How to Cheat at Poker

09/12/05

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"It is, quite simply, the best book ever written."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker: the Wisdom of Dickie Richard by Penn Jillette and Mickey D. Lynn
The Masked Reviewer

It is, quite simply, the best book ever written. 

The book does not burden itself with the actual nitty-gritty of how to do the 'moves' of the card cheat; rather it focuses on the philosophical and ideological principles that a card cheat needs to embrace in order to be successful.  It's also filled with colorful stories.  Although it's frequently rather brash in language, How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker: the Wisdom of Dickie Richard  is fascinating.

Poker players will find a lot to love in the book...not only are the poker anecdotes interesting, but the glossary is chock-full of jargon and slang that every poker player worth his chingaderos should know.

One can't help but wonder why the cover features dogs playing poker with Jim Belushi

The glossary also features a plethora of poker variations, which will be useful for anyone running a home game.  Man can't live on Texas Hold 'Em alone. 

If you are running a home game, this is a good book to have.  Hey, you don't want your "friends" to read this and then come over and clean you out, do you?  Cheaters who want to cheat will find that cheating at poker (and cheating friends at poker, more specifically)  has a lot to it.  Cheaters never prosper?  They haven't read this book.  That's not to say that cheating is right or moral.  It's up for the reader to decide how they use this information.  Though, it's hard to imagine using this information for good.

While there are specific descriptions of various cheating methodologies (like stacks, holdouts, peeking, etc) the book takes a more holistic approach.

For those of you who are easily offended, the harsh language may be a bit much at times.  Some moments feel like they were tacked on or dirtied up for dirtiness' sake (such as the last chapter, "Julia Roberts is Still a Whore").  But, people who easily suffer moral indignation probably want to stay away from the book in any event.  Julia Roberts may want to pass, too.

Who is Dickie Richard?  Is Dickie Richard a real person?  What is Dickie Richard's secret identity?  Is Dickie Richard a pseudonym or a nom de plume?  Surely this information will be revealed, if it can't be gleaned from the book.  But, hey, the Masked Reviewer's Secret Identity Policy means that he doesn't believe in giving away secret identities.

Some people have speculated that Penn might be Dickie Richard, though that is impossible to believe -- anyone who has read Penn's first book will notice that the style and quality of the writing in How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker is far superior to Penn's other work.

So, if you want a copy of How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker: The Wisdom of Dickie Richard (no relation to Dickie Roberts, former child star), click here and buy it, or run down to your local bookery. 

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Copyright 2003, Michael D. Lynn