Deal Me In: Twenty of the World's Top Poker Players Share the Heartbreaking and Inspiring Stories of How They Turned Pro

• #43 in Best Poker Books
• #50 in Best Gambling Books

13 Reviews

Sort by: Most Helpful ▲ Date Rating

Just got this book in the mail and it's pretty awesome. really personal stories about how these players turned pro. ivey in atlantic city as an underage player is killer, scotty nguyen's story as learning the game as a dealer/vietnam immigrant, negreanu in toronto card clubs instead of high school classes. chad brown's chapter is kinda boring. hellmuth has had a fascinating path. the older players (meaning 35 or older) have more interesting stories than the younger guys (dwan and eastgate, who didn't have to go find games at taverns/etc., just played on their laptops). devilfish's chapter is hilarious.

apparently cardplayer magazine provided all the photos which are really great, tons of 'em, layout is well done.

You are not going to learn anything related to play. BUT: You do learn about the persistence these players had to have and demonstrated to make it. And there are some funny laughs too.

I bought this book as a gift for my friend, but before I gave it to him I picked it up and started reading it myself. Before I knew it, I had read 30 pages and couldn't put it down! It was well written and fascinating. It's a great book of wonderful stories for pros and beginners alike. I love it.

This boook is a fun read. Some of the chosen subjects should have been other notable players that the sofisticated poker player would know. With that being said, i still enjoyed the read, allthough quick. Another edition with known and some lesser yet long time players should be included with a bit more of poker wisdom for the reader to feed on would be nice. Thanks Mark.

Surprised with all the positive responses. Yeah great pictures, but really where is the content. I've been following poker on and off for quite a while. I bought this book, because I thought I might be entertained and learn something new. Anybody that half way follows poker has already herd these stories. If you want to see the life of a poker player i would recommend, Mike Matasow's, Check Raising the Devil over this book any day. I mean this book starts off with Doyle. I know he is the God father of poker, but who hasn't herd his story!

Ok, I wasn't sure about buying a book with alot of mini-biographies but I was sure glad I did. No, it doesn't have alot of strategies and odds, but for all of you budding Poker-Pro's who wonder if all of these folks just fell into money and luck, it is a great read. I always wondered what the wealthiest and most successful poker players did before they "made-it" and the roads they followed to "make-it". There are definately some biographies that are more interesting than others and some that you wish would have told you more. I don't want to sway your opinions before you read them, however there are a few that I wish would write their own book. It would be a great read. You would not believe some of the jobs that some of the pro's had before they became professional poker players. Have fun and good luck......

A lot of poker books these days are printed on thin, low-quality paper. There's nothing wrong with that, since with many of them you get a lot of good textual content for a low price. This book is different. The paper is high-quality, the printing is in color, and there are many photographs throughout. There is plenty of text, though the details on each player are certainly short of in-depth biographies. However, it seems like a real bargain: beautifully done details on twenty of the greatest players of our time, in a fairly fancy book, for less than twenty bucks. How far wrong can you go?

The personalities range from 76-year-old Doyle Brunson to under-25ers like Tom "Durrr" Dwan and Peter Eastgate, recent world champ. Also included are Johnny Chan, Daniel Negreanu, Annie Duke (take that, Joan Rivers!), Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, and many more. Too bad they didn't interview David "Chip" Reese before his untimely passing.

I hope they make a second volume! Here are a few suggestions of whom to include, if they do: Gus Hansen, Joe Hachem, Huck Seed, Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren, Dan Harrington, Patrik Antonius, Ted Forrest, John Juanda, Gavin Smith, Mike Matasow (though he has his own new autobiograhy out), Men "The Master" Nguyen, Antonio Esfandiari, Tom McEvoy, T.J. Cloutier, and Freddy Deeb.

Anyway, this (Volume 1?) has to be the best collection of poker pros' personal stories ever collected into an affordable, colorful book. It's hard to imagine being a fan of the game and not owning this one.

I just finished reading this book and it was cool one to read, it's not educational as many people would think, it's all personal stories told by Pro Poker players, I wouldn't say that it's a book to keep in your library but it's worth reading it and it will probably take you couple days to finish it!

Good book, read it last year. Has short excerpts on how the players in the book became pro and what they had to go through on their way to being poker superstars. A nice read, it wont show you how to play but will enjoy reading it. I think I read it in 2 days. Hard to put down once you start.

A lot of the stories about the lesser known guys were fairly interesting, especially Dave "Devilfish" Uliott who was/is/and has been a borderline criminal and always a bad boy. Didnt really open any new stuff on the big time players that you knew about already, and was basically just a compilation of whatever the player said in one or two brief interviews about themselves.

Generally I enjoyed it, was easy to read 2-3 stories each night quickly before bed, just wish the author had done some more "investigating" and better dirt wouldve surfaced... well perhaps most of the players are just that bland in real life.

I absolutly loved this book. Each story is so unique, yet they all have the same theme: aiding you in your quest to turn pro.

Good book, easy read. It really shows the work ethic and perseverance for some of today's poker stars. No strategy in this one....only entertainment.

Gives an interesting background to people I have watched play in the World Series Of Poker.