In the past I’ve recommended non-poker fiction (“All I Really Need to Know About Poker I Learned from Sherlock Holmes”) as well as poker strategy books (“Zero In on Your A-Game With Zen and the Art of Poker”) as useful for improving your game. But what about poker fiction — that is, novels in which poker is front and center? Are there any among that category worth recommending as both good reads and worthwhile for learning more about how to play the game?
Frankly, there aren’t many. There’s the 1963 novel The Cinncinnati Kid by Richard Jessup, which works much better on the big screen in the 1965 movie starring Steve McQueen and Edward G.