Poker Articles

“Deal Me In” by Stephen John and Marvin Karlins, is a collection of background stories by some of poker’s most influential players.  The collection is incredibly diverse, from Doyle Brunson to Peter Eastgate, and shows the array of lifestyles that have converged on the poker scene today. It is written in first-person, with tons of photos and bolded details. Combined with the very high level of print quality, it certainly “feels” like it is worth the $24.95 price tag.

Personally, I have always felt that biographies and life experiences are the best way to learn about poker.  The game is evolving at an extremely fast pace and I find myself adjusting accordingly and changing my style often.  Strategy books that have had to go through writing, editing, and publishing have a very hard time being relevant due to this, aside from basic concepts that hardly change.  Biographies and stories however, always have information to draw from and lessons to learn.  Barry Greenstein’s “Ace on the River” has become an absolute must to review every few months for me because it discusses the lifestyle and struggles that are associated with poker.  Greenstein’s book gives me perspective, and I was hoping for a similar feeling after reading “Deal Me In.” 

The book begins with a beautiful synopsis written by Doyle Brunson.  This might be more to do with the fact that Brunson is an exceptional writer, but he portrays the unregulated and dangerous world of Texas gambling with imagery and detail.  It gave me an appreciation for what poker is today.  We can now sit in a casino and play poker without fear of being robbed or getting cheated (unless in very rare cases).  For Brunson, every game brought the real fear of a shotgun being pointed at your head, your friends being killed, and all the money you’ve earned being stolen.  With Doyle’s chapter being so exceptional, I assumed the rest of the book would follow suit. 

Layne Flack’s chapter focuses on drugs, alcohol, women and gambling.  It is a very important lesson about vices and not getting caught up in the many awful things the gambling world can present you.  Even with his fifth bracelets in 2003, Flack still saw money go through his hands at an alarming rate and his reliance on drugs to be strong.  I know personally that when I had my first big wins in January of 2008 the money fell through my hands and I had nothing to show for it.  If you aren’t careful, people can take advantage of you.  Despite the image that Flack portrays on the table as a fun-loving and carefree man, he is able to portray his inner-turmoil and lack of control in earlier years without being over the top.  It is an excellent read, and with his 2008 bracelet in the $1,500 PLO with rebuys for over $577k, there is a belief that he is finally back in form.

Howard Lederer’s slow rise through a New York poker club into a WPT superstar is also intriguing, as is Phil Ivey’s story of using fake identification to play stud in Atlantic City, but the rest of the stories fall short.  It seems like every story is pretty repetitive; business or school wasn’t going well, so they turned to poker because they excelled at it.  Annette Obrestad, Tom Dwan, and Peter Eastgate all have almost identical stories about leaving school before its completion to pursue poker due to its financial freedoms.  Maybe this is due to all three of these young stars (referred to as “young guns”) not being that old or having a lot of life experience, but if that is the case they shouldn’t have been included in the book.  Instead, the book is concluded with three very uninteresting story.

I think the biggest negative about this book is that it doesn’t spend enough time discussing the individual player’s backgrounds.  Instead of going into detail about the player’s childhoods and interest, it cuts right to how they got into poker and then offers banal advice about tells, betting patterns, and other basic strategy.  The book’s cover states to have “twenty of the world’s top poker players share the heartbreaking and inspiring stories of how they turned pro.”  If that is the case, why is Tom Dwan discussing the unimportance of tells?    There are plenty of strategy books on the market, but I had high hopes of a different experience with this book.

Deal Me In