Hunting Fish: A Cross-Country Search for America's Worst Poker Players [Hardcover]

Jay Greenspan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2006

If you want to prove you're a good poker player, you don't have to battle against the best. Nobody really cares if you ever bluffed Phil Ivey or got Daniel Negreanu to make a bad call. You're at the table for the money, not stories of conquest. A disciplined player, one who's playing for the right reasons, would rather sit with the worst, those he's sure to outplay. He's looking for donkeys and donors. He's hunting fish.
In Hunting Fish author Jay Greenspan sets out on a cross-country drive---from Connecticut to Los Angeles---looking for players he can outclass. In casinos, underground clubs, and home games throughout the country, Jay shared tables with the most inept gamblers America has to offer. In South Carolina he wiped out some racial-epithet-spewing good ole boys; in Houston he fleeced the country club set; and in Vegas he happily pounded drunken tourists.
Hunting Fish is, however, not merely the story of a hustler's travels. In addition to fleecing suckers, Jay was convinced he could beat the very best and make it as a full-time pro. This trip gave him the opportunity to build his bankroll to the point where he could test his mettle in high-stakes games when he reached Los Angeles. Although to play in the high-limit rooms at Commerce Casino he needed a steady nerve---and a fatter bankroll. In his three months on the road, he needed to pad his roll with an additional twenty thousand dollars. That's a lot of fish to hunt.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Greenspan, the editor of Winning Internet Poker for Dummies, narrates a three-month odyssey in which he hopes to win enough money to take on the power players at California's Commerce Casino. This is partly a technical book, replete with Greenspan's exhaustive musings on how to play particular hands (which will be arcane and tedious to nonplayers) and partly a sophisticated insider's exploration of the dynamics of the poker world. Greenspan theorizes, for instance, that this world is a "giant inverted pyramid" where "the richest and most skilled reside at the bottom." It's to those pros, the Doyle Brunsons and Phil Iveys of the world, that the money ultimately falls. A surrogate for the millions of Americans who fantasize about becoming professional poker players, Greenspan ends up debunking the myth that it's an easy lifestyle, pointing to the long hours, the stress of high stakes poker, and the dysfunctional personalities that inhabit the poker world. Accordingly, despite concluding that he is good enough to play professionally, Greenspan decides the poker life isn't for him. Readers will applaud the good sense of this able and likable writer. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"If I were seeking a guide to lead me through the streams in search of really big fish, I'd grab my tackle and get in Jay's canoe. And if I were searching for fish at the poker table, I'd follow Jay too. And so should you. He can lead you to everything you wanted to know about poker but have never asked." --Lou Krieger, author of POKER FOR DUMMIES

 

"There are great poker players and there are great writers. Jay is one of the rare exceptions who is a star at both. As a poker writer, he is a fresh voice with sharp insights on game play, strategy, players, and poker's impact on pop culture. Gauging from his large following on the Web, when Jay talks poker, poker people listen." --Bhu Srinivasan, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of All In magazine

 

"Jay Greenspan is a terrific writer with a deep and detailed understanding of poker. If he's writing a book, it's guaranteed to be entertaining. Hunting Fish is the kind of book veteran and novice poker players alike will really enjoy reading, and stands a great chance of joining the short list of poker classics." --Dan Kimberg, Card Player columnist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (August 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312347839
• ISBN-13: 978-0312347833
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #576,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Were we the fish?, February 21, 2008

By 

Jerry B (Mesa, Az.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hunting Fish: A Cross-Country Search for America's Worst Poker Players (Paperback)

I left the book wondering if we were the fish for buying the book. I expected far more stories of soft games and how he exploited inexperienced people. However, the book is really more about the problems and experiences related to trying to play poker professionally. The book is valuable as a realistic look into the real poker world; hours of boredom for a few minutes of excitement.

I wish he was able to tell us more about the people he played against but since he skipped from game to game that probably was impossible.

I enjoyed his self-awareness that this wasn't the lifestyle for him. He seem so be a good tournament and internet player, so it makes you wonder why he ever left home to start with.

I agree with other reviewers that some of the hands he played were long-shot hands not normally played. However, I wasn't sitting there and didn't have the feel of the table or the players. Many times you make a play with 7,2 offsuit against a weak player to steal the pot but that may come only after you have built a super tight image and they believe you have the best hand.

Overall, I did like the book and it re-enforced my idea that the television version of poker is massively over hyped. The reality, not told in this book is that very few poker players make real money compared to the masses that play. At least, he shared his feelings and concerns about other poker players and what he might become if he continued. His decision in the end was correct and, perhaps, a lesson in gambling for all of us.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Poker Odyssey, August 9, 2006

By 

Booklover - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hunting Fish: A Cross-Country Search for America's Worst Poker Players (Hardcover)

I know almost nothing about poker beyond the basics. A friend who makes his living playing pro poker gave me this book with the comment, "This will help you understand me better." And it certainly did. I was immediately hooked by Greenspan's description of the unglamourous world he had entered when he decided to embark on a three-month trip across America playing Texas Hold'em in casinos and back room joints. The conceit of the book, that he is always on the lookout for a "fish" to outplay, holds up. The real strength of the book, however, is Greenspan's realization that the world he has entered is not quite what he had expected. He is also disarmingly frank about his own limitations as a player and how much that old rascal Luck enters into the game. Greenspan's decision about how to frame his future, the experiences that contributed to that decision, and his reflections on his tour across America is what made the book a fascinating read for me. Experienced poker players will probably also enjoy the descriptions of poker hands he plays along the way.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining, insightful read, November 3, 2006

By 

M. Suescun - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hunting Fish: A Cross-Country Search for America's Worst Poker Players (Hardcover)

This book is a great read, compelling from start - what's more compelling than reading about a poker player getting robbed, literally, of his bank roll a week before setting out on a cross-country poker trip? - to satisfying finish. The hand descriptions are precise and vivid, but it's Greenspan's excellent description of the color around the game - the various tablemates, the tedium of long sessions - and, most impressively, his thoughtful chronicling of his internal journey that the great gift of this book. A wonderful yarn, and a thought-provoking read for anyone who's ever considered going pro.