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Straight Flush: The True Story of Six College Friends Who Dealt Their Way to a Billion-Dollar Online Poker Empire--and How It All Came Crashing Down...
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House, the sources for the films The Social Network and 21, comes the larger-than-life true tale of a group of American college buddies who brilliantly built a billion-dollar online poker colossus based out of the hedonistic paradise of Costa Rica.
One problem: the U.S. Department of Justice was gunning for them. . . .
Based on extensive insider interviews and participation, acclaimed author Ben Mezrich's Straight Flush tells the captivating rags-to-riches tale of a group of University of Montana frat brothers who turned a weekly poker game in the basement of a local dive bar into AbsolutePoker.com, one of the largest online companies in the world, on par with some of the behemoths of the Internet. At its height, Absolute Poker was an online empire earning more than a million dollars a day, following savvy business strategy and even better luck. Its founders set up their operations in the exotic jungle paradise of Costa Rica, embracing an outrageous lifestyle of girls, parties, and money.
Meanwhile, the gray area of U.S. and international law in which the company operated was becoming a lot more risky, and soon the U.S. Department of Justice had placed a bull's-eye on Absolute Poker. Should they fold or double down and ride their hot hand? Impossible to put down, Straight Flush is an exclusive, never-before-seen look behind the headlines of one of the wildest business stories of the past decade.
One problem: the U.S. Department of Justice was gunning for them. . . .
Based on extensive insider interviews and participation, acclaimed author Ben Mezrich's Straight Flush tells the captivating rags-to-riches tale of a group of University of Montana frat brothers who turned a weekly poker game in the basement of a local dive bar into AbsolutePoker.com, one of the largest online companies in the world, on par with some of the behemoths of the Internet. At its height, Absolute Poker was an online empire earning more than a million dollars a day, following savvy business strategy and even better luck. Its founders set up their operations in the exotic jungle paradise of Costa Rica, embracing an outrageous lifestyle of girls, parties, and money.
Meanwhile, the gray area of U.S. and international law in which the company operated was becoming a lot more risky, and soon the U.S. Department of Justice had placed a bull's-eye on Absolute Poker. Should they fold or double down and ride their hot hand? Impossible to put down, Straight Flush is an exclusive, never-before-seen look behind the headlines of one of the wildest business stories of the past decade.
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 2013
114 people are currently reading
1389 people want to read
About the author
Ben Mezrich
55 books1,469 followersBen Mezrich has created his own highly addictive genre of nonfiction, chronicling the amazing stories of young geniuses making tons of money on the edge of impossibility, ethics, and morality.
With his newest non-fiction book, Once Upon a Time in Russia, Mezrich tells his most incredible story yet: A true drama of obscene wealth, crime, rivalry, and betrayal from deep inside the world of billionaire Russian Oligarchs.
Mezrich has authored sixteen books, with a combined printing of over four million copies, including the wildly successful Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, which spent sixty-three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and sold over 2 million copies in fifteen languages. His book, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal – debuted at #4 on the New York Times list and spent 18 weeks in hardcover and paperback, as well as hit bestseller lists in over a dozen countries. The book was adapted into the movie The Social Network –written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher – and was #1 at the box office for two weeks, won Golden Globes for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best score, and was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 3 including best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin. Mezrich and Aaron Sorkin shared a prestigious Scripter Award for best adapted screenplay as well.
With his newest non-fiction book, Once Upon a Time in Russia, Mezrich tells his most incredible story yet: A true drama of obscene wealth, crime, rivalry, and betrayal from deep inside the world of billionaire Russian Oligarchs.
Mezrich has authored sixteen books, with a combined printing of over four million copies, including the wildly successful Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, which spent sixty-three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and sold over 2 million copies in fifteen languages. His book, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal – debuted at #4 on the New York Times list and spent 18 weeks in hardcover and paperback, as well as hit bestseller lists in over a dozen countries. The book was adapted into the movie The Social Network –written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher – and was #1 at the box office for two weeks, won Golden Globes for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best score, and was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 3 including best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin. Mezrich and Aaron Sorkin shared a prestigious Scripter Award for best adapted screenplay as well.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
May 23, 2015
Mezrich's works of faction are generally a fun read, even if (or, perhaps, largely because) he rarely lets reality get in the way of a good story. This one, however, doesn't really work on either level. There's an obviously great story lurking underneath — or, if you're not really concerned with the facts, potentially two great stories. At some point someone is sure to write the more in-depth corporate-finance-thriller-esque exposé of the company's increasingly complex attempts to evade the US justice system, all-the-while shamelessly cheating their customers. But even though he obviously didn't want to write that book, Mezrich could still have gone for a much more classic tragedy — the David and Goliath tale of entrepreneurs up against not just better funded competitors, but the the entire weight of a broken political system, leading relentlessly to the key moment, where, hubristically believing they're beyond its reach, they take the path that ends in prison. Instead, the author decides to simply skip either of these in favour of an overly-simplistic frat-boy romp, with all the critical moments either omitted or glossed over so as to get back as quickly as possible to the fast cars and topless chicas.
