Why not indeed?
Encouraged by The Moll, advised by The Crony, and sent into existential angst by The Shrink, Holden undertakes a 12-month career, cruising (literally in one case) the world's casinos and high class poker games.
Along the way, he comes to realise what it is to be a world class poker player. To transform from rank amateur, to ranked pro. And boy, does he do it in style.
He stacks his chips opposite the greatest players in history - Amarillo Slim, Johnny Moss, The Oriental Express, Eric Drache.
He learns when to bet on the flop, when to fold before the river. When an ace in the hole can beat trips. That whilst there are 2,598,960 possible five-card poker hands you can be dealt, you'll probably only see a royal flush once in your life (because the odds are 649,739:1). That a British accent can be used to bluff Americans, but spots on Las Vegas TV shows blow any edge that might give. That you should never, on any condition, bet against a man who claims he can get a camel into the King of Morocco's personal guest house.
This is a book that knows when to go with the rush, and when to pause to consider the hand it's playing out. It's about tactics and strategies. A book, above all, not about gambling - no, that's nothing to do with poker - not about gambling, but about psychology. |
