The Evolution of the Amateur Everything

I purchased Doyle Brunson’s Super System about 2 years ago. I still haven’t read it. I did actually read about 20 pages, but I got bored. I know I know, it’s heresy to say something like that, but I’m not foolin anyone. I probably haven’t completed an entire book since I graduated from high school in 1993. Sadly, that is the truth.

Recently, I decided that I wanted to seriously make an effort to improve my poker game. Short of moving to Vegas or commuting 5 hours to the nearest casino, I decided to start a poker library and read each and every book. Online I found several sites that rank poker books. So far, I own about 14. Today, I finished the first.

Andy Bellin’s Poker Nation is the perfect book to pull you deeper into the poker fantasy world that we all thrive to live in. This book is not a step by step how-to book on what hands to play and how to play them, but more of a look into the life of a professional poker player in the New York underground club scene. While getting a glimpse of what the life of a “rounder” is really like, without the glitz and glamour of what we see on TV, you also are exposed to various life-lessons of poker.

I highly recommend this book to ANYONE who, like me, dreams of living the lifestyle of a professional poker player. Even after the realities of the lifestyle are exposed in this book, the dingy clubs, the nefarious characters, the incredible financial swings, the solitude, some of us strive for this life. Most of all, some of us strive for exaclty what Andy Bellin is seaching for in this story about his life….. the pursuit of becoming a GREAT poker player.