Some of the best books about poker don’t feature a single sentence about strategy or two words on tactics. They simply bring the game to life and inspire us to join the fun. The ways this can be done are varied, with every style having a place on your poker bookshelf. From the ‘Life and Times of a Poker Legend’ like The Devilfish to a deep-dive into ‘Poker & Pop Culture’ courtesy of the 2019 Global Poker Award winner Martin Harris, there’s something for everyone.

Just last week, a new exposé was published that lifts the lid still further on the notorious Hollywood poker game that featured in the 2017 film, Molly’s Game. Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist is a look at the infamous Hollywood game that was taken away from Molly Bloom by, it is alleged, Tobey Maguire.

The star of Spiderman 1,2 & 3 as well as films such as Seabiscuit and The Cider House Rules has long been a figure that has polarized popular opinion. Known as a poker player, Maguire is said to have offered Bloom, then the hostess of the poker game $1,000 to “bark like a seal”. No-one was applauding when that tidbit of Tinseltown tattle came out, and Maguire has arguably suffered since. His appearances in Hollywood movies have scaled down dramatically over the past few years, where he has been more active as a producer rather than an actor.

Was Tobey Maguire’s poker game, one in which he wanted to take down Hollywood icons such as Matt Damon, Leo Di Caprio and Ben Affleck, his downfall? The Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist the book refers to is written by Houston Curtis, the other half in the partnership between him and Maguire, that looked to take down the suckers that formed part of La La Land’s elite.