Here are some of the resources that I’ve found most useful.  And here’s a link to my description of how to play Whist and Loo.

A Brief Discourse on 18th-Century Games, by M. Richard Tully, Ballendalloch Press (Google for various sellers)

The Merry Gamester or Games Through The Ages, by Walter Nelson (free online)

The Village Gamester, by Jon Truitt, Nova Anglia Press (available through Amazon)

A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist, Edmond Hoyle 1750

An epitome of Hoyle: with Beaufort and Jones’s Hoyle improved (1791)

Colonial Virginians at Play, Jane Carson (1989)

The Game of Loo (Loo is a very much simpler form of whist, more a game for gambling. This website describes the rules for loo and a number of other games as well.) 

History of Mother of Pearl Gaming Chips (the history of betting fish and other gaming chips)

Gurney Benham, Playing Cards, The History and Secrets of the Pack

Thomas Rowlandson, “A Gambling Table at Devonshire House,” 1791

Chardin, “The House of Cards,” about 1736-37

Links to Period Objects and Illustrations from “18th Century Notebook” Website: Gaming Equipment, Playing Cards and Card Games, and Toys