Rating: 
Summary: fun and easy to read, but in the end just brain candy
Review: I picked this book up at a used book store. I'd just started playing again after moving to a new city and looking for a small game with folks I knew. Andy Bellin is a mid-level card player, which is to say better than anybody I play against, and leagues better than I probably ever will be.
His writing style keeps the book moving, and he's got lots of interesting anecdotes, but in the end it comes across as a book he wrote in his spare time (nothing wrong with that, just obvious). He falls a little too hard into the mathematics of calculating odds. It's great stuff to know, but there are better books on the subject. Toward the end, he gets really lazy, using pages (not paragraphs, pages) of quoted material from his poker chums. If you're looking for the romance of poker, Andy Bellin will disillusion you pretty quickly. If you're looking to feel better about dumping $50/week at your buddy's house, and then trying to cover the loss so your significant other doesn't hit the roof, fine. If your looking to become a card-shark, this ain't it, and ain't intended to be.
Good job Andy on a fun book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for anyone
Review: For experienced poker players, it's an account of one man's experiences with the game. For novice players, it's... well, the same thing, though I suspect beginner players will enjoy it a bit more. However, I think people with little exposure to the game might enjoy it more than anyone. It offers a glimpse into a world you might only have heard about through movies. Truthfully, for serious students of the game, there are no great insights here you haven't already read in much greater depth from one of poker's great authors. So just take take this book as a quick entertaining read and little else. On the other hand, if you've never read any poker books, but are intrigued by the game, then this book is a light, easy way to learn nuggets of knowledge you may be able to use playing against your friends.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not great
Review: Until this last year, it's been rare for a Poker narrative to attempt to cross the gulf that separates the gambling world and mainstream America. Last year Andy Bellin attempted this feat with his book, Poker Nation, which is now available in paperback. In this book, Bellin tries to capture the spirit of the great game of poker within its pages. Bellin's narrative is a tapestry consisting of a great many threads. It is part personal narrative, part character study, part history lesson, and part poker lesson. The author weaves each of these elements in and out of the arc of the book. He may discuss his own formative poker playing years, then jump to a description of famous high-stakes games and tournaments. In other places he describes the denizens of his favorite New York poker "clubs" and dispenses bits and pieces of poker advice. I found some of these threads to be much more interesting than others. I enjoyed the information provided about Bellin's own experiences, both at and away from the green felt, finding these stories to be both interesting and well written. The author has a gift for clear exposition, and these sections feel authentic. Just as important from my standpoint, they certainly contain material that wasn't familiar to me. This also holds true for his recollections of the characters frequenting the New York poker scene. I've never played in these clubs, and I generally find well-written accounts of poker in new places to be entertaining. The history is also interesting, although much of it is more familiar. A great deal of what is told here has been recounted in other books, although there is a fair number of historical facts that I read here for the first time. Of course, Bellin is writing entertainment, not historical scholarship, so I believe it would be best to not assign research journal-like accuracy to his information. It sounds reasonable, but the reader isn't provided with enough about the primary sources of this material to allow me to trust it implicitly. On the topic of poker advice, this is by no means the thrust of the book, but some advice is good, if extremely general and widely disseminated in other sources. At the same time, I found some of the gambling information to be overly speculative and more than a little disturbing. For example, it is my opinion that while I don't dispute the technical basis for Bellin's assertions regarding cheating at poker, I believe the reader is left with an impression that the problem is a much bigger one than my experience tells me that it actually is. Also, the author perpetuates a few widely held myths, such as the story that casinos habitually increase their oxygen content to encourage more gambling, and that blackjack card counting requires "Rainman-like abilities". Overall, I found the book to be entertaining, but less so that other recently published narratives on this great game. I believe that most serious poker aficionados will not be overly disappointed by this book, and that the poker novice may have their interest piqued, but both categories of people would enjoy even more recent publications such as Jim McManus' excellent Positively Fifth Street. So, for those avid poker readers casting around for something light and fun, Poker Nation fits the bill. If you are a new poker player and would like to start playing poker online at www.partypoker.com - make sure you use the bonus code: "AMAZON25" and you will receive $25 free on your first purchase at www.PartyPoker.com. You can also use the Bonus Code "AMAZON100" and you will receive a 20% bonus up to $100! If you already play at PartyPoker, you can also play at www.Pokerroom.com. Use the promotion code "100BONUS" and you will receive 20% up to $100.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book on many levels
Review: This is an exciting-to-read, well-written book with just the write balance of edge and information. Bellin can write. He's funny. He's got good stories. He explains the beauty of poker and the game he loves, Texas hold 'em, with stories that are illustrative and interesting. I couldn't put it down. On another level, if you are a novice or someone who routinely looses at your neighborhood game, reading this will improve your play as he explains the basics of poker gambling. In my case, I was new to Hold 'em (as I suspect most home game poker players are, preferring 7-card stud and variations), and the book gave me a feeling for the game. So many poker books are ego trips for the author or written blandly. This book is charming. It is an engaging book of poker stories without the ego and with an intellectual look at the game.
