"Probably the best book on poker ever written."--The Evening Standard(London)"A magnificent book. Beyond the straights and fullhouses, Alvarez has written a book about people who are extremely good at what they do, and about America."--San Francisco Chronicle "[Alvarez] endows the game with all the desperate fun and wry futility of life itself."--New Yorkmagazine"Conveys an understanding of gamblers and their milieu that can appeal to someone who has never seen a casino or doesn't care to."--The Philadelphia Inquirer