Edmond Hoyle is a renowned author and authority on card games. He is best known for his book, 'A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist, ' which was published in 1742 and is still used as a reference today. He also wrote several other books on card games, including 'The Complete Gamester' and 'Hoyle's Games Improved.' He is credited with popularizing the phrase 'according to Hoyle, ' which is used to refer to playing a game according to the rules.