Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted_Thompson
I have read a bunch of poker novels recently. Here are my quick ratings 1-10:
Broke by Brandon Adams. 7 (out of 10) Pretty good. A little short. It also just seems like a thinly-veiled auto-biography?
King of a Small World by Rick Bennet. 9 (out of 10). Strong. About a grinder in Philly. I wanted more.
Death on the Flop by Jackie Chance. 5 (out of 10). So so. Readable but a little dopey. Makes some errors about poker hands and calls a DVD a CD repeatedly.
The Prop by Pete Hautman. 8 (out of 10). Good book about a prop player at an Arizona casino and a murder mystery.
Deadman's Poker by James Swain. 7 (out of 10). Ok, but it seemed like the ending was missing or something.
Shut up and Deal by Jesse May. 7 (out of 10). Like Broke, just seems like a thinly veiled autobiography of a player in high stakes games in AC and elsewhere. Into small details and talks about changing his outfits a lot.
The Picasso Flop by Vince Van Patten and Robert Randisi. 8 (out of 10). I liked this one more than I thought I would. A few too many shameless plugs for Hollywood Poker and The World Poker Tour. Sometimes the writing sags, but the general story kept me involved.
Dead Money by Rudy Stegemoeller. 8 (out of 10). Readable and involving. Set at a tournament at a Foxwoods-like casino in New England.
The Rogues' Game by Milton Burton. 9 (our of 10). An artfully written novel set in Texas after WWII. Cool book.
If anyone has any suggestions for other poker novels to check out, I would love to hear them.
I'm bouncing this because I've been using this lately as a guide to poker novels. Here are some responses to some of these:
Broke by Brandon Adams (which was self-published) is out of print and unavailable.
King of a Small World by Rick Bennet. I'd pretty much agree with 9 out of 10. I'd already read this one before Ted's post because I used to read Rick Bennet's posts in the pre-2+2 era (Yes, kids there was a time) when he would frequently post to RecGamblingPoker. He & I once exchanged emails about a proposed visit to Toronto (he had a project to play in as many casinos in as many cities as was possible), but it never materialized.
The Prop by Pete Hautman. I think Hautman is the best of the poker-mystery novelists. This is a solid entry.
Shut up and Deal by Jesse May. Another I'd already read. Though some of it seems a bit silly on first encounter, I find it's stayed with me. I've since noticed May as a TV commentator on the European poker circuit (though I don't recall seeing him recently).
The Rogues' Game by Milton Burton. Ted gives it 9 our of 10, perhaps a little generous, but it is good, not just for (or so much for) the poker but because it gives a good picture of the old Texas oil industry (which I remeber as a kid).
As well, I just finished Tap City by Ron Abell, a novel mentioned by a later poster--a poker novel quite evidently influenced by Arthur Hailey’s 60s and 70s best-sellers in its use of multiple plotlines. If somewhat dated (it was published in 1985) both in terms of poker and sensibility, it was still a pleasant entertainment. About a 7-stud tourney in Reno , its portrayal of poker is generally quite reasonable—but there aare some odd features about the tourney, though perhaps they were accurate at the time(?), such as having an absent player not merely being blinded out but having his hands call all bets(!). I also found myself also wondering about a 9-player final table for a 7-stud tourney. The oddest feature of the plot was having a cross-dresser as one of the central characters, though he's very likeable. Generally recommended if you're interested in poker fiction.