Overview

The follow-up to the hugely successful cult-classic BIG DEAL, with all the poker wit and wisdom of the original. Fifteen years on from Anthony Holden's undisputed classic BIG DEAL, the poker world has changed beyond recognition. When Holden played in the 1988 World Series of Poker there were 167 entrants competing for a prize of $270,000. At the 2006 WSOP, where this book climaxes, there were 8773 players and a first prize of some $12 million - the richest in any sport. What happened in the years between BIG DEAL and BIGGER DEAL is simple: thanks to the Internet and television there has been a worldwide explosion in the popularity of poker. The game even has a new respectable image, much to the disgust of die-hard players. Gone are the seedy, smoky rooms of the Horseshoe, and celebrities now crowd the tables at huge Las Vegas tournaments: Martin Sheen, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are all dedicated players. In BIGGER DEAL, Holden is your guide - and the only guide you'll need - to the world of new poker as he prepares to enter the WSOP once again. Will he win the title? Place your bets...

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9780316730778

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Reviews

'Holden is the best possible guide to the new worlds of poker. He has seen it before, and lived it' Telegraph 'It's Holden's effortless prose that makes BIGGER DEAL a triumph. His ebullience is infectious' Poker Player Magazine 'BIG DEAL was high stakes gonzo ... BIGGER DEAL represents the more measured reportage of the seasoned semi-pro' Metro NON-FICTION OF THE WEEK 'A smoking-hot report from today's poker scene' Poker Listings 'Holden has an endearing way of turning descriptions of botched or brilliant poker hands into page-turning mini-narratives, discussing his mental demons and romantic travails. You can't help rooting for him' Scotsman 'The Bill Bryson of the gambling hall, Holden's deceptively laconic and urbane style is full of unexpected facts, colour and insights' Glasgow Herald 'Whereas Big Deal was high-stakes gonzo with the gusto of the anonymous amateur, Bigger Deal represents the more measured reportage of the seasoned semi-pro. But there are enough hands detailed here to keep poker heads in clover, while those who wouldn't know a royal flush from pocket rockets will still find it thoroughly addictive Metro 'Shadowy appearances from various molls , encounter with the old lions such as Al Alvarez, and many dramatic narratives of particular hands, ballsy bluffs and spectacular bad beats . As usual, Holden's prose purrs along like the casino's best limo' Steven Poole, Guardian

Wandering writer and poker aficionado Holden (William Shakespeare, 2000, etc.) tries to revisit the scene of earlier glories.Big Deal, his 1990 account of life on the pro poker circuit, is considered by authorities as varied as Salman Rushdie and the New York Times to be one of the great books on the game. So Holden spied in the recent explosion (and subsequent semi-implosion) of poker-mania an opportunity to go back and see how things had changed, if at all. He sets up his story as a ramshackle sort of gambling odyssey: barnstorming from Vegas to London to Monte Carlo and back again, playing cards and bumping into old buddies, trading war stories of life as an itinerant journalist. (Besides writing about gambling for various publications, he's also a classical-music critic.) The whole journey turns on his desire to win - or at least not embarrass himself in - the World Series of Poker. Apart from its exceedingly detailed accounts of Holden's various matches, the narrative bends to accommodate any of the author's passing interests. It's difficult to begrudge Holden the chance to make his hobby into a working holiday, and he certainly does have an interesting passel of friends, ranging from seasoned old card sharps to political gadfly Christopher Hitchens. But this book is ultimately only for those interested in pages of entries like the following: 1:10p.m.: Up to $3750. Thanks to 8-8 on my big blind (now $200), with a flop of 7-8-9, including two hearts. Tiresome. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Biographer Anthony Holden was an award-winning newspaper columnist and editor before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster. He is also an admired translator of works from the classics to opera for Jonathan Miller at the English National Opera. Author Location: London E9 BIG DEAL (Abacus) 0 349 11519 2; CHARLES (Weidenfeld); TCHAIKOVSKY (Bantam); THE OSCARS; WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (Little, Brown/Abacus) 0 349 11240 1

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