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Copyright © 2006 North Jersey
HEADLINE: Professional Poker Tour to debut
By Ryan McLane
Body:
If you're looking for a feel good story about an amateur who fulfills
a lifelong dream of winning the World Series of Poker - this is
not your poker
book.
Pat Walsh is not the main character from "Rounders"
nor is he Chris Moneymaker. He's simply an author with a publisher
willing to front him the money required to learn
about poker. Why? Because reading about an underdog is more
fun than reading about champions.
And Walsh is funny as hell.
Walsh - a poker beginner, a full time writer, and a little bit
of a nerd, buys all the strategy
books and computer programs he can and embarks on a journey to
learn poker. He begins by playing freerolls
on the Internet, moves on to seedy charity tournaments in church
basements, makes his way through a brick and mortar casino tournament
and finally ends up ready to take on Vegas.
The writing is brilliant. Combining anecdotes of his disapproving
wife with honest self-deprecating humor, Walsh is able to show
how he balances family life and work while cultivating a desire
to make millions playing
poker. The humor begins when the desire becomes an obsession.
Any poker player can relate to this story. During the beginning
stages of his poker education, Walsh experiences first-timer luck,
parlaying his small buy-ins into wins large enough to convince
the author that he's good enough to play for a living.
Reality strikes when Walsh goes on a losing streak. Like many
amateur poker players, the more he learns about the game, the
more he loses, begging him to ask the question, is poker more
about skill or about luck? Eventually, he comes to the time-tested
conclusion that it's a little of both.
The best part in the book is the event Walsh participates in
before the actual Main Event. Invited to play in the media and
celebrity tournament, Walsh is seated at a table with James Woods,
arguably one of today's best celebrity poker players.
A rant on poor-poker-playing celebrities is inevitable and Walsh
goes off on "celebrities and amateurs who can't play poker
for sh*t," marking the culmination of his poker education
because now he's good enough to tell others they suck.
The pictures Walsh paints of Woods basking in the limelight while
the author silently plots his poker demise is priceless; especially
considering Walsh subconsciously knows he's dead money in the
Main Event and not nearly as talented as Woods.
This is not a strategy
book and never claims to be. It's a story designed to take
advantage of America's craze for everything poker and it serves
the worthwhile purpose of highlighting one man on an everyman
quest.
BOTTOMLINE:
Serious poker players will enjoy this book because Walsh has
a simple style that allows a reader to see glimpses of how ridiculous
the current poker craze has become. Any poker fan looking for
a summer quickie should also consider the purchase. A small caution
is necessary, as some of the language use and stories are inappropriate
for younger readers.
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