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Herbert Yardley was a fascinating character. The author was best known as the United State’s premier cryptanalyst (code breaker) during and after World War I. He was the key member of the “Black Chamber”, America’s code breaking group of the time, which was a predecessor to today’s National Security Agency. Yardley was also an avid poker player, and was considered quite an expert in his day. In The Education of a Poker Player Yardley tells us how he learned to play, and he teaches us some of the most profound lessons he learned, many of them learned the hard way.

 

Yardley is a very capable story teller. He does a great job of putting us in the moment as he learns to play as a kid, becomes a winning player, plays in almost mystical games in exotic locations throughout his professional career and after, and finally, as he passes on this information to aspiring students. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that Yardley’s life was both that of a spy and of a road gambler, and he paints a detailed picture of some of these remarkable pieces of his life. Frankly, I find many of his stories …

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