Al Alvarez is a poet, novelist, literary critic, anthologist, and author of many highly praised non-fiction books on topics ranging from suicide, divorce, and dreams - THE SAVAGE GOD, LIFE AFTER MARRIAGE, NIGHT - to poker, North Sea oil, and mountaineering - THE BIGGEST GAME IN TOWN, OFFSHORE, FEEDING THE RAT. His most recent books are an autobiography, WHERE DID IT ALL GO RIGHT? And POKER: BETS, BLUFFS AND BAD BEATS. He lives in London.

'A cool, precise, sharply witty, vivid evocation of a place and people, their appearances, behaviour and speech..Mr Alvarez is a shrewd analyst of the psychology of gamblers and a cleverly selective recorder of their bizarre talk with which, directly and indirectly, they reveal their secure grasp of unreality and their insane courage' Sunday Telegraph; 'It will have most readers sitting on the edge of their seats' Sunday Times; 'A new classic on gambling...it's quite brilliant' Time Out; 'This is a magnificent book. Beyond the straights and full houses, Alvarez has written about people who are extremely good at what they do, and about America' San Francisco Chronicle

Al Alvarez is a poet, novelist, literary critic, anthologist, and author of many highly praised non-fiction books on topics ranging from suicide, divorce, and dreams - THE SAVAGE GOD, LIFE AFTER MARRIAGE, NIGHT - to poker, North Sea oil, and mountaineering - THE BIGGEST GAME IN TOWN, OFFSHORE, FEEDING THE RAT. His most recent books are an autobiography, WHERE DID IT ALL GO RIGHT? And POKER: BETS, BLUFFS AND BAD BEATS. He lives in London.

'A cool, precise, sharply witty, vivid evocation of a place and people, their appearances, behaviour and speech..Mr Alvarez is a shrewd analyst of the psychology of gamblers and a cleverly selective recorder of their bizarre talk with which, directly and indirectly, they reveal their secure grasp of unreality and their insane courage' Sunday Telegraph; 'It will have most readers sitting on the edge of their seats' Sunday Times; 'A new classic on gambling...it's quite brilliant' Time Out; 'This is a magnificent book. Beyond the straights and full houses, Alvarez has written about people who are extremely good at what they do, and about America' San Francisco Chronicle

Al Alvarez is a poet, novelist, literary critic, anthologist, and author of many highly praised non-fiction books on topics ranging from suicide, divorce, and dreams - THE SAVAGE GOD, LIFE AFTER MARRIAGE, NIGHT - to poker, North Sea oil, and mountaineering - THE BIGGEST GAME IN TOWN, OFFSHORE, FEEDING THE RAT. His most recent books are an autobiography, WHERE DID IT ALL GO RIGHT? And POKER: BETS, BLUFFS AND BAD BEATS. He lives in London.

'A cool, precise, sharply witty, vivid evocation of a place and people, their appearances, behaviour and speech..Mr Alvarez is a shrewd analyst of the psychology of gamblers and a cleverly selective recorder of their bizarre talk with which, directly and indirectly, they reveal their secure grasp of unreality and their insane courage' Sunday Telegraph; 'It will have most readers sitting on the edge of their seats' Sunday Times; 'A new classic on gambling...it's quite brilliant' Time Out; 'This is a magnificent book. Beyond the straights and full houses, Alvarez has written about people who are extremely good at what they do, and about America' San Francisco Chronicle