Just wondering if there are others like me who have read this take on "Molly's Game" written by Houston Curtis and Dylan Howard.

My take on it was that Curtis had a bone to pick with Molly and used it here to do all he could to make her look bad. He also tried to make Tobey the fall guy for his own larceny. The difference between Maguire and Curtis is that Maguire does not have to cheat to win (although Curtis claims that he didn't use his card mechanic skills, which he likes to brag about, to win in this game). Curtis is proud to tell us about the times when he did cheat someone in a poker game, including slipping in a cold deck.

I had the good fortune to sit next to Tobey for three hours when he won the Phil Hellmuth charity event at Hollywood Park way back in 1996 (I think that was the year). He was a damn good poker player already and impressed me with his reads over and over again. I finally asked him how he knew the guy was bluffing and he responded, "I always know what they have!" Damn!

Tobey may be avaricious but he is no cheat. He can hold his own with good players as well as whales. For him at this point in time (maybe 75-100 million bankroll), there is really no point in him playing in "big" games, unless it's just to challenge himself. He's smart enough to pick his spots though, just like he did in the games talked about in this book. I don't fault him for that.

Curtis meanwhile comes off as a greedy guy, who had actually developed a decent career in Hollywood, but it wasn't enough to satisfy him. He wanted the millions that he saw others had, and was willing to do whatever he could to get it. In the end what he got was a heavy dose of Karma! He lost everything and I mean everything, and went back home with his tail between his legs.

I'd like to hear what others think about this fascinating look into some of the biggest poker games ever played this side of Macau.

I've heard he wanted to wear his spiderman costume including mask at all times so he could take a bathroom break and sub in jungleman.

I read the book just this past weekend and came away with similar conclusions.

The key motivation for writing the book is likely profit (he sees the millions that Bloom is making from telling the story and he hopes to cash in as well -- this is alluded to in the epilogue).

I believe that he and Maguire exercised most of the control over the game (mostly Maguire), but in the end the control belongs to whomever has the biggest whales in pocket. Bloom fought for those whales, and eventually the whale with the deepest pockets took over control.

Like you, I have a difficult time believing that Curtis didn't use his mechanic abilities in the game.

Keep in mind this is the same Houston Curtis that helped Russ Hamilton pull off the UB Superuser heist

Big question is why did Tobey keep him in the game? Tobey just wanted fish...it's not like Curtis and Tobey were childhood friends.

A lot of the book makes little sense...such as why he keeps harping on the paper loss of his house (irrelevant once your house is financed) which, even worst case scenario, dropped 35% in value, not 66%...high end real estate in the better parts of LA never dropped that much in 2008/2009.

Also, in a couple bad beats he describes, he doesn't seem to have a grasp of odds...weird for such a shark.

Read the book over the weekend. Disclaimer did not read Molly's Game but did enjoy the movie.

Here's my take aways.

- I don't think it matters much what Curtis' intentions are for writing the book. It seems like a companion piece to Molly's Game as reads as generally truthful. Also it doesn't delve much into what happened after Molly moved to New York to run games there or the federal charges against her and the NY gamblers.

- Curtis gives a lot of credit to Molly for keeping the game running (admin) and recruiting new players. What he has issue with is that it was her baby alone. Curtis claims all decisions with players boiled down to Tobey / Curtis which I don't see as controversial.

- Whether Curtis himself cheated or not I think is up to the reader to decide. His claim is he took advantage in spots where it didn't matter and imo the underground casino blackjack story seems quite revealing. He'll cheat someone who doesn't have a clue if he doesn't like them.

- Russ Hamilton references in the book. Russ staked him to start once the games got big and seems involved with the Ultimate Blackjack production that Curtis was a part of. Curtis speaks well of Hamilton but doesn't go into the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal. He doe mention that impacted him negatively due to his name being associated with cheating accounts.

- Curtis has a very high opinion of Tobey Macguire.

I think the last story is way more revealing.

