Lee Davy reviews Poker Tilt. The seminal piece of work by the two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Dutch Boyd.
What do you get when you cross an online poker controversy, zero day bot theories, radioactive decay, Katie Holmes, the unified field theory of everything, sharpies, mental hospitals, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Star Trek, Rolling Stone magazine, a castle made of cards, Sheets, Bax, Coke, Weed, fake rubies, Amanda Leatherman, wins, losses and a dream to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event?
The mind of Dutch Boyd.
I first saw Dutch Boyd when watching coverage of the WSOP from the comfort of my living room in the Welsh Valleys. He interested me because he was wearing a bandana, and I heard he was mental.
That’s what I love about poker.
Even mental people can win WSOP bracelets whilst pretending they pirates.
It would be several years before I would meet him in person. It was during a break in a $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low event. He handed me a copy of his book: Poker Tilt. He had signed, and stamped it, in my honor, and there wasn’t a parrot or hook in sight.
I knew nothing about him.
Today I feel like his best friend.
Books can do that to you.
If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then books represent the front door. Dutch Boyd gave me the key, and in I walked to have a good rummage around.
It’s not only a great poker book; it’s one of the best books I have read in a long while. A slow burner that makes you refuse a blowjob because you have to finish the chapter you are reading.
Dutch told me that he wrote this book for one person: his brother Bobby, and you can feel the closeness of that kinship right off the bat. The pair were alone at an exceedingly young age and have remained joined at the hip ever since. It’s the one constant throughout the book, alongside Boyd’s dreams of WSOP glory.
This is not a strategy book, although Boyd does hand you a few golden nuggets. Instead, this is a book about Boyd’s very Hunter S. Thompson type life.
It’s a movie waiting to be shot.
From the tension, tragedy and tyranny of the PokerSpot debacle, to the early friendships with Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari and the formation of The Crew, there is something to keep you interested on every turn of the page.
It even has the interest of the non-poker player glued to each sheet of paper.
I don’t want to laugh in the face of Boyd’s psychological problems, but that’s exactly what I did. Every story needs something a little different, and someone suffering from Bipolar related mania episodes, is as different as it gets.
The times when Boyd lost it may have been the most heart rendering of his life, but in terms of story they are written like a master. Comedy, tragedy and whatthefuckingjusthappenedtome type of writing.
Genius.
“When I walked into Binions, I was met with a strong feeling of dejavu. The series is like a TV sitcom, with the same characters and same basic plot points every year. The same dealers, same players, same games.” Wrote Boyd.
This is why the book is so great, and why it will find its way to the silver screen. Characters, plotlines and the simply unbelievable.
Like a TV sitcom on acid.
His life was made to be told.
It is pure unadulterated story.
“Billions or bust. Rinse or repeat. There is no end to this cycle.” Writes Boyd.
I hope not.
I want to be around when he writes Poker Tilt Part 2: The Return of Radioactive Decay.
If it’s half as good as this gem, I will part with my ruby ring to get hold of a copy.
