are recognized as the definitive works in their specific area or simply as instrumental in pushing the frontier of knowledge forward in their specific field. But a few beginner and intermediate books are also part of the mix. Total sales are now at 1,700,000 books and 250,000 of our Fundamentals booklets.

The purpose of Two Plus Two has been to not only write and produce the best books on poker/gambling that have ever been written, but to write and produce the best books in this field that will ever be written. That's an ambitious goal, but "one that has driven our company to success."

Starting in 2006, the first foreign language translation of a Two Plus Two book appeared. Currently, there are 30 translations into seven different languages with many more translations scheduled as well as additional languages. So soon Two Plus Two books will be a worldwide phenomenon. Foreign language sales are still currently small, but starting in 2008, with many foreign language books now being available, this should soon change.

In addition, in 1997 www.twoplustwo.com, with the help of another gambling publishing/Internet company, ConJelCo.com was established. At first, the Two Plus Two website was only one small forum with a few participants. But as time went on it has grown into the largest poker website of its kind with 76 forums (including forums in French and German), the Two Plus Two Internet Magazine, and most recently, the Two Plus Two Pokercast. Plus more is on the way.