- Curtis claims he played in a private game with Alec Gores, Kenny Tran, and David Peat. Curtis has known the dealer through out (Manny). Curtis claims on of the two pros approached Manny to use a loaded deck. Implication is the cards would be marked or chipped. Curtis backs out of the game after that.

- Curtis also doesn't understand why Gore and amateur by all accounts would invite two absolute killers unless he was staking or had their action.

- As echoed in this forum, be very very very cautious of private games in any way shape or form.

- Another thing that was odd is I'm sure on a lot of levels Curtis viewed and treated MacGuire as equals, friends, partners even.. but financially they were not. MacGuire was more than financially fit for these games while Curtis seemed to be wayy over extended. Can't blame him given how big the games jumped.

- Also loved how Curtis painted Rick Salomon as an absolute maniac. Maybe there's truth in that or maybe Rick is the fish for the real ringers.

The general consensus is that Rick Salomon is the biggest winner all time in cash games... because he destroyed games like these. Not sure if it's true, but that was the generally agreed upon rumor a couple years ago.

A point noteworthy: That ultimate blackjack show that Curtis and Russ Hamilton were putting together-- well, guess who appeared on that show as a contestant because he was friends with the producer? Mr Michael Postle.

Wow. That's a humdinger

When he started praising Hamilton in the book as a stand up guy and a good friend is when I lost a lot of respect for Curtis. I wouldn't have even acknowledged my friendship with Hamilton if I were him. The guy is perhaps the most disliked poker player on the planet.

The other thread on here about players "ghosting" pales in comparison to what Hamilton did. He really cheated a lot of people out of some serious money with his super user account, and never showed any remorse or atoned for his sins in any way as far as I know. And this is a guy who Curtis admires! Right

Pretty plausible given the ghosting scandal as of late. What's the over/under on this?

small world

Curtis was interviewed on the Gambling with an Edge podcast. Probably worth a listen if you read or are interested in the book.

he claims to be a legends of poker champ in the book a few times. I cant find that anywhere. sent him a DM on twitter he offered no proof. opinion i think the guy is a slease, but the book was entertaining and the truth probably lies somewhere in between what curtis and bloom say.

How does the guy get away with admitting to be a poker cheat? Pretty crazy. Poorly written book - reads like if TMZ did longform writing.

He even says he dealt Aces to DiCaprio in one hand as he had 50% of him.

And he has the nerve to call other people *******s and scumbags?

He claims to be a "hustler" or "card sharp" or "card mechanic". Never calls himself a cheat, which is what he is.

He also said Hamilton was a great hustler or whatever. Takes one to know one.

Nothing in the book can be taken at face value, because the guy is an admitted cheat, so he destroys his own credibility.

In the book he says Salomon was in and out of rehab too many times to count. The nickname he had at one of the games was "scum" partly because of the Hilton tape I guess.

I think that's what made the businessmen think he was a fish - his life was a bit of a mess.

wildly entertaining book...... i agree with most of the comments so far.

i would probably think though the pecking order on "ownership" of this private game was maguire, molly and then this author.

all kinds of great gossip in this book. rick salomon - yikes, the brother of the canadian depraved murder liebel and the montana washington brother/son (his brother is big name here in vancouver)......

is that hedge fund manager clifford asness in the book? it must be. nothing negative about him. just playing in the game. and then took molly back east.

i would also add not sure how much respect i can have for someone who made alot of money marketing "backyard wrestling" videos....... that has caused alot of harm to teenagers. the author doesn't seem to care at all

i see the comment about the author and poker odds.

i think the only real contentious comment i remember is when Toby called a large all-in bet on the flow with AK and a flush draw... the board was something like J62.. author had set of J's and thought Toby's call was terrible..... it seems obvious to me that Toby thinks pairing his ace or king might be good. Ace-high might even be good (although that just adds a tiny bit to your equity)........... anyway, not sure if it was right or wrong, but it certainly wasn't terrible....... i will try to find the exact cards and the $$$$ invovled.

also, rick salomon calling out the chick for not knowing him and busting her with some cocaine/BJ/washroom story, was that the famous woman mentioned or her friend? it was very very unclear (purposely?)...