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Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King, The | 
 enlarge | Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
Category: EBooks
List Price: $10.99
Buy New: $8.79
You Save: $2.20 (20%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  58 reviews
Sales Rank: 5715
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Dewey Decimal Number: 795.41209793135
ASIN: B001ACU1Z6
Publication Date: June 17, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
In 2001, a stranger from Texas entered the high-stakes poker room in the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas. A self-made billionaire, he challenged some of poker's greatest players to a series of heads-up matches. By the end, there was more than $20 million on the table. For the first time ever, here is the detailed, true account of the legendary Big Game that shocked the poker world. Putting you railside to observe the pulse-pounding action, it takes you inside the iron-nerved mind of the professional gambler. Filled with vivid characters, sensational tales, and riveting human drama, this is a unique, suspenseful journey into the world of people who live on the razor's edge of fortune-where incredible wealth or utter ruin turn on the flip of a card.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 53 more reviews...
 Andy Beal is more interesting than poker August 26, 2008
I bought this book because I'm a poker fan and casual player. I love reading dramatic stories surrounding Las Vegas. However, I found myself more interested in Andy Beal throughout the book than any of the stories surrounding the games being played. Maybe it was my entrepreneur/business side coming out, but for pure poker alone this book wasn't that interesting. If there is a biography about Andy Beal, I'll be sure to read that next.
 Interesting Inside Story July 17, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
In some ways this could be considered a story about negotiating terms and conditions - these factors were key in determining the outcome of "the game". Very interesting backstories about some of the players that appear at so many final tables of big tournaments.
 Fabulous Read June 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great book, I believe for a poker player although someone who wants insights into the High Stakes world would also enjoy it. It was absolutely riveting and it was extremely difficult to lay it down. An exceptionally fast read. I would recommend the book wholeheartedly. The ending was a bit off with the author forcibly interjectedly himself into the story. I found that trivial and quite unnecessary.
Wow, What a story, and it's true. May 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was very interesting and hard to put down. It talks about a lot of the poker pros that live and play in Las Vegas and L.A. And is a good insight into some of the highest stakes poker games in the world. If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to be a high stakes poker player you should read this book. It is also very interesting to read about what goes on behind the scenes in the high stakes poker rooms in Las Vegas.
Captures the energy and motivation of high stakes players March 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Michael Craig does a great job of mixing reportorial style with novelistic pacing. He tells the story of Andy Beal, a very rich man even among rich men, whose motivations for taking on the greatest poker players in the world by definition transcend the money. At the same time, he raised the stakes for the heads-up hold 'em games to levels never before seen -- even among the highest stakes players who joined financial forces to accept the challenge. Craig also gives insight into the "gambler's mindset" -- that itch that sits in the mind of anyone who gets off in a casino -- as it applies to the game of poker. This is the most interesting part for me, as poker is the only widely spread casino game where the house's advantage is 100% but capped (in other words, they charge a fee or "rake", rather than making money off of a statistical advantage). Thus, Poker combines the skill and gambling -- which is why it attracts some of the brightest people you will find in a casino. Michael digs into this phenomenon, both in his interviews of Beal and of many of the successful players who played against Beal.
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