Sleeve Notes from book cover

For forty-five years I played poker for a living. Missouri & Me, A Poker Odyssey offers a glimpse into a distinct slice of Western Folklore told through poker stories that range from the hilarious to the tragic to the profound.

My stories reflect my journey through that subculture of poker players. I am from the “old school.” I come from the time when the poker community was small and connected by yearly tournaments that were not yet overpopulated; connected by road gamblers that spread stories that became embedded in poker mythology.

As a young man, I recall being starstruck the first time I saw Amarillo Slim walk into the poker room at the Dunes in Las Vegas. I remember being dazzled by the first poker game I saw where $10,000 bundles of one hundred dollar bills, banded together like bricks, sat in front of players. Little did I know then that one day I’d be sitting with bricks of my own.

Missouri & Me shines a light on some of the many odd, eccentric, one-of-a-kind characters that inhabited card tables across the nation. A significant theme is my travels and partnership with the legendary Missouri Dave, who stands tall amongst the most memorable human beings to ever play poker. I share stories from some remarkable road trips. As one of the founders, I speak about the Big Game in Reno/Tahoe. I tell stories from The World Series of Poker. I touch upon cheating, Vietnam, and a tsunami of cocaine that swept through many of America’s poker rooms. There’s even a faint whiff of The Grateful Dead.

With the successful introduction of televised poker and the advent of online play, for better or worse, the game has undergone immense changes. Missouri & Me documents poker’s evolution from the “old school” to the modern game.

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“I spent days with Glen and Missouri Dave when doing research for my novel Divisadero. They really are the real deal poker players, free spirits with the stories to prove it”

— Michael Ondaatje
Author, The English Patient