| The Picasso Flop (Texas Hold'em Mysteries) |  | Authors: Vince Van Patten, Robert J. Randisi
Publisher: Mysterious Press
List Price: $24.99
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Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 970,373
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0892960701
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780892960705
ASIN: 0892960701
Publication Date: February 21, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
From Vince Van Patten, host of the World Poker Tour, and mystery writer Robert J. Randisi comes a novel of chilling murder and riveting poker suspense. Just out of prison after ten years, professional poker player Jimmy Spain visits his wealthy former cell mate and listens to an offer he can't refuse. The rich man wants the ex-con to mentor his only child in the game of poker. In return, he'll set Jimmy up and pay all of his buy-ins on the poker tour. This deal looks like easy money, especially after Jimmy meets the kid--a cocky and abrasive young girl named Kat who has some good, yet raw, poker skills. Soon Jimmy and Kat enter a World Poker Tour tournament at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Things are coming up aces...until a player is found brutally slain with a Picasso flop--three picture cards--on his body. When suspicion points to Kat as the killer, it's up to Jimmy to find the real culprit--while fighting to remain in the tournament. As one ghastly murder after another knocks out other players, this hard-bitten veteran of the felt knows that in this cutthroat world of card sharks, someone could eliminate him--or Kat--for good. On the clock, with the blinds escalating, and down to his last hand, Jimmy fears he may be drawing dead. Featuring the appearances of such poker luminaries as Mike Sexton, Doyle Brunson, and James Woods, and cowritten by a true impresario of the game, THE PICASSO FLOP mixes money, mystery, and the adrenaline-pumping excitement of Texas hold'em poker action, Vegas-style. Shuffle up and read. Author Bio: Vince Van Patten is the current host and commentator for the nationally televised World Poker Tour, but his work as a poker ambassador is only one facet of a remarkably diverse career as an actor, screenwriter, producer, director, and world-ranked tennis pro. He lives in Malibu, California.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
 A Fun Read December 1, 2008
S. Todd
I listened to this book on tape with my fiance and we both loved it. It is a nice, light book that is interesting, has a unexpected ending, and incorporates poker in a great way. I love mysteries and my Fiance loves poker- both of us loved this book.
 Fun celebrity poker, serviceable mystery May 5, 2008
Aaron C. Brown (New York, New York United States)
The story in this book follows the basic conventions of the mystery genre and does an adequate job. Mystery fans with no interest in poker won't hate this book, but it won't make their top ten lists. Some serious poker players will think it emphasizes silly froth over pure poker.
I loved this book for the inside jokes about celebrity poker. If you're a fan, there's all kinds of fun detail, carefully-etched portraits and amusing color. If you're not a fan, and don't know any of the people involved, it will seem like shameless plugs for the World Poker Tour with lots of silliness in between the murders.
This isn't a book for everyone (as the other reviews clearly show), but if you like this sort of thing, it's a five-star book.
 Ugh! What a waste! May 2, 2008
Frank A. Shevock (Derwood, Md.)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I really wanted to enjoy this book since I love watching the WPT poker telecasts and Vince Van Patten's commentary. I also love playing Texas Holdem. However, this book reads like it was written by a fourth grader (not to denigrate fourth graders writing ability). I got to the 10th chapter and decided I couldn't take it anymore. Vince, don't give up your day job....................
 Like the new Knight Rider TV Movie March 1, 2008
S. Flannagan (Pittsburgh)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Odd comparison, but bear with me...
I just finished reading Picasso Flop a day or so after Knight Rider came on.. and even with low expectations, both were disappointing. THey shared similar traits... a seemingly fan-friendly idea, and poor execution. Both appear to be hastily thrown together, have shaky (at best) plots, and OH-SO-convenient situations. Perhaps if KITT had driven into the Bellagio in this book, it might have at least made me stop and think something other than "Jeez, this book is so simplistically written..." The jacket desribes the author as the writter of several mysteries...I have a feeling it's quantity over quality if Picasso Flop is any indication. Maybe I'm asking too much from a book released by the WPT. Will I buy future installments? Sure, because I'm a rube that loves poker and will buy just about anything associated with it... and I'll watch Knight RIder every week if it gets picked up, because I loved the original when I was a kid... but that doesn't make them worthy...or any good. Suggestions to both: take a little more time. try harder. make a better product.
Don't need to know a lot about poker to enjoy this book July 1, 2007
Julie A. Earhart (St. Louis, mo United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I don't know much about poker. If I hadn't caught a few of the shows on cable, I would think that a book with a tag line of "A Texas Hold'em Mystery" was a western-mystery. But sometimes I do turn on the television so I know that Texas Hold'em is the hottest thing in card games for adults.
Enter World Poker Tour commentator Vince Van Patten. He's teamed up with mystery-writer extraordinaire Robert J. Randisi and together they have penned the first in a series called The Picasso Flop.
Ex-poker professional Jimmy Spain has just finished his time in the slammer. He's almost kicked his past but an old cell mate, Harold Landrigan--a wealthy, weathly man--hires Jimmy to keep an eye on his young daughter Kat. Money is no object to Landrigan and Jimmy accepts his more than generous offer. Only thing is, Jimmy can't let Kat know of his connection with her father.
He moves to LA to meet Kat and see if she has any talent at all. She's a whiz at cards. Jimmy takes her under his wing and the duo head off to Vegas for the World Poker Tour at the Bellagio. Thanks to Daddy Harold, both have the buy-in fee for the five-day tournament.
Things are going well for the two until an Internet poker phenom turns up dead, with the Picasso flop--three picture cards--as one of the only clue. It shakes Jimmy and Kat but not their fortitude. Until a poker posse buddy of the dead guy's takes a nose dive nto the hotel's swimming pool also with the same flop floating in the water..
The Picasso Flop is littered with the poker world's most famous names. I have no idea who these people are, but it didn't get in the way of a good story. It helps that the authors do a minute amount of explaining about the game but that helpful little tidbit of info doesn't get in the way.
Jimmy and Kat are compelling characters. For some reason, after I started reading The Picasso Flop, I started calling all the men I know "dude." And that's a word I never thought would be coming out of my mouth!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
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