The best poker players walk a tightrope between their business sense and their passion,

The best poker players walk a tightrope between their business sense and their passion. As professionals, they seek out the most profitable opportunities and control as many factors as possible to create a positive result. As gamblers, however, they want the risk and excitement of having something important on the line with the outcome in the balance.

[The real stars of this book, however, are the poker pros. Craig, a player himself, clearly likes and admires them. Still, he explains how tenuous the lives of even the best players can be.] Every great poker player has run through their playing payroll, most of them many times, ... Going broke is both a rite of passage and a badge of honor, a reminder that they live life on the edge.

He was a proud guy, and he worked really hard. He had a passion for this business.

When you're making pictures out of heartfelt passion, it hurts when someone calls them a calculated business move.

They believe every poker team or pizza parlor would have a political party, but that's not so. Who's going to go through the trouble in the name of vanity?