The Proffessor, the Banker, and the Suicide King - (Review)

I finally got around to reading this book and I must say that I enjoyed it. For those who have not heard of the book it is based on the true story of the top poker pros vs Texas billionaire Andy Beal in the highest stakes poker game ever played. It is an interesting look into the highest echelons of the poker elite and how they pooled their money just to take shots at the highest stakes fish in history and how Andy (the billionaire) meticulously practices and refines his game and proves to the pros that he is not just going to roll over and let them take his money.

As a poker player I enjoyed the book immensley. The lines are a little blurry on what parts of the book are true and what parts are embelished but nothing from the book seems as if it could not have happened and I have heard from other sources in the poker world that for the most part the book is a true story. One part of the book I enjoyed was the cast. Craig spent much time with the biggest poker pros on the planet and infiltrated the world famous "Bobby's Room" in the Bellagio (typically regarded as the highest stakes poker room in the world) to get each of their stories from the biggest game ever. As a poker player having main charactors like Doyle Brunson, Ted Forrest, Todd Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Barry Greenstein, and Howard Lederer (among many others) was very appealing to read a book featuring the best in a game that I love to play. The story is a great one and shows the lengths the best in the world would go to to play this game and just how much they had to gamble to even sit with this incredibly rich and eventually incredibly skilled opponent. This book really illustrated how these players had to have the gamble in them to play Andy, and it gives you the idea of what each of these pros has in them that allowed them to rise to the top of the poker world, and stay there.

This book is not a strategy book. I am pretty sure it is officially a "fiction" book but if you read the book you will see that for the most part this book tells a true story. I reccomend this book to anyone who likes a good story, and any poker player, of any level. This not a book about how to play poker but a book about poker so do not buy this book expecting to get a lesson in high stakes cash games! A great read, I enjoyed it! If you have ever been curious about the biggest cash game and the biggest gamblers on the planet then this book is for you!

read this one a couple years back....I also enjoyed it....some good stories in there...

idh78 wrote:read this one a couple years back....I also enjoyed it....some good stories in there...

Yeah it was pretty crazy to be reading about Ted Forrest and Todd Brunson in these massive, insane cash games for me espescially as I played a whole day against Ted and Partied that same night with Todd.

I remember saying to Todd that night "man, it was almost like Ted was dumping chips how aggressive he was" and Todd got super defensive saying "don't you talk about Ted like that! Don't even talk about Ted like that!" I mean we were wasted so it was fine immedietly afterward but it is kinda wierd to read a book about people you have met and been around and played with and then understand how they knwo eachother. Very cool.

was this the book with the Mike Liang stories? like flipping coins for 20K and such?

idh78 wrote:was this the book with the Mike Liang stories? like flipping coins for 20K and such?

Yeah he talks about mike liang. I don't think they were flipping for 20k but they were flipping for quite a bit.

PoWdA wrote:

idh78 wrote:was this the book with the Mike Liang stories? like flipping coins for 20K and such?

Yeah he talks about mike liang. I don't think they were flipping for 20k but they were flipping for quite a bit.

Mike Liang stories are the best....might be the biggest degenerate on the face of the earth

idh78 wrote:

PoWdA wrote:

idh78 wrote:was this the book with the Mike Liang stories? like flipping coins for 20K and such?

Yeah he talks about mike liang. I don't think they were flipping for 20k but they were flipping for quite a bit.

Mike Liang stories are the best....might be the biggest degenerate on the face of the earth

yeah just from what was in the book he sounds like a gambler.... Kinda awesome.

I've heard that Andy Beal's public card playing is over. I guess the FDIC or some regulators told him to scale that back as a lot of people were seeing it as impropriety.