Rating:
Summary: Great change of pace for the poker reader
Review: A friend from my home game told me this book was quite an enjoyable read, so I decided to give it a shot. I wasn't really sure what to expect but soon realized that this was exactly the type of poker book I was looking for. I'm often buried in instructional books -- re-reading them until the covers are ready to fall off. Although studying is an essential part of improving one's game, I truly enjoy reading about the "culture" of poker. That's where Bellin's book excels. He discusses everything from the first World Series of Poker to underground New York cardrooms to life as a professional poker player. I picked up tips on subjects such as reading players and bankroll management -- but those tips always came in a context that was enjoyable to read. This is quick read (you can probably finish the book in a couple days), but a must-read for poker enthusiasts.
Rating:
Summary: If you like the World Poker Tour on TV, this book is for you
Review: Bellin takes you into the excited world of Texas Hold'em through his own learning of poker and playing in underground New York card rooms. The book give a powerful shot of the poker world, good and bad. Infused within Bellin's wonderful stories is an insight into the strategies of hold'em. You learn about outs, pot odds, and of course; the nuts. The book won't teach you when to fold Seigfried and Roy (a pair of queens) or bet after the flop with big slick (Ace-King), but it will make you want to learn and play like the pros.
Rating:
Summary: Poker at its best.
Review: This book isn't for you if all you want to do is learn to be the best poker player in the world. However, if you are interested in learning about poker in several realms such as learning it, understanding it's origins, terms, positives and negatives, and stories, then this is the book for you. Honestly I couldn't put the book down and Bellin writes it beautifully. A must read. Worth every cent.
Rating:
Summary: A little bit of everything
Review: A good book for the unintiated in the world of high-stakes poker. The author doesn't give too much information on hard strategy or odds calculation, but just enough to entice. Likewise he adds his own anecdotes from personal playing plus stories from the history of poker to the legends of modern day.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best reads I've ever had
Review: Perhaps I am an idiot, or never paid great attention to all those "great books" assigned to me in grade school. But Poker Nation undoubtably was one of the best and easiest page-turners I've ever read. I will recommend it right up there with Monkey Business, minus the sometime over the top stories. A great read, a well-balanced mix of technical poker instruction and entertaining stories about the "life" at the tables.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book
Review: "Poker Nation" is entertaining, informative, and easy to read. It has just the right mix of factual stuff, such as poker strategy and probability theory, combined with the author's humorous stories and profiles of various poker players. There are so many interesting parts of this book, from tells to "tilting" to methods of cheating, it would be impossible to detail them all. The book may be a little longwinded and, in my opinion, have some "weird" sections that don't seem to fit in with the rest of the story, but overall it is still excellent. It's not like reading a classic, when sometimes you force yourself to read it for your own good. Instead, you read this book because it's easy and entertaining, but you come away with a lot of new knowledge. Maybe all books should be like that.
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