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Pocket Kings Paperback – Bargain Price, March 27, 2012

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Ted Heller (Author)
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Ted Heller (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 44 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Algonquin Books (March 27, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1565126203
  • ASIN: B00B1L67DQ
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,549,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsHilarious read. A great send up on online life and publishing.
By Kay Adams on March 19, 2012
Format: Paperback
I literally laughed out loud many times while reading this book -- especially the "road trip" sections. I laughed so hard I woke up my husband. This is a great skewering of both online culture and the publishing world. I never played poker, but after reading this book I feel the need to learn, then go to Vegas and win a ton of money. Bravo to Heller. Another hysterical and frighteningly real satire. Looking forward to more books.
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5.0 out of 5 starsBest book I've read all year
By D. S. Libman on March 22, 2012
Format: Paperback
I loved this book! Pocket Kings is a hilarious tour de force that had me laughing so hard I was literally grabbing people around me so I could read Frank Dixon's rants to them. Not only is it the funniest thing I've read in years, but the book is a solid page turner with great characters and a compelling, twisty story to boot. Anyone interested in contemporary literature and/or feels its discontents will find succor in the pages of Heller's book.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA funny meditation on unfulfilled dreams, aging, real live, virtual worlds, and online poker.
By Rob Mattheu on April 21, 2012
Format: Paperback
Ted Heller has done what sounds impossible. He's written an engaging and funny book about online poker, a game where people sit in glorified chat rooms with avatars and watch a few cards pop up over and over again.

Frank Dixon (no relation to the Frank A Dixon who never existed but had his name on Hardy Boy Books) is the author of one well received book, another that tanked, and a wealth of ideas for the Great American Novel that he is dying to get published. His agent won't talk to him, his books are dropping like a rock on the Amazon sales chart, and Dixon gets increasingly desperate as his aspirations dashed as he watches other lesser (in his mind) authors succeed.

Frank soon sinks himself into the world of online poker where he meets a wealth of motley characters who soon become more important than his actual life. And most importantly, Frank keeps winning. Tens of thousands of dollars.

Frank plows ahead playing poker while trying to sell his new novel Dead On Arrival, a bleak novel nobody wants, and his mood becomes more dour and desperate while he just keeps winning, always setting a higher dollar threshold for when he'll put down the computer and write again. But each day draws him more into a world of foreigners, locals, and even a virtual mistress that he vows to meet in person. And with each turn, as his online poker winnings grow, his professional life faces an ever increasing stack of hilarious humiliation.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsfailure is fantastic
By Nora mann on April 8, 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Laugh out loud is not usually something that attracts me to books. Good thing I ignored my instincts and read this - I did laugh out loud and enjoyed every minute. The characters are funny, with just the right amount of depth to keep them interesting but keep the pace flowing. Our hero is, well a mess, but one we can relate to and root for. I know nothing about poker, or, really about publishing, so I can't tell you how realistic any of it was, but it made me laugh and, when it was over, I was wanting more.
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5.0 out of 5 starsmost fun i've had in bed this year!
By shannon k. on March 25, 2012
Format: Paperback
at last someone has captured the schizophrenic fallout of the internet driven life. heller is a terrifc writer. and he has skewered us all with his tale of an anti-hero who escapes his disappointing reality by morphing daily into chip zero, a virtual poker king who manages to earn a better living as an avatar than as a flesh and blood novelist. i laughed and cringed (with recognition) as i gobbled up this well crafted, darkly comedic prose. the characters are amusingly flawed and realistically disappointing. in other words: wonderful. the most fun i've had in bed this year!
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5.0 out of 5 starsHeller does it again
By Donald Capone VINE VOICE on April 24, 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Wow. I just finished Ted Heller's new novel, Pocket Kings, and I'm exhausted. What a ride he takes the reader on! I count Heller among my favorite authors, and it's hard to believe that it's been ten years since the publication of his last novel, Funnymen. It was worth the wait. This time Heller takes on the world of online addiction (in this case poker), along with the current state of book publishing.

Pocket Kings, written in first-person, dumps you headfirst into the increasingly f*ed-up life of narrator Frank W. Dixon, also known as his online poker persona, Chip Zero. Frank works at a boring, meaningless job after his first two novels didn't sell well. He's got another book completed, but his agent can't sell it. Frank feels like a failure as an author, but soon discovers one thing that he is great at: online poker. Besides winning loads of money, he forges relationships with other online poker players. But are they real friends, or even real people? People can be whoever they want to be online. And is it ever a good idea to meet these people in real life? Probably not.

Heller never lets his lead character off easy. Which can be a hard trick to pull off when writing in first person (this novel is written as if it's a memoir, which in itself is a spoof of all the embellished "memoirs" that have been published in the last decade). Here, we get to see Frank/Chip tell us firsthand what he's thinking, his rationalizations, his insecurities, and yes, his hopes and dreams. We cheer for his successes as much as we cringe at some of his actions, especially the ones we know will hurt his loving and supportive wife, Cynthia.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFantastic read

An articulate, intelligent, and funny read. I continually found myself laughing out loud as I read this book. Great book.

Published 25 days ago by J. Cox
5.0 out of 5 starsThououghly enjoyable

I somehow stumbled upon this from the vast Kindle library and was rewarded with what I consider to be one of my most fun reads in a long time. Read more

Published 2 months ago by joe
5.0 out of 5 starsFunny, bittersweet, reminiscent of A Confederacy of Dunces

I loved this book - it was devastatingly funny throughout, spanning the quiet chuckle all the way to the full-blown belly laugh. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Heatheranne
4.0 out of 5 starsThumbs up!

This is definitely the best KindleUnlimited book I've read. Keep in mind I know nothing about poker or online poker. Read more

Published 3 months ago by MisterPlow
1.0 out of 5 starsit's hard to like the narrator

Wasn't a fan of this one, it's hard to like the narrator. I kept waiting for it to end, although the last 25% of the book was page turning, good twist.

Published 5 months ago by Simone Mullinax
5.0 out of 5 starsHilarious, incisive, intelligent

I'll be the first to say that this will never be an Oprah's book club pick. And that's a great thing, because those picks usually end up being overly sentimental drivel targeted at... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Elizabeth R
5.0 out of 5 starsA wild ride

Well-written story that gives an insight on what would happen if playing online poker became your life. Great characters, interesting twists and turns, a good read.

Published 7 months ago by AK
5.0 out of 5 starsIt pokes fun at gambling

Thank you, Ted Heller, for almost writing my life. Just substitute "gambling addiction" for "convenience store addiction", change genders and add in a few more... Read more

Published 8 months ago by I'm Me Me
2.0 out of 5 starsLots of Potential But...

This story had it's moments but as other reviewers have already written about, much of the plot is implausible. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Geraldine
4.0 out of 5 starsPretty good book. Worth Reading.

It's a bit slow here and there but sometimes very suspenseful too. With so many people addicted to digital this or that, if you are a forum buff, Facebook junkie or MMO gamer it... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Kkat

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