I've never played in California, so I wouldn't know about the collusion factor.


I'm about three quarters of the way through Poker Nation right now. It started off so promisingly and has since begun to drag. I keep trying to compare it to "Big Deal". It's just different from Holden's book. I see more actual poker content in Nation, but the quality of writing was better in Big Deal. It's a decent read, but if it were truly great, I'd be done already.


I think I like Big Deal better because I read it before I really got into poker. I was curious and that book shoved me over the cliff. I don't think Poker Nation would have had that effect on me. That said, I didn't particularly enjoy Holden's tangents away from poker. Some sections seemed to be devoted to shamelessly kissing the asses of his buddies back in England. Anyhow, back to Poker Nation. Not a glowing review, but it's a decent book anyway. I'd give it a B or B- so far.