Books by Richard Jessup
The Cincinnati Kid
by Richard Jessup
Most people know The Cincinnati Kid from the film but it was an original novel. It has a mistake in it. By which I mean it has this preposterous poker hand at the end like the hand in Casino Royale. Everyone has this enormous hand and it’s statistically impossible. A poker player watching Casino Royale assumes there’s going to be a plot twist about cheating because the cards are so unlikely, but it’s just to make it more exciting, of course. But if you can overlook that in The Cincinnati Kid the rest is incredibly authentic. The bitterness and fear of the players, the screwed-upness of the life, the difficulty of having normal relationships. And the fantastic thing is – I don’t want to ruin it for people who haven’t read it, but everyone’s seen the film – that he doesn’t win.
Interviews where books by Richard Jessup were recommended
The best books on Poker, recommended by Victoria Coren Mitchell
European poker champion, author and presenter, Victoria Coren Mitchell, talks us through her library of the best books on poker.