How to Cheat Your Friends At Poker by Penn JilletteReviewed by Robert Lewis |
| This odd little book is something of a memoir
by a man called Dickie Richard, who might or might not exist (indeed, he
may exist only within the twisted imagination of Penn).
Strangely enough, the success or failure of the book seems to depend almost entirely upon that interesting premise. It is that uncertainty about the origins of the book (I should go as far as to say that it's quite probable that it's just the creation of the larger and louder half of Penn & Teller) that make it worth reading. If this were actually a memoir/instruction manual written by a professional card cheat, it would not be a good book. With the idea in mind that it's a faux memoir created by someone as creative as Penn, it's quite enjoyable. I picked the book up because I'm a huge Penn & Teller fan, not because I actually have any interest in cheating at cards. From this vantage point, I did enjoy it (though not nearly as much as I enjoyed How To Play in Traffic). If you actually want to learn how to cheat at cards, this book is not the best way to go. Yes, it does include a few tips, but they're mostly just common-sense ideas, or easily found elsewhere. Likewise, if you're trying to cheat-proof your own game, this probably won't help you (the best advice offered in this book about cheat-proofing your own game is quite true: if you want to avoid the risk of cheating, don't play poker). There's an interesting trend in fiction. People like to read stories about the bad guys. They're interesting people in fiction (usually less interesting in real life), and play to some of our darker emotions. For many people, it's fascinating to live out the darker side of humanity in fiction, where no one is actually hurt. That's a part of the basis of good horror fiction--examining the darker sides of human nature in a "safe" environment, where real people aren't really being harmed. How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker delivers the same sort of impact, with a unique twist: it's written as if it were true. I don't think I'd be out of line in saying that if these stories were actually true, this would be a rather disgusting book. But as fiction, they're humorous and provide an interesting social commentary, asking several relevant questions. One example would be: what's the difference between catching a glimpse of another player's cards and actually stacking the deck? Is all cheating equal, or are there really different degrees of it? I would definitely recommend this book to Penn & Teller fans, but I'm somewhat conflicted in how I should rate it for everyone else. I might actually have to break it into several separate ratings. If you're interested in a book on how to cheat, I have to give this one only a two out of five. Some tips are provided, but not enough to justify a book of this size. If you're interested in an insightful comedy, I'll give this one a four
out of five, but with this warning: if you aren't familiar with the Penn
& Teller style of humor, you might want to check them out first. If
you don't like their usual stuff, you probably won't like this book. |