Roots:

This is my 1872nd post. Most of those were written during the early years of 2+2, and almost all of them were about betting strategy or some other mainline poker content. Lots of my posts were in threads I started, about something that had just happened earlier that day/night at a poker table. Please don’t get upset with me for this, dear 2+2 universe, but sometimes I had a story to tell that was too good for you. I wanted to save it for my magazine column. Other times, it went the other way around. I’d start writing a post about a hand, or some incident at the table, and in the act of writing the post, it would grow into an article-length rendition that I’d then spruce up and submit to a poker magazine.

However it went, writing and reading at 2+2 was a daily thing for me, for years. And from that, my writing career sprung. So I am honored today, and humbled, to return home in a sense, to present to you a book that grew from this place.

This second book of mine, I call it Poker Tales for short, it’s… okay, how about this. I’ll start with the one-paragraph blurb that is at Amazon, then I’ll import some excerpts from some reviews, then I’ll tell you about my interview that airs on the 2+2 Pokercast tomorrow night, and about my new mailing list, and that my new book is available in print and ebook at Amazons and elsewhere around the world.

Official Blurb:

A Rubber Band Story and Other Poker Tales collects the best articles, blogs, and stories from Tommy Angelo's last 12 years of writing and showcases them with eighteen new introductions and afterwords. Here you'll find poker war stories from his years as a pro, poker fiction, ruminations on poker rules, and more – including a strong selection of articles on tilt, the author's signature topic. The new commentaries, found only in this volume, take you behind the curtain on Angelo's history and writing process. New readers will appreciate the humor and fresh perspective on poker, and existing fans will enjoy the exclusive commentaries as well as having a convenient collection of Angelo's most popular material.

Excerpts from the reviews that are Amazon.com:

Matt Lessinger: When I got this book I put it in the bathroom, figuring it would make for perfect bathroom reading. Except once I started reading it, I wanted to keep going, so I brought it into the bedroom. Three hours later I had finished reading all fifty-five of Tommy Angelo's stories. In short, they are fantastic.

John Vorhaus: If you're looking for either a tasty read or a source of poker wisdom, A RUBBER BAND STORY AND OTHER POKER TALES is a tome for you. You'll come away with some laughs, some insights and a whole lot of new food for thought.

Alan Schoonmaker: If your only goal is to improve your poker results, read his Elements of Poker. If you want a little boost to your profits, but primarily want to spend an enjoyable, stimulating couple of hours, read this one TOO.

Nick Chapman: Tommy has such a unique personality and writing style, he stands far out from other poker writers. I was amazed how much his stories related to my own experiences, even playing poker at a novice level.

Robyn (aka PokerBabe): Tommy writes about emotion like nobody else in the poker world. While the reading in this book seems "easy", the message is profound.

Rob MacKay: This collection of work is never far from my reach and neither should it be far from yours. Pick it up and read 2 pages or 20 and you are almost guaranteed to have a smile on your face and a new window opened in your mind. Simply put, go all in on this one.

Greg Amaro: Tommy is a poker player's writer but also a writer's writer.

PalSport: I was surprised how little I disliked this book, since I usually don't care for stories about rubber bands, but (spoiler alert) despite the title, rubber bands play a very small role in this collection of poker lessons disguised as well-told stories.

A detailed review by Martin Harris, a.k.a. Short-Stacked Shamus:

Betfair review of A Rubber Band Story and Other Poker Tales

In Other News:

Mailing List -- I recently started a mailing list, and I have every intention to send newsletters and whatnot to the people on it. You can join the list at my site, tommyangelo.com.

2+2 Pokercast Tomorrow Night-- I’ll be conversing with Mike and Adam about whatever we end up talking about.

Where to buy A Rubber Band Story and Other Poker Tales by Tommy Angelo:

Print and eBook -- These links will take you to the Poker Tales page at these sites:

Amazon.com

ProfessionalPoker.com

Amazon.co.uk - print
Amazon.co.uk - ebook

Amazon.de - print
Amazon.de - ebook

Print only:

Highstakes.co.uk

Sequitur.com

Request:

If you happen to not live in the USA, and you happen to be so kind as to buy my book and read it and write a “customer review” at your local Amazon, I will try to send you a cosmic pulse of rungood. Meanwhile, I'll be visiting this thread every day hoping to find something to reply to. :-)

first! ha!

loved it.

moar!