July 6, 2013
I don't know why I finished this book--I guess it was thrilling enough to make me want to hear the ending. This is a "dramatic narrative" account of the rise and fall of an online poker website, which went from a frat-house dream to a billion-dollar company to the subject of indictments and seizures by the Feds.
Mezrich mailed this one in--every mansion's lawn is "manicured" and at least three women are described as having "ample" chests. I was far less interested in the trappings of instant wealth than I was in the details of how and why the business succeeded and failed, but my interests were the opposite of Mezrich's.
Mezrich mailed this one in--every mansion's lawn is "manicured" and at least three women are described as having "ample" chests. I was far less interested in the trappings of instant wealth than I was in the details of how and why the business succeeded and failed, but my interests were the opposite of Mezrich's.
August 9, 2018
In poker, there's a concept called a "bad beat." That's when you have a great had, say 3 Aces, which will win 99% of the time. And yet, you get beat by a full house of, say, twos and threes, cards which suck individually.
In a nutshell, the story Ben Mezrich tells in STRAIGHT FLUSH, his fictionalized history of the online poker site Absolute Poker is a bad beat.
The story revolves around a handful of Montana fraternity brothers who create an online goldmine, the poker site Absolute Poker. Five years later, they are well on their way to becoming the next online billionaires. Until some radical Christian Republicans sneak an anti-onlne poker addendum into an anti-terrorism bill. Which makes them outlaws overnight.
Unfortunately, I'm no fan of "faction" like this. It takes a deft, masterly hand to pull this off. Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD comes to mind. Sad to say, Mezrich falls short here in my opinion.
Too bad since it's a good business tale, the sort of thing this B-School refugee often enjoys. What's more, like poker itself, the frat brother's plight illustrates how large a part luck actually plays in success. For instance, were the bill delayed by a couple months and the planned IPO for Absolute Poker went forward, the frat boys would be billionaires. Instead, one's in prison and the others exiled to islands in the Carribean. It's also supposed to be a cautionary tale about over-regulation, but since Absolute Poker was rife with betting scandals that Mezrich describes but wallpapers over, romanticizing the "valiant" efforts the company made to address them, this tact turns on itself. No doubt, a hard-right Christian congressperson slipping the anti-poker legislation into an anti-terror bill is shadier by a few degrees since it's manipulative: what senator would vote AGAINST protecting Americans from terrorists?
The bottom line, though, is that STRAIGHT FLUSH doesn't work 100% for me. I think it's the novelizing of history and Mezrich's glorification of a twenty-something-with-millions lifestyle seems cheesy, verging on the voyeuristic. As if he wants that life for himself, and is also repelled by it.
Three-stars. Really 2.75 rounded up. A decent if flawed book.
In a nutshell, the story Ben Mezrich tells in STRAIGHT FLUSH, his fictionalized history of the online poker site Absolute Poker is a bad beat.
The story revolves around a handful of Montana fraternity brothers who create an online goldmine, the poker site Absolute Poker. Five years later, they are well on their way to becoming the next online billionaires. Until some radical Christian Republicans sneak an anti-onlne poker addendum into an anti-terrorism bill. Which makes them outlaws overnight.
Unfortunately, I'm no fan of "faction" like this. It takes a deft, masterly hand to pull this off. Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD comes to mind. Sad to say, Mezrich falls short here in my opinion.
Too bad since it's a good business tale, the sort of thing this B-School refugee often enjoys. What's more, like poker itself, the frat brother's plight illustrates how large a part luck actually plays in success. For instance, were the bill delayed by a couple months and the planned IPO for Absolute Poker went forward, the frat boys would be billionaires. Instead, one's in prison and the others exiled to islands in the Carribean. It's also supposed to be a cautionary tale about over-regulation, but since Absolute Poker was rife with betting scandals that Mezrich describes but wallpapers over, romanticizing the "valiant" efforts the company made to address them, this tact turns on itself. No doubt, a hard-right Christian congressperson slipping the anti-poker legislation into an anti-terror bill is shadier by a few degrees since it's manipulative: what senator would vote AGAINST protecting Americans from terrorists?
