Book Reviews: Positively Fifth Street and Get the Edge at Low-Limit Texas Hold'em

In May 2000, James McManus was hired by Harper's to write a magazine story about women in poker. Despite being an amateur poker player, he taught himself how to play no-limit hold'em on a computer program and by reading, primarily a book by T.J. Cloutier. When McManus arrived at Binion's Horseshoe, he wasted little time winning a satellite and earning a seat in the "big one."

In Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetah's, and Binion's World Series of Poker (FSG, April 2003), McManus describes his play in the tournament, as well as the murder trial of Ten Binion, who allegedly was done in by a stripper and her boyfriend. McManus reveals that Binion was murdered in heinous fashion, which is captured vividly at the beginning of the book. While covering the trial, he keeps coming back to the tournament, and not only does he make the final table, he finds himself facing the very man who was his covert mentor: T.J. Cloutier.

At the final table, McManus goes up against a field that included Cloutier, Jeff Shulman, Hassan Habib, Steve Kaufman, and Chris Ferguson. And just like it was scripted, in a pivotal hand, T.J. moved all in against McManus on the turn with a board of 5-4-2-7, and McManus made a seemingly foolish call against his mentor while holding only A-K. But when T.J. turned over A-9 and a jack came on the river, the pot made McManus the chip leader with $866,000. This great read by McManus prompted Amarillo Slim to say, "Ah'd bet on that boy. He's got the heart of a cliff diver." You'll have to read the book to find out if this would have been a good bet!

The third dimension of the book is the - to quote Hollywood - "love interest." While the heart of the story is McManus' unlikely ascent to the final table, his introspective nature combined with his passionate feelings for his wife are what give the book flesh and blood. I give any author tremendous credit for being forthright with his or her feelings, and what makes this book special is how open and self-revealing McManus is. Somehow, in the midst of writing about a poker tournament and a murder trial, McManus weaves in a compelling love story.

A published novelist and poet, Jim writes in beautiful prose combined with an incredible array of historical, biblical, and literary references. And yet, his greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. At times, the writing is so esoteric that it may go over the head of lots of readers - particularly poker players. But let's give ourselves some credit. There are plenty of us who enjoy books and can appreciate good writing, and the fact that poker has gone "literary" shows that the stereotype of poker is changing. Kudos to McManus for challenging us to be more literate, rather than insulting us by dumbing things down.

A completely different book about poker was written by Bill Burton, a gaming columnist for About.com and several national gaming publications. Get the Edge at Low-Limit Texas Hold'em (Bonus, January 2003) is the most basic and simplistic book on Texas hold'em to date. Burton points out that the majority of people play poker as a form of relaxation and enjoyment. Thus, if you're a high-limit player looking to get to the next level, this book isn't for you. But if you're tired of being asked by your nonpoker-playing friends about how to learn hold'em, this is the book you hand to them and say, "Stop nagging me."

The basic tools for success at hold'em are presented in a way that is very easy to understand. Burton covers tournament play and money management, as well as the most common mistakes made by the novice or unskilled player. Along the way, he relates his own journey from the kitchen to the cardroom to the winner's circle. Howard Schwartz of the Gambler's Book Shop said, "Burton put together the kind of book that should be of interest to those who are about to embark on a trip into the world of low-limit poker."

With just a few weeks to go before the World Series of Poker, now's the time to hone your game. You never know, you just might become the next James McManus.

Greg Dinkin is the author of Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People (www.thepokermba.com/amarilloslim) and The Poker MBA. He is the co-founder of Venture Literary (www.ventureliterary.com), where he works with writers to find publishers for their books and studios for their screenplays. He can be reached at [email protected].