Over the past two years, it seems like I have read every book on poker that's ever been written. If I had to choose a favorite, it would be Anthony Holden's Big Deal. A British author, Holden spends a year traveling around the world as a professional player and lets you inside his mind. I read the book in a day.
If you haven't read Big Deal, or some of the other poker classics, such as Shut Up and Deal by Jesse May or The Biggest Game in Town by Al Alvarez, you better get caught up, since three books from major publishers will be released during the World Series of Poker. In my next column, I'll be writing a review of Jim McManus' book entitled Positively Fifth Street (FSG), which is about the Ted Binion murder and McManus' final-table showing at the 2000 World Series. After reading the first hundred pages of a reviewer's copy, I can tell you already that it's a winner.
If you're looking to sharpen your poker skills, Phil Hellmuth's Play Poker Like the Pros (HarperCollins paperback) promises to be more than 400 pages of how-to advice from one of the world's greatest poker players. I haven't seen a copy of it, but if you play tournaments, particularly no-limit Texas hold'em, I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to get inside the head of the 1989 world champion.
Of course, if you're looking to be entertained, and to get inside the head of the world's greatest gambler, Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People (HarperCollins) will be a must-read. I'm a bit biased, as I wrote the book with Slim, but even after spending so much time with him over the past several months, I'm still amazed by this American icon. Even my editor, whose job it is to be critical, said the book is "fabulous."
For those wondering about the Stuey Ungar book, I'm proud to say that as Nolan Dalla's literary agent, I placed the book with Simon & Schuster, and it will be published in May 2004. Nolan has dedicated the better part of the last five years to writing Stuey's biography, and after reading the first draft, I can assure you that it will be worth the wait.
Another book currently in print that I was proud to represent is entitled Killer Poker (Lyle Stuart/Kensington) by John Vorhaus. Vorhaus has been one of poker's best teachers over the past dozen years, and there's no doubt this is his best work to date. The mathematicians of the world like to pick on Vorhaus because he's not one of them, but when it comes to getting inside the head of a poker player and teaching the psychological side of the game, no one does it better than Vorhaus. When I read the manuscript, I was reading it as an editor, and by the time I was finished, I was a much better poker player – not bad for $14.95.
I don't play blackjack, but if you do, Victor Royer's Powerful Profits From Blackjack (Lyle Stuart/Kensington) is a great tool. Under the general title "Powerful Profits," this book on blackjack is the first in a series of six books on casino gambling. There have been many books written about blackjack, but as Royer points out, many of them were written a long time ago, when the rules of the game in the casinos were quite different from what they are today. There are shuffling machines to deal with, shallow penetration, deck changes, randomizers, frequent shuffles, and face-recognition technology for surveillance, which is designed to capture even the most innocent of strategy players. All of these conditions, changes, and rules alterations have made making profits in blackjack a lot more difficult, and Royer, a Las Vegas-based author who has served as a consultant to casinos and gaming manufacturers, gives you the information that will give you the best chance to succeed.
There used to be a perception that gamblers aren't the most literate of folks. But with poker books being published by HarperCollins, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and FSG, the publishing world has spoken: Poker players do buy books. Now, let's hope that a few million of them buy one about a skinny cowboy from Texas.
Greg Dinkin is the author of Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People and The Poker MBA (www.thepokermba.com). He is the co-founder of Venture Literary (www.ventureliterary.com), where he works with writers to find publishers for their books and producers for their screenplays. He can be reached at greg@ventureliterary.com.