Product Description

The story of a year spent by biographer Anthony Holden in the tough world of the professional poker player. He spent days and nights in the poker paradise of Las Vegas, in Malta and Morocco, even shipboard, mingling with the legendary greats, sharpening his game, perfecting his repartee, and learning a great deal about himself in the process. Poker, Holden would insist, is not gambling. Like chess it is a paradigm of life at its most intense, a gladiatorial contest that brings out the best as well as the worst in people. Its heroes, its eccentrics and is comedians stalk the pages of this book, along with all the hair-raising, nail-biting excitement of the games themselves. The book is reissued with a new introduction by the author.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97510 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
* 'A very good book and an important addition to the literature of gambling' - David Mamet * 'A remarkable odyssey - part Damon Runyon, part Dostoevsky' - VANITY FAIR * 'The best book about poker I've ever read' - Walter Matthau

About the Author
Biographer Anthony Holden was an award-winning newspaper columnist and editor before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster. He is also an admired translator of works from the classics to opera for Jonathan Miller at the English National Opera.

Customer Reviews

A fantastic book that might ruin your life
The problem with this book is that it might tempt you to abandon home, friends and family and board the next flight to Vegas, with your life savings crammed into a back pocket. Of course, for nearly all of us this would end in a real and total disaster, but Tony Holden has written so fluently and alluringly about a world of fast action, little sleep and high rolling that it's difficult not to want to give it a shot.

'One Year as a Professional Poker Player' gives you all the plot details you need, and what you get is a captivating description of high stakes Texas Hold'em played across the world, in some fairly odd places, with some fairly odd (and fascinating) people. We'd all expect poker pros to be 'characters', idiosyncrasies with attachments to outrageous hats and horrific jewellery, and the truth according to Tony Holden is frighteningly close to the stereotype. You won't read this book and ever forget who Amarillo Slim is. But there's more to them than the garish ostentation and madcap tales - there's the camaraderie, the mutual respect, the total ruthlessness at the table, the psychological secret weapons...

Tony Holden's a man with an ego, there's no doubt about that. But the great thing is he knows this more than anyone. And it's difficult not to take a liking to a man who's being that candid and straightforward with you as he recounts his journey through the world of professional poker, tells of big hands nearly won but mostly lost, and describes the colourful characters and venues that make up the circuit. And I love his mocking of amateurs and their sob stories, before diving into another elaborate telling of the time Lady Luck cheated him of $10,000 on the river card. There are anecdotes all over the place, dozens worth remembering so you can retell them - probably pretending you heard them from a wizened old Texan you met in a bar you can't remember the name of.

Frankly, I got a small buzz every time I picked up this book - some of the hands you almost feel you're playing with him. If, like me, you're the type that likes to tell people you play poker, but get a bit coy about how much you play for (because you want them to assume it's vast amounts and it's really not), you ought to buy this book right now. Chances are you've already read it though. Even if you just think poker sounds like a cool thing to be into, buy this book and be proved right. Just try not to get carried away. It costs thousands of pounds just to get to Vegas. Trust me, I just checked the flight prices...

Superb! A poker book that disbands technical theories and gets down to the action on the table...
This is a book for the player who loves stories of dramatic hands at poker, thrilling victories, unbelievable luck (good aswell as bad), and crushing bad-beats. Holden sublimely recalls his story of a year spent as a poker pro, and is a must-read for every poker fan. You can get away from the plethora of books offering new fang-dangled strategies and theorums, and get indulged in a book that captures a real essence of poker. From his local tuesday night game, to the out-of-his-depth high rollers ables at Vegas, Holden perfectly tells his story on. A fascinating, exciting, and captiviating book. Brilliant.

Brilliant!
What a top book. I love books about card players and films too as everyone believes they could this, but we couldn't. Who wouldn't love to drop everything and chase their dream for a year? The detail and suspense in the book is amazing and I just didn't want it to end. The characters he meets are amazing, especially as they are real. Altogether, a great read and I'm already saving up to do the same!