My father plays poker; my son plays poker; and I just didn't get it. Well, now I do. Texas Hold'em as Bronson explains it is pretty intriguing - dare I say- compelling.

It's fun to read about the tug of instinct and reason, the play between probability and luck, or the confrontation of what is known and what is assumed.

Bronson forces us to pay attention to the national phenomena of poker night. The essays let us know how our adolescent sons and daughters prove their connection with the group yet exert their independence; how coeds swig the beer and demonstrate mental acuity simultaneously; or how backroom experts play with skill and win by instinct.

With lots of anecdotal references, these essays are as entertaining as they are insightful. Bronson's compilation of essays gives clues, theory, and the itch to play. What fun.

I picked this book up because I so much enjoyed the author's previous book "Baseball and Philosophy." I did not expect much here because I really did not expect that poker would have the same interesting associations with philosophy that baseball clearly has. Boy, was I wrong. The author has done it again! Another great book. Lying, bluffing, Machiavelli, irrationality and Aristotle. They all have something in common, and the fun is in the reading. Bravo to the philosophers. They dealt a royal flush here.