Synopses & Reviews
The author of the poker classics Big Deal and Bigger Deal, on how to play Texas hold'emand win
Holden is an experienced poker player who does not pretend to be as expert as the world's top pros; but he can write better than themand he knows most well enough to milk them for personalized advice, tips, and subtle strategies. This guide offers thorough analyses of the difference between home and casino play, between cash and tournament play, and between internet poker and the real thing against real human beings. Amid definitive charts and tables of odds, probabilities, and other statistics; sample hands; advice on etiquette, and other niceties; there are sections on bluff, tells, and the nuances of "position" and "outs," as well as a brief history of the game and anecdotes about its great players. This entertaining, anecdote-packed, and invaluable companion to the narrative poker classics Big Deal and Bigger Deal may be the first really readable manual in the history of poker.
Review
"A remarkable odyssey—part Damon Runyon, part Dostoevsky. . . . His insights into the peculiar alchemy of character and fate that draws writers to poker turns his book into a high-stakes psychological thriller." —Vanity Fair on Big Deal
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"Mr. Holden writes with extreme grace and wit . . . [Big Deal is one of the] best books on poker." —New York Times
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"Holden is the top writer in pokerdom." —Martin Amis, author, Money: A Suicide Note
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"Vivid, engrossing, superb . . . the best description of world-class poker we've been given." —Salman Rushdie on Big Deal
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"An important addition to the literature of gambling." —David Mamet on Big Deal
Synopsis
Holden is an experienced poker player who does not pretend to be as expert as the world's top pros; but he can write better than them - and he knows most well enough to milk them for personalized advice, tips and subtle strategies.
HOLDEN ON HOLD'EM thoroughly analyses the difference between home and casino play, between cash and tournament play, between internet poker and the real thing against real human beings. Amid definitive charts and tables of odds, probabilities and other statistics, sample hands, advice on etiquette and other niceties, there will be sections on bluff, tells and the nuances of 'position' and 'outs', as well as a brief history of the game and anecdotes about its great players.
This book can claim to be the first really readable manual in the history of poker An entertaining, anecdote-packed and invaluable companion to the narrative poker classics BIG DEAL and BIGGER DEAL.
About the Author
Anthony Holden is the author of Big Deal: One Year as a Professional Poker Player and Bigger Deal: A Year on the New Poker Circuit as well as such biographies as The Man Who Wrote Mozart and William Shakespeare: An Illustrated Biography.