The bottom line, though, is that STRAIGHT FLUSH doesn't work 100% for me. I think it's the novelizing of history and Mezrich's glorification of a twenty-something-with-millions lifestyle seems cheesy, verging on the voyeuristic. As if he wants that life for himself, and is also repelled by it.
Three-stars. Really 2.75 rounded up. A decent if flawed book.
January 22, 2021
Skip the book. Read the story online
December 26, 2015
Straight Flush charts the rise and rise of the online poker gaming industry, and how a bunch of frat boys developed a multi billion dollar business during the dot com boom.
The start up of the Absolute Poker website reads like a script for a movie – there’s certainly lots of sex, drugs and intrigue when they leave everything behind and bank their investment in some dodgy banks in Costa Rica with the intent of creating an online poker environment that is just as enticing as the real deal.
However throughout the extraordinary accounts of excess and pure luck (many a car accident is had where all parties involved come out unscathed), you are waiting for an abrupt fall from grace. The people involved are continuously questioning ‘is this legal’? And there’s an expectation that it’s all going to come crumbling down.
The majority of the book covers a three year period where they were biding their time before they floated the business on the Stock Exchange. Some ill timed legislation created a chain of events that pushed Absolute Poker’s luck to the limit, and there are some tense moments where Pete is running from Canadian Mounties, websites are hacked, and Scott and Brent are forced to choose between life on the run, or time in prison for their roles in Absolute Poker.
If you’re looking for a run down on poker online and how the software works (and how they snuffed out cheating) then this book is just a basic overview of this information. Same goes for the morality of business with third party banks and money facilitators, a grey area in the early 2000’s on the internet. What we get instead is an overall view of a tenuous legal situation, without the hard core legalese that can weigh down a book with too much jargon. What’s left is all the awesome high flying intrigue that makes great reading.
The start up of the Absolute Poker website reads like a script for a movie – there’s certainly lots of sex, drugs and intrigue when they leave everything behind and bank their investment in some dodgy banks in Costa Rica with the intent of creating an online poker environment that is just as enticing as the real deal.
However throughout the extraordinary accounts of excess and pure luck (many a car accident is had where all parties involved come out unscathed), you are waiting for an abrupt fall from grace. The people involved are continuously questioning ‘is this legal’? And there’s an expectation that it’s all going to come crumbling down.
The majority of the book covers a three year period where they were biding their time before they floated the business on the Stock Exchange. Some ill timed legislation created a chain of events that pushed Absolute Poker’s luck to the limit, and there are some tense moments where Pete is running from Canadian Mounties, websites are hacked, and Scott and Brent are forced to choose between life on the run, or time in prison for their roles in Absolute Poker.
If you’re looking for a run down on poker online and how the software works (and how they snuffed out cheating) then this book is just a basic overview of this information. Same goes for the morality of business with third party banks and money facilitators, a grey area in the early 2000’s on the internet. What we get instead is an overall view of a tenuous legal situation, without the hard core legalese that can weigh down a book with too much jargon. What’s left is all the awesome high flying intrigue that makes great reading.
June 9, 2013
Considering I read this in one day, I'd say it was a definitely a page-turner -- mainly in a gawking at the accident on the side of the road kind of way. Just unbelievable how this particular off-shore gambling site was born. Not as good as his previous Bringing Down the House, but worth reading at the beach this summer. And poker players will surely get more out of it than I did.
May 23, 2024
I listened the audiobook and I believe this is the 4th book by Ben Mezrich I have read or listened to. There is a disclaimer at the beginning of this book that [paraphrasing] says that some creative liberties have been taken, and names and events have been changed to protect privacy and confidentiality or something to that effect. Regardless of this disclaimer, Mezrich knows how to write and weave a great story that drew me in and kept me engaged.
The choice of Sean Pratt as narrator was outstanding as I believe Pratt is the best book narrator I have ever heard, he has crispness to his voice and cadence that is unmatched.
This book is about some University of Montana fraternity brothers who start an online poker business, making millions of dollars with nearly a $1B valuation and on the cusp of an IPO when it all unravels and then explains why.
