For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker [Hardcover]

Victoria Coren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

In September 2006, Victoria Coren won a million dollars on the European Poker Tour. In her long-awaited memoir, she tells the story of that victory, but also of a 20-year obsession with the game. It is a journey which has taken Coren from a secret culture of illegal cash games to the high-stakes glamour of Las Vegas and Monte Carlo, and brought with it friendship, laughter, and money, but also loneliness, heartbreak, and defeat. With disarming honesty, Coren lays all of this bare. For Richer, For Poorer also tells the story of the poker revolution. How did this cult card game, populated by a small community of colorful and eccentric players, move from the back streets to the mainstream in a few short years? It is a fascinating story from a trusted insider.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'For Richer, For Poorer seizes the reader with its first sentence and never lets go. Victoria Coren writes, on several levels, with wit, honesty, and perfect freshness.' Martin Amis

About the Author

Victoria Coren is a writer, broadcaster, and poker player who writes weekly columns in the Guardian and the Observer. She is a member of Team PokerStars Pro, with lifetime winnings of $1.5 million.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Canongate Books (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847672914
• ISBN-13: 978-1847672919
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,138,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, raucous fun, April 20, 2011

By 

Mia (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker (Hardcover)

If Alice in Wonderland was an Oxford graduate with balls of steel and no sense of propriety whatsoever, then thank God she wrote this book for the rest of us. If Clint Eastwood were a young woman who wrote books... Coren lived the dream, that dark dream where it's tough going, you have everything to lose and nobody to believe in you, but a handful are compelled to do it anyway. She plays Stephen Fry, Martin Amis and Zac Goldsmith - interesting tidbits, though I wish she wasn't star-struck about the latter two. She's a better writer than Amis, anyway: erudite, humble, balanced and open-minded. The fact that she's female makes it more interesting; since she doesn't write as if 50% of the population exists only peripherally as attractive distraction, there's so much more insight. A Coren in every walk of life would make a great improvement to modern literature. And she introduced me to Albert Camus.

5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't want this book to end, April 22, 2010

By 

Jann Sabin (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker (Hardcover)

I absolutely loved V. Coren's tale of life in the poker lane. I slowed down at the end because I just wanted it to go on. It's a terrific description of all of the wonderful things about poker, but doesn't overlook the bleak possibilities as well. It perfectly captured what I love about the game and what worries me about it. Made me glad I'm a student of the game and wish I lived closer to the Vic! I've read every poker book I can find and put this one in with the best.

But there's more than poker: Ms. Coren is a writer by profession and gives a good feel for what it's like to live in London, be a thoughtful women, be part of a global community, care about friends and family, and take a road not frequently traveled.


I did get the feel that the book was a compilation of some shorter pieces since there were repetitions. Probably more an editing problem. (Vicky: I'm available)