The Hand I Played

The gambling writer and journalist David Spanier looks back at his life-long love of poker in this compelling memoir. Spanier takes us from teenage days spent playing the horses to the elegant casinos of Mayfair and Monte Carlo, from the legendary Tuesday night game in north London to Las Vegas. Primarily a collection and development of articles that Spanier produced for various publications, (although many pieces appear in this book for the first time), Spanier begins with an account of his early life that led to his fascination with gambling then moves on to consider the appeal of gambling to human beings as a species. He goes on to cover his time on a Caribbean poker cruise, give his thoughts on internet poker, Las Vegas in literature, discusses Texas 'Holdem for beginners and recounts his experiences in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em tournament at the World Series of Poker.