BIG DEAL: A Year as a Professional Poker Player Review
User Review: BIG DEAL: A Year as a Professional Poker Player Review - Submitted by Dozer
Pros:
Unlike many poker books out there that are written by poker players who know next to nothing about writing, this book is flowing seamlessly and presented remarkably well. The author is both a full-time writer and a serious, respectable poker player. Great ingredients for a great poker book.
Cons:
The author is British, so you might find his writing a bit difficult to understand at times. And if you are looking for "how-to's" and poker strategies, this book is not for you.
Additional Information
The author, Anthony Holden, is the one who came up with famous insights into poker such as the following:
"Poker was not a form of gambling; on the contrary, gambling was a style of playing poker - a loose and losing style, at that."
"Whether he likes it or not, a man's character is stripped bare at the poker table; if the other players read him better than he does, he has only himself to blame. Unless he is both able and prepared to see himself as others do, flaws and all, he will be a loser in cards, as in life."
Conclusion:
The book, as its tiltle suggests, takes you to the world of becoming a poker pro player, with all its high points and low points. The author turned pro from WSOP 1988 to WSOP 1989. It is a very entertaining read with tons of poker stories involving larger-than-life poker legends such as Stu Ungar, Amarillo Slim, and Johnny Moss. It also surprisingly offers a wealth of interesting information on anything that could be related to the game of poker - gambling, psychology, politics, hustling, conning, origin of the playing cards - just to name a few. And, best part of it al: every thing in this book is served with a great sense of humor.
The book has both content and style, thanks to the author's background in journalism. I rate this book 4.5 stars out of 5. Any serious junkie should definitely pick this up. How can you be a junkie if you haven't even heard half of the timeless and priceless stories surrounding the world of poker available in this book?
Posted by sbtrojans on Apr 02, 2005 - 03:41 PM
My score: 5
I dont like this site. I would prefer to use Pokerstars.
Posted by tedh7 on Apr 07, 2005 - 03:43 PM
My score: 5
ill probably check this book out
Posted by yodoha on Apr 21, 2005 - 01:01 AM
My score: 2
No poker strategies and hard to understand. This book is totally not for me. Poker strategies are wht its all about. U gotta learn how to improve ur game to be better.
Posted by duce_the_goose on May 16, 2005 - 10:23 PM
My score: 3
I would deffinetly read tihs book if it was given to me as a gift or I found it @ the library.
Posted by jkjohn on Aug 10, 2005 - 12:13 PM
My score: 5
ive read this twice now fantastic boon cant reccomend it highly enough
Posted by Anonymous on Dec 30, 2005 - 07:16 AM
My score: 5
He's English so it might be hard to understand? Ermmm...
