How to Win the World Series of Poker (Or Not)

Real poker players will cringe at this slim—literally and figuratively—account of one man's run at the World Series of Poker's (WSOP) main event: the No-Limit Hold'em tournament held annually in Las Vegas (buy-in: $10,000). The author, formerly senior editor at independent publisher MacAdam/ Cage, acknowledges that he's not one of the game's luminaries, but his play, at least to the extent described here, is laughably bad. And the book is not much better. The conceit is that he'll write a funny story chronicling his preparation for and participation in the tournament (and use his advance to pay his $10,000 entry fee), but the tone is more sarcastic than genuinely humorous. Even worse, there isn't much drama; the outcome of his quest—losing in a field of more than 5,600—is inevitable. The account of the tournament occupies just 16 pages; the rest is preamble. While Walsh does capture the essence of the WSOP dream—that an amateur can beat the pros—he never distills any of his experience into wisdom that's helpful in poker or in life. (June)