The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King by Michael Craig

That was the balance I realized that I was searching for.įinding Michael Craig’s book led me to appreciate Andy Beal’s thirst for knowledge, even though with his bankroll he could’ve disappeared and never had to challenge himself again. I was escaping into these players’ “otherness”, the excitement while wondering if it could ever be balanced by an ordinary life. (Although I’d already known much about Doyle before the book.) I wasn’t trying to up my strategy, or become a better player. My admiration also grew for Ted Forrest and Doyle Brunson. I grew to love her spirit and her moxie even more the more times I read the book. I hadn’t learned too much about Jennifer before Michael Craig’s book other than seeing her in a few poker TV specials. I like reading about the risk takers, the boundary breakers, people like Jennifer Harman. READ ALSO: What the Flop?: Poker Field of Dreams To me, the fences feel like bars I need to escape, running to Reno, Maui, or Vegas at the first opportunity. I appreciate other ways of life, of ideas, of the picket fences, and that the fences can give some a sense of stability and structure. People who were trying to evolve, maybe were considered “other” by picket fences that kept original ideas inside, along with dogs and 2.5 children. When I moved to Maui, it was a breath of fresh air to find other people like me. They are interesting, different, not like “regular” society, but similar within their own society. Poker players are definitely their own breed. Poker books were a constant, a lifeline to my new life, and what I wanted to stay connected to.

I had Craig’s book clutched in my hand like a favorite blanket, something to soothe me throughout the change and confusion, and reimagining of my life. I remember the first trip I took after the divorce. I read Doyle’s, Annie Duke’s, whatever memoir I could grab. I re-read my favorite, “ The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King” by Michael Craig multiple times. I’m an avid reader, and a few poker memoirs might have popped into my reading list before that year, but during that year, that was all I read. The only books I could manage reading for the first year after my divorce were poker memoirs. I pulled “ Check-Raising the Devil” by Mike Matusow out of my backpack. And I had just noticed “McSteamy” from Grey’s Anatomy in first class when we exchanged (in my mind) a wink of acknowledgment. I was enjoying the ability to stretch my legs, a sexy prospect on a 5-hour flight. I was in first class on Hawaiian Airlines (due to points from many trips between Vegas and Hawaii).

The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King by Michael Craig