On Saturday, June 9, invited guests packed the Masquerade Suite inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino for the launch of the highly-anticipated book The Pursuit of Poker Success.
888poker was a sponsor of the event, which was hosted by D&B Publishing. The Pursuit of Poker Success was written by 12-year poker media veteran and current President and Editor-in-Chief of PocketFives.com Lance Bradley, who explored the different paths to poker success by interviewing “50 of the World’s Best Poker Players.”
“I’ve been reading Tools of Titans, which is a collection of successful people from all different industries,” Bradley said of the book’s genesis. “I was reading that and thinking about a poker book. What if you just sat down with some of the best players and asked them why they were so good?
“I threw an idea out on Twitter, a question I knew there was no answer to, but wanted them to confirm it for me – how do you define success? I got back like 30 different answers and knew I was onto something. It’s going to vary from player to player depending on why they play the game and what stakes they’re playing.”
888poker Ambassadors on the List
Among those interviewed for the book were 888poker Ambassadors Chris Moorman, a 13-time #1-ranked Online Poker Player on PocketFives and 2017 WSOP $3K Six-Max champ, and four-time bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche, who last year took down the WSOP Europe €111,111 High Roller for One Drop.
“I had to have Chris in the book because he’s the top online player in PocketFives history, and he’s just a crusher,” Bradley told 888poker Magazine at the launch. “He’s also been through some stuff which I think is important in understanding that success is not simply about learning how to play the game.”
H continued: “If you’re a poker player, a lawyer, or a doctor, there are things that happened in your life that’ll impact your success in your field. He’d been through some stuff, and I wanted to get that story in there - how he went from the top of the world to having to start over. He literally started over, playing $11 tournaments and built his bankroll back up until he’s winning WPTs and WSOP bracelets.”
Concerning Nitsche, Bradley was interested in his studious nature.
“I wanted to get an understanding what it is that’s allowing the German players as a group to be so successful,” he said. “It’s not an accident; it’s not that the Germans suddenly got really good overnight. They practise group learning, and they’re studying together. I wanted to understand if there was something in the way the German educational system works that allows learning at a different pace or in a different way.”
It was an interesting thought, but Nitsche informed him it was more about hard work.
“Dominik was pretty honest,” Bradley explained. “He said no one gets in the room unless they’re focused on one goal. You’re all in on it and pushing hard, not just sitting back and watching; you have to contribute. To see the Germans go from a group of unknown players to the most accomplished group in poker is interesting.”
Bradley concluded: “I knew I could get stories from people. The story of what happened when they initially sat down and dragged their first pot to becoming one of the best in the world. At the beginning, I had a list of 97 players, but I had to come up with some criteria for order. I’m happy with the 50 I got, but I have another list, so I’d love to do a Volume 2.”
The Idea for a Successful Book
While Bradley put in the legwork, the book likely wouldn’t have come to light if not for D&B Publishing, which has released such poker books as Moorman’s Book of Poker and Moorman: The Inside Story of the Most Successful Online Poker Player of All Time.
Created 15 years ago by Dan Addelman and Byron Jacobs, D&B Publishing has become the industry leader when it comes to poker books, which boasts an author portfolio including Phil Hellmuth, Jonathan Little, and Alex Fitzgerald, just to name a few.
“I’ve known Lance for many years through his work with BLUFF and PocketFives,” Addleman told 888poker at the book launch. “I approached him with the thought of him publishing something because of his experience in the poker world. He got back to me with an idea. I discussed it with my business partner. We thought it was great, and we went from there.”
Addelman was also thankful for the industry’s support in launching The Pursuit of Poker Success.
“I do work with 888poker whenever possible,” Addelman added. “They’re interested in promoting poker, poker books, and do whatever they can to try to help out with grassroots publishing. When Chris Moorman did his book launch, they sponsored that as well. It’s great to have their help with their huge presence. We may be a big publisher in the poker world but compared to other mainstream publishers we’re a relatively small operation, so to have them supports us whenever they can, is great.”
Both Addelman and Bradley stayed busy during the launch, shaking hands and chatting with a wide array of folks, from players like John Monnette and Bernard Lee to media figures like Kevin “KevMath” Mathers and PokerNews’ Sarah Herring. When all was said and done, the book launched proved to be a success all its own.
Get your copy of The Pursuit of Poker at DandBpoker.com. You can also follow Lance Bradley on Twitter @Lance_Bradley and D&B Publishing at @DBPoker1.
