Bigger Deal: A Year Inside the Poker Boom

by Anthony Holden

Book Overview

In the years since Anthony Holden wrote his classic memoir Big Deal, the poker world has changed beyond recognition. In Bigger Deal: A Year Inside the Poker Boom, Holden takes his game on the worldwide tournament circuit to chronicle how the rise of online gaming has completely transformed the world of poker.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743294831
• ISBN13: 9780743294836
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Must Read!

Anything Holden writes I buy and am never disappointed. I really love his stuff.

Read "Big Deal" First

You do need to have read Big Deal first but even so this is an excellent insight into the modern game - especially as Holden is now a celebrity. The same studies of the table from the first book are there but the stories from off the table are fascinating. Again, if nothing else it proves it's better to read something by a losing author than a winning err non-author. Literacy will win through.

The perfect, timely coverage of a rapidly changing game world

Nearly two decades ago journalist and music critic Anthony Holden wrote Big Deal, a memoir of a year spent as a professional poker player, which came to be viewed as a basic text in gambling literature. BIGGER DEAL expands on the ideas, presents Holden's worldwide tour of the poker tournament circuit again, and updates information on the game and its players. From the influence of the Internet during this time and a resulting explosion in poker's popularity to legal challenges to online poker rooms, BIGGER DEAL is the perfect, timely coverage of a rapidly changing game world and will make an excellent addition for any public library strong in either poker or gaming books. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Good but not as good as the first

This is Tony Holden's follow up to his immensely successful book, Big Deal, about playing at being a professional poker player for a year. He is not nearly as ambitious this time around, neither as an author nor poker player it seems. The product of his efforts is interesting and well written, but not nearly as compelling as his tale the first time around. Perhaps that's as much a product of the poker world of which he writes. Back when Big Deal came out serious casino poker was still, largely, an underground and undiscovered game. And so his insider stories of hobnobbing with the biggies of the game and playing poker with them around the world was all the more fascinating and bold. Today, with poker on television 24/7 and with casino games virtually surrounding us, there's little left to reveal. I must confess that I also got the sense that Bigger Deal was somewhat rushed in its final editing. It didn't have the same polished feel that Bid Deal had -- a certain slapdash quality of how the many details were put together into a final product. Without a doubt though, just about any well written book about poker is, for me, better than nearly any book not about poker. And in that regard, Bigger Deal is at the top of my list for this summer's reading.

Proof that sequels are rarely better than the original

When Big Deal: A Year as a Professional Poker Player was released in 1990,it caused quite a stir around my house, my Dad is a recreational player and lifelong poker enthusiast, and he would entertain us by reading passages from the book featuring mysterious characters with colorful nicknames like "Texas Dolly" "Amarillo Slim" "Stuey the Kid", and "The Orient Express" This book played a major role in igniting my life-long love of poker, so needless to say I awaited the release of it's sequel Bigger Deal with great excitement. Sadly, this book is proof that the Hollywood maxim about sequels never being greater than the original is true. I found that most of the magic that infused the original book had vanished. Thankfully this is not due to diminishing skills on Mr. Holden's part (He's still one of the best writers working today) but rather to the overexposure of poker these days, a theme which Holden expounds upon at length in this book. Back when Big Deal was published, poker gave the impression of inhabiting a somewhat seedy, secretive world that only those with sizeable bankrolls were able to break into. Thanks to the explosion of online poker in the last 5 years, and the Moneymaker effect, even an average Joe with a modest bankroll can dream of winning "The Big One" When you combine this with the profusion of poker coverage available today on TV, in print media, and online, this has greatly reduced the mystique that people had attached to the game, as a result, Holden's writing no longer seems "magical" but merely very good. The plot is similar to the last book, Holden tries to survive a year on the pro poker circuit. The book begins with him getting knocked out of the WSOP in 05, his stated goal is to win his way into WSOP 06 via a satellite, which he eventually does, along the way he chronicles poker's rise to respectability and writes insightfully and humorously about the changing landscape of the game. The strongest portion of the book is the last chapter which deals with how the poker community will adapt to the UIGEA, will it continue to thrive? Only time will tell, but rest assured Tony Holden will be there to chronicle it all! I recommend this book, particularly to new players who want to get a feel for the post-WPT poker culture.