Big Deal = "the nuts" (no, that's a poker term, i'm not talking about the mutts' ones...) (Big Deal - Anthony Holden)

Member Name: beedubblyer

Product:	Big Deal - Anthony Holden
Date:	17/04/04 (136 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Absorbing, amusing, and by a British writer

Disadvantages: if you've no interest in poker, gaming, gambling or the human drive to compete, then maybe...

"The nuts" is a poker term for the best possible hand. If you've got A-10 on the hole and the board shows A-10-7-A-2, you can bet safe in the knowledge that you hold the nuts, no one would be able to beat your full house, Aces over tens.

Terminology lesson over. Anthony Holden is a British biographer and journalist with an abiding passion for the game of poker. "Big Deal" chronicles a year of his life spent as a poker professional, from his first entry into the World Series of Poker, and his subsequent decision to try his hand as a full-time player, to his progress-marker entry into the same competition a year later.

This is no dry chronicle of gaming technique and strategies, but a fascinating and humorous analysis of poker and what makes this particular player tick. While I picked up the book as a result of my burgeoning interest in this engrossing game, it's a great read for those with no prior knowledge of Hold Em, Draw or Omaha, blinds, check-raises and "playing on tilt". (There's also a short but broad glossary if you're worried about having to translate any of the passages of game action.)

As a decent overview, Big Deal provides a potted history of the roots of poker, from its possible antecedents, through its formative period in the form we'd recognize today in US saloons and riverboats, via the Vegas-infiltrating years, to the worldwide razzmatazz of the modern game. There are character sketches of some of the leading figures in the game's development, including denizens of the Poker Hall of Fame such as the legendary Johnny Moss, and casino legends such as Benny Binion (owner of Binion's Horseshoe, and the first with the foresight to provide no-limit tables).

Holden's year isn't recounted simply in terms of hands won and lost. He's always at pains to detail the effect his year is having on both him and his "Moll", and his frien
ds from ho
me always bring a grounding perspect
ive to the whirlwind of activity in Vegas and elsewhere. There are also interludes with Holden's shrink, which provide some interesting insights into his character, and his drive to win.

As, by now, an avid reader of poker books, it was great to have a UK perspective on what is of course a heavily US-dominated game. Holden's Tuesday Night Game with the boys also introduces us to the renowned Al Alvarez (novelist and author of another classic UK poker text, "The Only Game In Town") - what a game THAT must be!

Yes, I came to this book because of my love for the game, but it's a fascinating read even without this, as Holden picks apart the psyche of poker players and gamblers (I'm making a subtle distinction there), analyzes the human drive to gaming, delves into the allure of Vegas, and lays himself and his own motivations bare.

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