I thought it was going to unravel for other reasons and there is a bit of twist at the end.
This is a great book that kept me engaged, is suspenseful, exciting, and a bit of an adrenaline rush.
What is interesting is that internet gambling and online sports betting are now widespread throughout the US while during the time of this book, from 1999 to 2011, it fell into a grey legal area and then ultimately became illegal while now it is mostly legal or legal in many states which likely has added a new stream of tax revenues to the politicians who are regulating this industry.
I highly recommend this book.
The choice of Sean Pratt as narrator was outstanding as I believe Pratt is the best book narrator I have ever heard, he has crispness to his voice and cadence that is unmatched.
This book is about some University of Montana fraternity brothers who start an online poker business, making millions of dollars with nearly a $1B valuation and on the cusp of an IPO when it all unravels and then explains why.
I thought it was going to unravel for other reasons and there is a bit of twist at the end.
This is a great book that kept me engaged, is suspenseful, exciting, and a bit of an adrenaline rush.
What is interesting is that internet gambling and online sports betting are now widespread throughout the US while during the time of this book, from 1999 to 2011, it fell into a grey legal area and then ultimately became illegal while now it is mostly legal or legal in many states which likely has added a new stream of tax revenues to the politicians who are regulating this industry.
I highly recommend this book.
March 27, 2021
This book does a good job of explaining the saga of AbsolutePoker.com and the crash of the online poker industry in a compelling way, but
it's just SO horny
it can't go even one chapter without a graphic, leering description of the glamorous models and sex workers who flock around them and their money
and is made worse by the fact that it's transparently a calculated move to spice up a story that is ultimately about guys doing business on computers for readers who don't have the patience for slow moving drama
Really hard to overlook. It's like if you mashed up a 60 Minutes exposé with a particularly race-fetishy episode of Girls Gone Wild
it's just SO horny
it can't go even one chapter without a graphic, leering description of the glamorous models and sex workers who flock around them and their money
and is made worse by the fact that it's transparently a calculated move to spice up a story that is ultimately about guys doing business on computers for readers who don't have the patience for slow moving drama
Really hard to overlook. It's like if you mashed up a 60 Minutes exposé with a particularly race-fetishy episode of Girls Gone Wild
September 30, 2020
Going all in!
This is the story of the rise a fall of a online poker business empire that was started by friends from university following from a passion discovered whilst there by one of the main protaganists.
Having previously read his book about the building of the Facebook empire I was intrigued to read some of his other work as I really enjoyed that book. For me this wasn't as good. I think the main reasons for this lie with the facts that the characters and subject matter come across as being a little bland. It felt as though the author had to do quite a lot of fluffing and exaggerating to make them seem more interesting than they actually were.
The story for the most part wasnt exactly ore inspiring. In terms of intrigue the online poker industry comes across as being a bit one dimensional, without much to really give it an edge. The characters in addition came across as fairly stayed, white collar, law abiding buisinessmen, at odds with the rock and roll, hedonistic personas they were also being portrayed as having. I didnt really engage or like their personalitys for the most part. I found them to be quite obnoxious and arrogant, lacking any real depth of personality
Having said all this it is still an interesting read. It did keep my attention in general throughout, which I think is a credit to the authors easy, engaging writing style, it does get a tad more interesting and worthwhile as the book develops. I wouldnt read it again but probably would recommend it to anyone who had a real interest in online poker but not really to anyone else.
This is the story of the rise a fall of a online poker business empire that was started by friends from university following from a passion discovered whilst there by one of the main protaganists.
Having previously read his book about the building of the Facebook empire I was intrigued to read some of his other work as I really enjoyed that book. For me this wasn't as good. I think the main reasons for this lie with the facts that the characters and subject matter come across as being a little bland. It felt as though the author had to do quite a lot of fluffing and exaggerating to make them seem more interesting than they actually were.
The story for the most part wasnt exactly ore inspiring. In terms of intrigue the online poker industry comes across as being a bit one dimensional, without much to really give it an edge. The characters in addition came across as fairly stayed, white collar, law abiding buisinessmen, at odds with the rock and roll, hedonistic personas they were also being portrayed as having. I didnt really engage or like their personalitys for the most part. I found them to be quite obnoxious and arrogant, lacking any real depth of personality
Having said all this it is still an interesting read. It did keep my attention in general throughout, which I think is a credit to the authors easy, engaging writing style, it does get a tad more interesting and worthwhile as the book develops. I wouldnt read it again but probably would recommend it to anyone who had a real interest in online poker but not really to anyone else.