(not a review, but someone's got to get this started)

How do you "try" to send a cosmic pulse of rungood? There is no try.

Where'd you get that cover pic, clip art?

Are we getting a personal inscription with this one too? :P

My friend Wendelin drew it. The image on the cover depicts the arm of an angry Isaac in this scene from the title story...

Excerpt from A Rubber Band Story:

Isaac was down to the felt for the sixth time. He shouted for chips. He was startled by the chip-runner, standing ready behind him with two stacks of chips. Isaac pulled out his still-thick wad of money, held it up, undid the rubber band, and peeled off two bills. The first one was a $100 bill. The second one was a $20. We were all watching. Isaac covered his surprise well. He smoothly counted out four more $20 bills and handed the $200 to the chip-runner. He knew that we knew. He was out of $100 bills.

Isaac had struck $20’s.

Sorry but no. I'm not taking orders at my site with this book.

I didn't even read the post but I'm really excited about the book, snap ordering

This review was written by Bill Rini of Bill's Blog:


I give A Rubber Band Story two raging thumbs up. If you like Tommy’s style or writing and have enjoyed the short stories he’s submitted on Bill’s Poker Blog you’ll love A Rubber Band Story because that’s basically what the book is.

It has all of the hallmark Tommy Angelo qualities. It’s humorous, well written, insightful, offbeat, thought provoking, and sometimes just plain silly. What I enjoy most about Tommy’s writing style is that he writes from the heart.

The book is a mixture of some new material along with what Tommy felt were his best blog posts, articles, postings, etc over the last decade or so. The information is timeless because it’s the essence of poker.

Tommy’s writings have never been about whether to fold AJs to a reraise pre-flop. It’s about getting in touch with our biggest leak in poker, ourselves. He explores different ways of thinking about the game, life, and balancing the two. And he’s able to do that through story telling that leaves most poker writers in the dust.

It’s easy to be entertained by Tommy’s stories because they’re normally witty and light but that’s often a trick Tommy is able to play on his readers because there is a more profound message underneath it all. He may write a story about folding that makes you chuckle but when you dive a little deeper he’s really seeding a message about how successful players think about their starting hands and folding differently.

If you’re a fan of any of Tommy’s writings you can find on Bill’s Poker Blog or on Tommy’s own site, you’ll love A Rubber Band Story.

looks like a well written prose of bbv tales...I like!

Through his brilliant book on all the intangibles of poker, The Elements of Poker, and material he has made available online on how to play poker and live better, such as his video series The Eightfold Path to Poker Enlightenment on the poker training site Deuces Cracked, which in my opinion was an absolute masterpiece, I have learned an enormous amount from Tommy about how to win more and suffer less at poker, and moreover, to be a happier, better, kinder person in the rest of my life as well. He has certainly taught me more useful lessons than any other poker author or coach, and I might go so far as to say he has been the single person who has had the greatest positive influence on my life.


Needless to say, when I learned he had released a new poker book, I was very excited to read it, and it did not disappoint. Unlike The Elements of Poker, which was more or less an instruction manual on how to become a better poker player and lead a happier life, A Rubber Band Story takes a different tact and is composed of short pieces relating to poker from a more artistic standpoint. It features essays, anecdotes, fiction, and parables. While I would say you should begin reading this book with the expectation of being entertained rather than being told how to win more money, that's not to say that there are not numerous poker and life lessons that can be taken away from reading it.


I thoroughly enjoyed all the pieces; my favorites were the short fiction and the parables inspired by George Orwell's Animal Farm. Tommy has an engaging, extremely readable writing style that is perfect for recounting the degeneracy, desperation, antagonism, mish-mash of offbeat characters, and camaraderie of live, brick and mortar poker. He also has a knack for concluding his tales with very clever final sentences that wrap up the piece up perfectly and make you laugh/smile to yourself. If you are solely looking to learn how to win more money at poker, you might want to read The Elements of Poker or watch his Eightfold Path video series first, but if you want to read an entertaining book about poker where you can pick up some valuable poker and life lessons in the process, then you can't go wrong with this one.

very nice

Loved your last book. I met a guy at the WSOP who bought it and the pages fell out , this tilted him and he never finished it.

His loss, Poker's gain.

Lol!

You just sent my story-writing mind into a frenzy.

Struck $20's. Absolutely hilarious. I think we've all seen this guy at the casino.

is it available on audible? thanks-