{"product_id":"poker-nation-a-highstakes-lowlife-adventure-into-the-heart-of-a-gambling-country-isbn-9780060199036","title":"Poker Nation: A High-Stakes, Low-Life Adventure into the Heart of a Gambling Country","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“\u003cem\u003ePoker Nation\u003c\/em\u003e is a travelogue to the quirky world of competitive poker, an exploration of poker obsession and addiction (not necessarily the same thing) and a primer on mathematics, poker lingo and technique. Entertaining and accessible.” —\u003cem\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJournalist and poker fanatic Andy Bellin takes readers on a raucous journey into the shut-up-and-deal world of professional poker. From basement games to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, you'll look over his shoulder as he learns to count cards, read a legendary player's body language, hang in there when the chips are down, and take his beatings like a man. Even if you don't know the difference between a flop and a river card, Bellin keeps you in the game with his portraits of the colorful players, dreamers, hustlers, and eccentrics who populate this strange subculture. Along with learning what goes on behind the scenes in illegal poker clubs, you'll get great advice on how to play Texas Hold'em, today's game of choice for big-money players.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eIf you look around the table and you can't tell who the sucker is, it's you.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eOn any given Friday night, hundreds of thousands of Americans--men and women alike -- pile into kitchens, garages, and backrooms to play their weekly poker game. From basement games in the suburbs to illegal gambling clubs in New York City to the high-stakes World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Andy Bellin has anted up with some of the world's greatest players. In \u003cem\u003ePoker Nation,\u003c\/em\u003e he takes us on a raucous journey into the shut-up-and-deal world of professional poker.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eEven if you don't know the difference between a flop and a river card -- or you do know exactly what it means to have \"the nuts\" -- Bellin is your ace in the hole as you navigate this uniquely American terrain. Look over his shoulder as he learns to count cards, read a legendary player's body language, hang in there when the chips are down, and, yes, take his beatings like a man. Watch what goes on behind the scenes in illegal poker clubs found in every major city in the country. Meet the colorful personalities and skewed psyches of the players, the dreamers, hustlers, eccentrics, and hucksters who are all part of this strange subculture. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003ePart memoir, part exposé, part how-to (or how-\u003cem\u003enot\u003c\/em\u003e-to), \u003cem\u003ePoker Nation\u003c\/em\u003e takes a frank and funny look at one of America's enduring obsessions. It's a sure bet.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Breezy, informative…[Bellin] knows his way around the poker table and he tells a good story.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePhiladelphia Inquirer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An insider’s wonderfully entertaining and instructive guide to high–level poker and its Runyonesque characters—a cautionary tale in that it makes you wish you played the game more skillfully and at the same time, sigh with relief that you don’t. Quite simply, a royal flush of a book!” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGeorge Plimpton\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Poker players and writers are by their nature very competitive people: so understand that as someone who fancies himself adept at both it causes me a measure of pain to tell you that Andy Bellin has written a good—oh hell make that great—book. Mixing history, strategy, mathematics, and autobiography, Bellin entertains, educates, and illuminates. For fans of poker and good writing this is the stone–cold nuts.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeter Alson, author of Confessions of an Ivy League Bookie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Most books on poker aren’t worth a busted flush, but Andy Bellin is one guy who knows his way around the table. Whether he’s counting cards, reading an opponent’s ‘tell,’ or regaling you with tales of larger–than–life cardslingers, he’s always at the top of his game.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePhil Helmuth, 1989 World Series of Poker Champion, all–time leading money winner at the WSOP, and author of Let's Play Poker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“If you are in AC in a game of Texas Hold’em with someone who knows only half as much as Bellin, don’t play it all the way to the river. You’re drawing dead. He wins. Cash in your chips and go home with a good book about poker—like this one.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Even after the grim realities are revealed, the book still buzzes with enough high–stakes betting and cigar–stained grit to fill any man with visions of big money, beautiful women, and the bright lights of Vegas.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMen’s Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Colorful and insightful.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKansas City Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Amusing and instructive.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Andy Bellin has written a good—oh hell make that great—book. Bellin entertains, educates, and illuminates.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeter Alson, author of Confessions of an Ivy League Bookie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Smart, insightful. It’s one of the few entertaining poker books around.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn L. Smith, Las Vegas Boulevard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Bellin’s prose shimmers.” B+ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003ePoker Nation\u003c\/em\u003e is a travelogue to the quirky world of competitive poker, an exploration of poker obsession and addiction (not necessarily the same thing) and a primer on mathematics, poker lingo and technique. Entertaining and accessible.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003ePoker Nation\u003c\/em\u003e is an invitation to the lower depths, with a high-spirited, genial screw-off for our Virgil.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889072140517,"sku":"NP9780060199036","price":23.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780060199036.jpg?v=1773960859","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/poker-nation-a-highstakes-lowlife-adventure-into-the-heart-of-a-gambling-country-isbn-9780060199036","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}