April 9, 2024
Αν και αρχικά μου τράβηξε το ενδιαφέρον κάπου μετά τη μέση με έχασε, το έχασα, έκανε "κοιλιά" και κατέληξα να το τελειώσω απλά για να δω το τέλος.
February 17, 2024
LOL this was so bad but also entertaining. basically what would be produced if a frat president had an assignment to write about his wildest dreams
February 28, 2020
Fast paced story of the rise and fall of Absolute Poker. Not enough information about ‘Black Friday’ to determine whether the author’s withering critique of the US DOJ is justified. More information about the other companies involved (Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker) might have lead to a more balanced and complete account. The book was written to be sensationalistic and was therefore written too close to the conclusion of the Black Friday raids to allow a full assessment, if indeed it was at all interested in the truth.
February 19, 2015
This book follows the normal Mezrich formula for telling a non-fiction story that makes an appealing narrative. He specializes in telling stories of young geniuses who do stuff that no one else has been able to accomplish. His most famous book is The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal which was the basis for the movie The Social Network.
If you haven't read his books before, start with another one. This one is not as strong a story as the others. Also, it did not help that he was sloppy with the facts. He tells of a brother of one of the main characters coming to visit him. The brother is a 19 year old returned LDS missionary who has served his year long mission. At the time of the story, a returned LDS missionary would have to be at least 21 years old after serving the standard 2 years. Makes me wonder what else he got wrong.
If you haven't read his books before, start with another one. This one is not as strong a story as the others. Also, it did not help that he was sloppy with the facts. He tells of a brother of one of the main characters coming to visit him. The brother is a 19 year old returned LDS missionary who has served his year long mission. At the time of the story, a returned LDS missionary would have to be at least 21 years old after serving the standard 2 years. Makes me wonder what else he got wrong.
June 11, 2013
Another Mezrich hit! Busting Vegas meets Accidental Billionaires. Straight Flush offers a behind the scenes look at the genius behind Absolute Poker, the online poker explosion, and the rise and fall of the major US online sites. For someone who was captivated by the poker boom, this book offers interesting insights. And, as a student of human nature, it is an especially fascinating glimpse inside a different kind of mind. While so many, upon first exposure to poker, online or otherwise, wanted to dive in and play, with dreams of a bracelet dancing in their heads, Tom Scott just wanted to be the guy raking a couple percent out of lots and lots of pots.
The only problem with Mezrich is that you can't put his stuff down. Once again, I finished it the day I picked it up.
The only problem with Mezrich is that you can't put his stuff down. Once again, I finished it the day I picked it up.
July 22, 2013
An interesting story from the author of The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal and in a similar style. Details the roller coaster ride by the founders of the Absolute Poker internet poker empire. I have my own opinions about how the government has handled online poker, and if anything those views were just strengthened by this read. Recomended to fans of Ben Mezrich or anyone interested in Poker and online entrepreneurship.
August 25, 2013
While not a literary masterpiece, this was a good account of these boys and their experiences as fledgling online poker entrepreneurs. I was surprised at my reaction to their being brought down by our government after doing absolutely nothing illegal until 2 congressmen attached an illegal gambling rider to a powerful port protection bill????? They took every precaution to be sure what they were doing was legal right to the end, paying back customers if there was any sign of illegal activity when hacked! I am no proponent of online gambling, but it is sad to think that the government can decide that a business that was fine one day is totally illegal the next - but, I guess I should NOT be surprised the way it operates these days - GRRRR!
February 20, 2014
Took me back to the good days of online poker! It was fun to reminisce about sites, bonuses, ideas, and games long gone. Also interesting to see it from behind the scenes. Without having been a player back in those days myself, though, it wouldn't have been so interesting.
July 29, 2016
Wonderful book about absolutepoker.com since all I did in high school was play Texas Hold'em and learned how to play other games of poker on gaming sites like this, I loved the back story.
It is a wild ride.
It is a wild ride.
Read
February 16, 2014Better than the movie!!!
abandoned
February 28, 2016This one is a DNF. Got 2/3rds through the book and am not enjoying it. The story is ok, the writing is ok (not great, but ok) - neither is spectacular enough for me to keep reading.
