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Bigger Deal: A Year Inside the Poker Boom | 
 enlarge | Author: Anthony Holden
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy New: $1.69
You Save: $24.31 (94%)
New (44) Used (24) from $0.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 566297
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 337
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.5
ISBN: 0743294823
Dewey Decimal Number: 795.412092
EAN: 9780743294829
ASIN: 0743294823
Publication Date: May 8, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand new, mint condition with jacket. Will package well and ship fast! (dp2)
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Product Description
In the years since Anthony Holden wrote his classic memoir Big Deal, the poker world has changed beyond recognition. When Holden played in the 1988 World Series of Poker there were 167 starters competing for a prize of $270,000. Since then, poker has become the world's largest single-competitor sport -- at the 2006 World Series there were almost 9,000 players and a first prize of $12 million, the richest in any sport. What happened in the years between Big Deal and Bigger Deal could never have been predicted: the Internet and television sparked a worldwide explosion in the popularity of poker, one that shows no sign of abating. Poker even has a respectable image these days, much to the disgust of die-hard players. Gone are the seedy rooms of the Horseshoe -- you can't even smoke at the table! -- and you're more likely to find yourself head to head with a film star than an ex-con in Las Vegas. With the future of online poker now legally endangered in the United States, Holden's vision of the poker boom comes at a critical moment in the game's history. In Bigger Deal, Holden is your guide to the world of the "new" poker -- to the players who dominate the modern game and the personalities behind the multibillion-dollar business it has become -- as he tries once again to win the world title. After all, as Telly Savalas once reminded Holden, a million dollars is never irrelevant. Not to mention twelve...
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Self-Important May 26, 2008
Very mundane. Too many stories about the author himself. Intertwined himself as a celebrity as often as he could.
MisDeal December 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A lot of people think reading about poker is boring; this book won't change their minds. The Big Deal was an engrossing joyride. The Bigger Deal is a slow crawl to nowhere. And, when we can watch several of the hands described in the book on ESPN every other day, it's a good idea to get the cards and the associated player comments correct.
Mr. Holden should have folded and waited for better hand.
 No Big Deal. October 5, 2007
Well, I like Anthony Holden and I loved Big Deal but there is nothing special about this sequel. It reads more like a personal diary of mundane events than an encapsulation of what poker has become. The incessant name dropping also rankled as he meticulously recorded the identities of everyone he met--even those for whom readers have little interest. I often had the feeling that Holden was saying to people on his travels, "check out my new book as your name will appear in it." No compelling narrative unwound. Holden seemed to be writing an ode to himself. With little transparency, the text appears to be a road to raise his own status as a player and a person. Some details failed to gel. He confesses to being both lonely but also having the company of women whenever he wanted it, but his obsession over his estranged wife, "the moll," was quite depressing. It served to debase the reader's trust in his perspective. I did find parts of it entertaining so I'll reluctantly give it three stars.
 The perfect, timely coverage of a rapidly changing game world August 9, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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 July 9, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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.
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