Poker books

Amarillo Slim Preston came to Poker prominence when he unseated Johnny Moss in 1972 as the World Series of Poker champion. Since then he has carved out a reputation of legendary proportions. This reputation was not always made on the legal side of the gaming world. This fact makes his legend even more intriguing.

Over the course of his career, Slim has legitimately won, lost, and won again more money than most people will have in a lifetime. This book tends to stay away from explaining the particulars about the games that have made him such an icon. There are simply enough books on the market that already fall into that category. Instead it is a chronicle of his adventures in the world of professional gambling. This book goes from tongue and cheek descriptions of the events of Preston’s life that include his often literally death-defying adventures.

Amarillo Slim has sat across the table and faced off against the best that the world of poker and entertainment had to offer. Along with a whose who of the professional poker circuit, he has played against the likes of Evel Knievel, Willie Nelson, Minnesota Fats, and a score of other. It was a stroke of literary brilliance it on Preston's part to dedicate his unaffected charm to describing the various characters he has encountered and not take up pages with the mechanics of how he always beat them.

Amarillo Slim is one of the very few people who have managed to make a career out of gambling. His winnings led to a comfortable life that allowed him to send all three of his children to college. It was refreshing to see that there was a life that went beyond a poker table. Outside of the stories about celebrities, crossing swords with the sports best players, charming the now deceased drug lord Pablo Escobar, we get a new level of depth on the man when he talks about the joy of coaching his son’s little league team.

There are in this book some obvious, selective omissions. The more negative aspects of his life are glossed over while the events that put the player in better light are elaborated on in great detail. He tells a story with such good nature and charm that he is quickly forgiven for leaving some areas shrouded in literary fog.

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