November 9, 2024
This was a nonfiction book but really did read with the level of suspense you’d expect out of fiction. When you combine well-paced and suspenseful writing with a genuinely interesting story, you get a great book. I really liked that the author cut a ton of the bloat out of the story, which happens a lot of the time in nonfiction, and structured it more like a memoir where time jumps at whatever rate necessary to deliver the “greatest hits” version of what happened with this company. A lot of business related stories will waste time with unimportant names or throwaway anecdotes, but with this everything felt important or at the very least, exciting to read.
My thoughts on the story itself is that it left me feeling sad, mostly because of how absurd regulations in the United States can be legislated. It’s insane you can just shoehorn unrelated legislation on the back of a bill and have people sign it without a second thought, especially because it’s the last day of a congressional session and have that lead to the destruction of people’s lives. Also man they really screwed over my boy Brent, basically just because of his role in the company when everyone else was just as aware and complacent of what was going on. Whack. Great book though!
Page 62:
“Phil was a businessman, and he knew that passion was more important than any numbers. You could sell an idea on passion.”
Page 106:
“It was a shared passion, and sometimes inspired people did stupid, stupid things.”
Page 185:
“Maybe Pete could sell know to Eskimos - but Scott could sell Scott to anyone.”
My thoughts on the story itself is that it left me feeling sad, mostly because of how absurd regulations in the United States can be legislated. It’s insane you can just shoehorn unrelated legislation on the back of a bill and have people sign it without a second thought, especially because it’s the last day of a congressional session and have that lead to the destruction of people’s lives. Also man they really screwed over my boy Brent, basically just because of his role in the company when everyone else was just as aware and complacent of what was going on. Whack. Great book though!
Page 62:
“Phil was a businessman, and he knew that passion was more important than any numbers. You could sell an idea on passion.”
Page 106:
“It was a shared passion, and sometimes inspired people did stupid, stupid things.”
Page 185:
“Maybe Pete could sell know to Eskimos - but Scott could sell Scott to anyone.”
July 30, 2021
3.5 Stars. Like all the author's books - non-fiction that reads as fun if not better than fiction. Author specializes in real-life stories of young guys who are "disrupters" and make fast fortunes in the modern technology driven world. Straight Flush is no different except these fart guys were nothing special regular midwest college guys who started at the right time an online poker website.
Fun book that gets into their rise and fall and big government coming after them. The book is fairly short and to the point and gets as in-depth as it needs to. The reader gets the idea of how the US government is fast to pulverize any business they get paid to take out - by their lobbyists. The book doesn't outright discuss this but that is what it is. Vegas casinos pay the government big money to maintain an oligopoly. Straight Flush seems to be the basis for the pretty good movie "runner runner"
Fun book that gets into their rise and fall and big government coming after them. The book is fairly short and to the point and gets as in-depth as it needs to. The reader gets the idea of how the US government is fast to pulverize any business they get paid to take out - by their lobbyists. The book doesn't outright discuss this but that is what it is. Vegas casinos pay the government big money to maintain an oligopoly. Straight Flush seems to be the basis for the pretty good movie "runner runner"
June 27, 2019
This book is written for a niche market. The world of modern poker players. Specifically online poker players. It is the true story of how six university students fell in love with Texas Hold ‘em.
They turned their last Vegas for the game into a billion dollar empire...until Black Friday. Black Friday the day when the US government declared ALL online poker (playing for real money) illegal. That edict, issued in a federal court for the Southern District of New York ruined the businesses of hundreds of online poker sites and destroyed the livelihood of thousands of poker players throughout the US.
Black Friday marked the death of Absolute Bet, the online poker room these ambitious young men thought of, planned for and created. It was a billion dollar enterprise that, in one day, went up in smoke.
They turned their last Vegas for the game into a billion dollar empire...until Black Friday. Black Friday the day when the US government declared ALL online poker (playing for real money) illegal. That edict, issued in a federal court for the Southern District of New York ruined the businesses of hundreds of online poker sites and destroyed the livelihood of thousands of poker players throughout the US.
Black Friday marked the death of Absolute Bet, the online poker room these ambitious young men thought of, planned for and created. It was a billion dollar enterprise that, in one day, went up in smoke.
