How to Win the World Series of Poker (or Not) chronicles the author?s journey to play in poker's big leagues: the World Series of Poker. Pat Walsh begins by playing online poker for pennies at his kitchen table, continues his expedition with stops at church basements, a mansion, the back room of a bar, an Indian casino, and finally the hallowed poker rooms of Las Vegas (known among hobos and preachers as the Devil's Porch Light).

On the road to triumph (or ruin), Pat lives out a dream he shares with millions of other players and fans — all the while trying to juggle his family life, his work, and his beloved gambling. How to Win the World Series of Poker (or Not) is a book about poker, but it is also a book about those all-American ideas of using a little bit of skill, a fair bit of guile, and an enormous amount of luck to grab the big win that will change your life. Or not.

"Real poker players will cringe at this slim — literally and figuratively — account of one man's run at the World Series of Poker's (WSOP) main event: the No-Limit Hold'em tournament held annually in Las Vegas (buy-in: $10,000). The author, formerly senior editor at independent publisher MacAdam/ Cage, acknowledges that he's not one of the game's luminaries, but his play, at least to the extent described here, is laughably bad. And the book is not much better. The conceit is that he'll write a funny story chronicling his preparation for and participation in the tournament (and use his advance to pay his $10,000 entry fee), but the tone is more sarcastic than genuinely humorous. Even worse, there isn't much drama; the outcome of his quest — losing in a field of more than 5,600 — is inevitable. The account of the tournament occupies just 16 pages; the rest is preamble. While Walsh does capture the essence of the WSOP dream — that an amateur can beat the pros — he never distills any of his experience into wisdom that's helpful in poker or in life. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Chronicling the author's journey to play in poker's big leagues, the World Series of Poker, this text is also about the all-American ideals of using a little bit of skill, a fair bit of guile, and an enormous amount of luck to grab the big win--or not.

Pat Walsh was until recently senior editor of the independent publisher MacAdam/Cage and was previously a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the author of 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might.