Getting Lucky: The Education of a Mad Poker Player [Paperback]

Richard Sparks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2006

The follow-up to Diary of a Mad Poker Player, in which Richard Sparks went on a wild roller coaster ride to the World Series of Poker. Now, when the dust clears, he sees one thing above all: his game needs help. So Richard approaches one of the legends of poker, World Champion of Poker Tom McEvoy, who signs on as his personal coach. Soon Richard sets out again into the booming world of poker -- armed with a lot more firepower. He sails down to Mexico, on board the Party Poker Million Cruise. He gets up close and personal with famous poker faces, top stars and big money players, old pros and young guns. He discusses the future of poker with the man behind the World Poker Tour. He hears about the bad old days from The King of the Cheats. And he gets into the action at the World Series of Poker, against the biggest names in the game. There are anecdotes, and encounters with some of poker's unusual characters. There is insight and instruction from McEvoy, as Richard's game improves rapidly -- with spectacular results. And there is plenty of real-life, real-time poker action.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Sparks has written over sixty hours of broadcast TV worldwide (among others, The Famous Five, Not the Nine o’Clock News, The Worst of Hollywood, Valentine Park, The Optimist, The Flying Kiwi.) On stage, a dozen plays for companies all over the U.K., such as the Welsh National, the Chichester Festival and the West Yorkshire Playhouse, and London theatres including the Victoria Palace, the Latchmere, the Orange Tree, Greenwich, Hampstead and the Bush. It was at the Hampstead Theatre that the then-unknown Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) performed Richard's Schoolmaster sketch, which launched him to stardom in John Cleese’s show/film The Secret Policeman’s Ball. He is now living in the U.S., and writing many opera libretti for leading companies such as the National Symphony (Washington D.C.) and the Los Angeles Opera -- four of which have their world premieres in 2006. p; He has even written an opera for puppets, in the New Line film The Adventures of Pinocchio, with composers Lee Holdridge and Brian May of Queen. A lifelong poker afficionado, he used to play in a home game in London that included poker authors A.Alvarez, David Spanier and Anthony Holden.

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Russell Enterprises (August 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888690313
• ISBN-13: 978-1888690316
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,525,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It doesn't get better than this., August 27, 2006

By 

Tracy J. Elliott (Houston, Tx USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Getting Lucky: The Education of a Mad Poker Player (Paperback)

What a read!

Poker's Perfect Storm!

Finally, a brilliant writer that understands this game of games!

Not only will reading this book improve your level of play, but you will be captivated by Richard's wit and storytelling prowess.

Richard Sparks lets us into his heart and head as he competes and struggles to improve. And that is a very special gift to all who read it.

This book taught me, like no other, that the emotions and thoughts that cascade through me at the table are part of what binds us together as poker players. Our shared experience.

I loved this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wide-ranging, happy poker odyssey, August 22, 2006

By 

2many2read (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Getting Lucky: The Education of a Mad Poker Player (Paperback)

After his first book, the author decides that he loves the game of poker and travelling the world to play it. He lacks only one thing: a good poker game. Mere mortals among us might read books, try software or discuss our play with friends to improve. Not Mr. Sparks. He enlists WSOP champ and author Tom McEvoy to coach him.

This method works like gangbusters. Sparks still struggles in battle at the tables, but now, he often wins. He learns from a research psychologist all about tells, in poker and otherwise. He meets all sorts of poker players, both famous and infamous. The famous include Josh Arieh, Ted Forrest, Clonie Gowen, Chris Ferguson, Greg Raymer -- you get the idea. The infamous player is an anonymous poker cheat who says that cheating goes on constantly in the poker room at every level.

He takes a poker cruise with everyone from Bill Gates to Mike Sexton aboard.

He tells us the story of Lyle Berman, great cash game player, pot limit Omaha expert and the man who started the World Poker Tour, The WPT is a big part of the energy behind the poker craze. Watch a poker game on TV, snooze time; watch a poker game on TV and see everyone's cards, instant hit. Berman put the first watchable poker on the tube.

He goes to the WSOP, this time as a player.

An informative, wide-ranging,and winning poker memoir.

Heck, I'm gonna raise my rating up another star because of all the great material in this book. I've read a lot of these poker memoirs lately, and this is one of my favorites.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh and learn, September 13, 2006

By 

CC "CC" (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Getting Lucky: The Education of a Mad Poker Player (Paperback)

There are plenty of poker "how-to" books on the market ("Secrets the Pros Won't Tell You" by Sheree Bykofsky and Lou Krieger is a good one). Unlike other poker authors, Richard Sparks takes as his subjects the who and what and why and where and when of poker. But, in "Getting Lucky" - the sequel to "Diary of a Mad Poker Player" - there is also an element of "how." This is because, after his first book, Richard realized that he needed help with his game. So he got 1983 World Champion of Poker Tom McEvoy to coach him for a year.

The result is an interesting new angle on poker teaching. "How-to" books are always written by the teacher. This one is written by the student. So you get to go through Richard's learning process with him, in real events, with real hands in real situations. You get to witness his mistakes, and hear what his coach has to say about them. The fact that Richard's results improved out of all recognition speaks for McEvoy's excellence as a teacher - for example, in July 2006, Richard finished 20th out of 2,891 entrants in the $1,000 No Limit Hold Em at the World Series of Poker.

Mainly, though, "Getting Lucky" is the story of one player's year in the heart of the current poker boom. There are poker greats and poker degenerates. There is a week of poker bliss on the Party Poker Cruise. There are unusual angles on the game: a lesson in reading body language from an Oxford Professor; interviews with poker luminaries like Lyle Berman, owner of the World Poker Tour. And there is the will-he, won't-he thrill of an ordinary player winning his seat in our World Championship, and playing in the Big One for the first time.

Richard Sparks is a professional comedy writer who clearly loves poker. "Getting Lucky" was obviously a labor of love.