The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky, and Death by Colson Whitehead

The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky, and Death by Colson Whitehead, 234 pages.

A really good read from the author of the novels The Intuitionist, Zone One, and the memoir Sag Harbor. Whitehead starts by giving the reader a brief look into his current, rather lonely life. His wife has recently moved out, and Whitehead now sees his young daughter every other day. Whitehead admits to being a man for whom strong emotion is not something he shows, and talks about how this is an asset when playing poker, but on the negative side of the ledger when it comes to romance and relationships.
Sent by Grantland magazine to Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker, Whitehead hopes to tell a tale similar to James McManus's Positively Fifth Street, intrepid reporter gets staked to play the big game and ends up in the final round playing for the big money.
Whitehead and his people, his fellow Anhedonians, know in their hearts that this won't end well.
There's lots of reading about poker and plenty of practice games and the author tries to learn all there is to know about the game before tournament play starts.
Whitehead consults old friends, new poker acquaintances, and poker coaches and even a yoga instructor on his way to the
Fans of Whitehead, fans of books about poker, and those who enjoy a good memoir will find something of value here. A well written book.
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