Bigger Deal Book Review
Bigger Deal by Anthony Holden recently chronicled the many years later sequel to the poker lore book "Big Deal". In this episode Holden does a montage of the poker world where the internet players are becoming the new royalty and "older" players like Holden are trying to understand the plays behind these iPod and hoodie wearing poker junkies.
I gave a review of his novel over at my personal website and I'll post it here along with the recommendation to purchase this book if you love a well-flowing real story. His descriptions of the many encounters with internet players and his frequent brushes with those who recalled his tale of becoming a poker pro for a year with "Big Deal".
Here's my review from Nickleanddimes.com and thanks again to the publisher Simon and Schuster for their blessings and forwarded copy of the book:
Trip reports.
People on the internet and this poker blogging community read them daily about the family jaunt to the cabin, recent visits to a Las Vegas cardroom with sidetracks to the Geisha Bar at the Imperial Palace, or home game summaries containing those intense hands of battle with the crusty local player that draw an unusual possible mirroring image thru time travel.
The reporting part is about giving the readers a feel for those chips sitting in of you waiting to be expertly riffled and flung at the novice player in the five seat who just bet into your nut flush. Smelling the smoke that hangs from the overly expensive pre-embargo Cuban cigar smoker railing his buddy in the eight seat with the equally bling-tastic necklace proclaiming his wealth for worthy mistresses of the night.
Now take those feelings and sensory footprints and combine them into a 200 plus page illustration of poker's little corner of the universe through the eyes of one of its more famous storytellers and combine them with a writer who's comfortable penning a book on Mozart as he is describing the state of our card game with the entry of the World Poker Tour fanboi who's chasing flush draws in $10K buy in tournaments while headbanging away to the latest speed metal band on his iPod.
Re-Enter Anthony Holden to the bestseller's list with his follow up to the popular (and sadly unread by this sorry excuse for a blogger) Big Deal. Holden captures the state of poker with its brand new element that brought people like myself into the world of staking arrangements, wrap straight draws, and 24 hour sessions at the green felt waiting out that fish in the two seat to finally bluff at the wrong pot.
Unfortunately, I cannot draw any parallels to the original verse but his descriptions of the games from Monte Carlo all the way into the halls of the World Series of Poker Main Event made for a surprising refreshing journey. The back stories of how he earned his main event seat through a freeroll while outlasting the last three main event champions not named Gold, and how he struggles with losing his "Moll" while attempting to concrete his poker face for those twelve tabling wiz kids from PokerStars in the attempt to solidify his poker standings with a cash or even victory in the WSOP main event, makes for great sunny afternoon on the back porch read. Not to mention a new distaste for being dealt Ace-King.