Called "the best book ever written on poker" by players and critics alike, The Biggest Game in Town is a sought-after classic thats finally available in print again. Acclaimed author A. Alvarez delves into the seedy, obsessive world of high-stakes Vegas poker, where "the next best thing to playing and winning is playing and losing." Uncovering an exotic underground rich in ambiance and eccentricity, The Biggest Game in Town is "a magnificent book " (San Francisco Chronicle), a real one of a kind.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
A large portion of this 1983 volume initially appeared in The New Yorker as a series of sketches of the cardsharps who annually descend on Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. The players make for interesting portraits, and Alvarez lets them have their say. Anyone interested in gaming will enjoy this, but others might as well.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
"A classic . . . There is no better book on America's national pastime."--James McManus, Author of Positively Fifth Street
"Probably the best book on poker ever written."--The Evening Standard (UK)
"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 York magazine
"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
"Thoroughly entertaining . . . both perceptive and literate."--The Washington Post
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 59 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I know this book is 20 years old, so its not particularly surprising that most of the anecdote and stories seem old. Its all about Johnny Moss and Nick the Greek and Amarillo Slim and Doyle Brunson. Naturally there's a new posse in the world of poker today, Men the Master Nguyen, Phil Hellmuth , Poker Dick Cook. and the brilliant Russell Rosenblum. The world of the world series of poker has changed much since this book was written in 1983, there remains a question even about how much longer Binions will host the world series and the there is a real possiblity that Bellagio will even buy the trademarked name. This book advertises itself as a timeless cult classic, and as a period piece from 25 years ago, A. Alvarez captured a time and place. I wonder how much of this however will resound as novel to the poker player of today. When Alvarez mentioned Stu Unger winning the world series, it left me wanting to read about how stu ungar moved from world champion to dying in a run down Vegas motel room. Or when he talked about Ted Binion running Binions, the mind flashes to the fact that binion has since been murdered .Plenty of good advice in here for hold em play, of course the problem in gambling isn't usually knowing what to do, its being able to do it, to fight fatigue, to fight temptation to play too many hands, to summon up the courage to pitch aces when you know they have been cracked. The problem with the gamblig genre is that there just arent that many good books out there. Too many agents and publishers think they won't sell and bookstores tend to look down on gambling books as being anti-literary. Snobbery in the bookstore world is a real problem, as anyone who has ever asked a proprietor if they carry the Racing Form on their mag rack will quickly find out.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Quite simply, this is one of the best books I have ever read. My only regret is that it was way too short. Alvarez, simply put, is a great writer. You will not be surprised by his background as a poet after opening it because he writes masterfully. He has a poet's sense for distilled language no words are wasted and the quotations are carefully selected and sometimes astounding (like Binion's equating gambling with all that is American). The organization and flow of the work is tremendous and his 188 pages turned like 40. There's no way you'll put The Biggest Game in Town once you start it.
No work better describes the "alligator blood" of the world's top notch professional poker players. His portraits of Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, and Jack Strauss will be with you forever.
The sheer aggression of Hold 'Em becomes quite obvious as does the way in which our sexual drives, and just about everything else, become sublimated in those who are addicted to gambling. However, the allure of "action" is quite apparent and will make readers want to fly out to the World Series of Poker to experience the pagaentry for themselves. This is a rare and valuable offering.
No work better describes the "alligator blood" of the world's top notch professional poker players. His portraits of Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, and Jack Strauss will be with you forever.
The sheer aggression of Hold 'Em becomes quite obvious as does the way in which our sexual drives, and just about everything else, become sublimated in those who are addicted to gambling. However, the allure of "action" is quite apparent and will make readers want to fly out to the World Series of Poker to experience the pagaentry for themselves. This is a rare and valuable offering.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It takes the insights of a foreigner to really lay out Las Vegas in all its bloated glory. Alvarez has an economical yet beautiful way with words that captures a time and place nicely. Though the Vegas he writes of is long gone (for example, the only kids' attraction in the early 1980s was Circus! Circus!), this book is not just a snapshot of bygone times and tournaments. It is particularly interesting in its portrayal of Doyle Brunson, as well as other players of the era. Great stuff!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
entertaining, though dated
an enjoyable, well-written book that talks a lot about the culture of vegas/poker at the time it was written (early 80s). Read more
Published 1 month ago by WEP
great stories from the WSOP main event early years
I would have loved to have gotten this book in the mid 80's when I started playing poker.
