Poker novels

Hi,
For the most popular pastime in the World there aren't many poker novels...so I thought I'd havea go. I'd like to know if you think it's good enough to publish. You'll find the first few chapters here:

PETER BELL

Hope you like it.

PS. The dirty bits start in chapter 8. I'll post them soon.

Thanks

I skimmed through the Prologue, but its a little beyond my "Harold and the purple crayon" reading level.

lol...thanks for the response. I'll do an abridged version.

I read through the Prologue and the first chapter. It is an interesting read, but one thing I would suggest is that you get a beta reader. There are some mistakes - some of them obvious typos and some of them bad word use. Those types of things can make for a very hard read. A beta reader (editor) could really help you out with that.

Thanks. Good advice. I'll sort out a beta reader over the next couple of days and update the site, hopefully you'll find it easier going then.

One amazing poker novel is Last Call by Tim Powers. A modern-day fantasy in a world where playing cards channel the symbolism of the tarot.

Seriously, give it a read.

I only read the first few paragraphs and can tell you right away that the prose is a little "pregnant," as they say. You are trying a bit too hard with phrases like "linguistically incoherent" "parting addendum" and "casual aplomb", etc.
If the plot/story is any good, then you have a shot at publication, but definitely get that editor as advised.

Here are some poker novels you might want to read just for an idea of the competition's standards:

The Picasso Flop, A Texas Hold'em Mystery by Vince Van Patten

The Perfect Play by Louise Wener

The Prop by Pete Hautman

These (above) are all really quick reads and seem to be in line with what you are going for (poker/mystery).

The following are also worth your time:

Shut Up and Deal by Jesse May

King of a Small World by Rick Bennet

Advice: focus as much as possible on character development and psychology, and as little as possible on simple plot.

Thanks.
I've re-hashed the prologue. If you guys think it's now better that way I'll do the rest.