Just finished reading Cards by Maxwell.

[chessforlife]

Not to appear Like Maxwell's gay lover, but...

1. regarding "steak", he does spell it "stake" in other paragraphs.

2. I'd wager that the his aim with the repetitive adrenaline description, and repetitive irrelevant hands is to really make you feel the guy's experience. I was convinced of this when, in Atlantic City, he describes for 3 pages nothing but folding hands. Obviously this doesn't contribute a thing to the storyline, it just makes you feel first hand what the experience is like. The repeated adrenaline rushes are to physically make you tired of the feeling, just as it makes the charachter tired.

3. I support us all discussing this book in such detail, but wait a second, can we just appreciate Maxwell's writing quality: how he weaves his paragraphs, his honest description, etc. Maybe my favorite aspect of the book is the flavor of Maxwell's writing. Many here who both like and disline the book are saying "I find that I want to keep reaing it." Well, that's the writer's talent. I'd refer to p. 217, 218, 96, 106, 107. and others.

Other poker books are poker players writing. I classify Maxwell as a writer that used to play poker.