August 16, 2020
I'm a fan of Ben Mezrich's books, so you can guess the outcome of this review. Mezrich conveys facts in a suspense narrative that is fun to read and easy to imagine the events as they take place. Straight Flush follows a group of college students who design an online poker game that becomes very popular, making them millionaires very quickly. You take part in their venture by way of Mezrich's descriptive writing, and feel the excitement of the good years and the gnawing pain of impending disaster as the US government establishes laws that wreak havoc on the industry. Their story is a tense balance of creative excitement and worrisome ethics. In the end, you empathize with this group and wonder if you'd done it any differently. A lesson gambling, finance, morals, and legalities. Very enjoyable, until you see the photos near the end. A very good read.
January 18, 2019
The writing is fine, I just dont identify with people who "party hard"
This is the story of one of the many online poker sites that sprang up in the early 2000's. We follow a group of college friends who decide to try making a site to let people play poker on for money and see what happens. They have some wealthy friends and family that help them get their start. After that we have a lot of jet setting and debauchery and hard working nights and days. Eventually the United States congress sneaks language into an anti terrorism bill, as the snakes and dirtbags in DC are want to do, that makes their entire business model illegal. A short time goes buy and the feds seize the website and fundamentally shut them down.
Again, the story is fine, I just didn't care for anyone in it.
This is the story of one of the many online poker sites that sprang up in the early 2000's. We follow a group of college friends who decide to try making a site to let people play poker on for money and see what happens. They have some wealthy friends and family that help them get their start. After that we have a lot of jet setting and debauchery and hard working nights and days. Eventually the United States congress sneaks language into an anti terrorism bill, as the snakes and dirtbags in DC are want to do, that makes their entire business model illegal. A short time goes buy and the feds seize the website and fundamentally shut them down.
Again, the story is fine, I just didn't care for anyone in it.
May 21, 2018
I like the way that Mezrich rips a story from the headlines, and delves into with journalistic aptitude to create a readable book.
This fast paced book is about a group of University of Montana fraternity brothers, who had no gaming experience, yet moved to create Absolute Poker in 2003. They moved the company to Costa Rica where the site could operate without a gaming license. The frat boys made millions before the enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which criminalized financial transactions occurring on online gaming sites such as Absolute Poker.
If you enjoyed reading Bringing Down the House, you will likely enjoy reading this book.
This fast paced book is about a group of University of Montana fraternity brothers, who had no gaming experience, yet moved to create Absolute Poker in 2003. They moved the company to Costa Rica where the site could operate without a gaming license. The frat boys made millions before the enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which criminalized financial transactions occurring on online gaming sites such as Absolute Poker.
If you enjoyed reading Bringing Down the House, you will likely enjoy reading this book.
September 9, 2021
Solid and informative account about the meteoric rise and swift implosion of an online poker site, Absolute Poker, in the early 2000s. A group of fraternity brothers from Montana started with a relatively modest $25k investment and before long they operated a global money-printing business and lived large in Costa Rica thanks to online poker fever sweeping the globe, especially America, at the time. Then, US financial law changed and suddenly they found themselves on the wrong side of it.
Good read for anyone with an interest in technology startups and/or the early days of internet gaming.
Good read for anyone with an interest in technology startups and/or the early days of internet gaming.
November 14, 2024
Six frat boys get rich making an online poker site, online poker becomes illegal in the US, some of them refuse to back down, so the US swats them down. An interesting, if not groundbreaking story, but overall not Mezrich's best work. He was so determined to keep the focus on the unlikeable frat boys, he skimmed over the more entertaining dramas, like the scandals that happened within the company. These scandals would have been fun capers, but instead, all we get is a few paragraphs about how they affect the main crew. Even the author seemed disinterested in the topic by the end. Was he contractually or financially forced to write this?
July 25, 2018
Mezrich has a gift for finding these amazing stories, and then failing terribly at telling them. This is my second book by him, and my last. He never focuses on anything interesting in his books, choosing instead to spend paragraphs describing women's bodies rather than building tension and talking about the story. He never bothers to explain what an IPO is, despite the fact that it is a huge goal of the protagonists for part of the book, but he wastes a solid paragraph describing the over-lipsticked pant-suited appearance of an unimportant bank teller in Montana. Yawn.
October 24, 2018
I really enjoyed this book, but Mezrich does what he does in every one of his books- he identifies too much with his subjects and obscures the realities to make them appear in a better light. He is, in many ways, a gonzo journalist and, in that way, a participant in the debauchery and corruption which he chronicles. The factual problems within this book are well documented and I don't need to list them here. As a work of fiction of questionable non-fiction, Straight Flush was quite good. As a work of journalism, it would be a 1 star.
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