This book is about the history of the World Series of Poker and the characters... Read more
This book is about the history of the World Series of Poker and the characters... Read more
Published 8 months ago by eddyge
The next best thing to gambling and winning is gambling and losing." -...
On the surface, The Biggest Game in Town is a A. Alvarez's account of the 1981 World Series of Poker. Read more
Published 18 months ago by stoic
Probably The greatest Poker book Ever written
This is such a great book, whether your big on poker or not. A. Alvarez was a close friend of Sylvia Plath and was best known (prior to this book) as the author of a... Read more
Published on October 20, 2009 by David T. Catapano
vegas and poker classic
A. Alvarez wrote a number of seemingly thematically unconnected books on the strange and the remarkable, outliers in life. Read more
Published on May 2, 2009 by Konrad Baumeister
Best of This Genre
I've read a number of the "writer/journalist poker life" genre books. (I'd guess at least six). This is the best written. Read more
Published on February 23, 2009 by Brunello
Great Historical Poker Read
This book definitely sheds a light on poker as it was in the early 80s. The backgrounds given on the players of the time are extremely informative and enlightening. Read more
Published on July 6, 2008 by Geoff Howard
Classic poker memoir.
This is the first modern poker yarn by a legendary poker player and yes, literary critic. It seems half the UK poker players get their bonafides by how closely connected they are... Read more
Published on February 5, 2008 by 2many2read
A Classic Poker Read
This book is a must have for the serious poker library. While many of the poker players that Alvarez writes about in the book have now become household names, they were virtual... Read more
Published on December 14, 2006 by Steven J. Yeager
Would have been good in its time but is now dated
"The Biggest Game in Town" is a book exploring the lead up to, the characters behind, and the culmination of, the 1981 World Series Of Poker. Read more
Published on June 20, 2006 by obediah
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
NINE O'CLOCK on a Tuesday morning at the end of April 1981, and according to the giant illuminated figures at the top of the mint Hotel the temperature was already ninety-two degrees. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
poker room Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Las Vegas, World Series, Sombrero Room, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Golden Nugget, Bobby Baldwin, Eric Drache, New York, Stu Ungar, Glitter Gulch, Perry Green, Binion's Horseshoe, Puggy Pearson, Gene Fisher, Chip Reese, Ken Smith, New Jersey, Amarillo Slim, Mickey Appleman, United States, Benny Binion, Los Angeles, Andy Moore, Bill Smith New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
NINE O'CLOCK on a Tuesday morning at the end of April 1981, and according to the giant illuminated figures at the top of the mint Hotel the temperature was already ninety-two degrees. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
poker room Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Las Vegas, World Series, Sombrero Room, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Golden Nugget, Bobby Baldwin, Eric Drache, New York, Stu Ungar, Glitter Gulch, Perry Green, Binion's Horseshoe, Puggy Pearson, Gene Fisher, Chip Reese, Ken Smith, New Jersey, Amarillo Slim, Mickey Appleman, United States, Benny Binion, Los Angeles, Andy Moore, Bill Smith New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 18
books:
See all 18 books this book cites
42
books
cite this book:
See all 42 books citing this book
- The Education of a Poker Player by Herbert O. Yardley in Front Matter, and page 113
- Feeding the Rat: A Climber's Life on the Edge by A. Alvarez in Front Matter
- Life After Marriage by A alvarez in Front Matter
- New and Selected Poems (Sun & Moon Classics) by Charles North in Front Matter
- Day of Atonement by Alfred Alvarez in Front Matter
See all 18 books this book cites
- Lawyers' Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players by Steven Lubet on 5 pages
- Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker by James McManus on 4 pages
- Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker by James McManus on page 28, page 75, and Back Matter
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Poker by Andrew N.S. Glazer on page 64, and Back Matter
- The Psychology of Poker by Alan N. Schoonmaker in Front Matter, and Back Matter
See all 42 books citing this book
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