The latest book in our Poker in Print series is one of the earliest books that has been labelled as being definitive in its description of the game. Al Alvarez’ The Biggest Game in Town was written about the 1981 WSOP Main Event and was published two years later.  

Over 35 years on, the book still resonates in the poker world. But is it a timeless classic or has its time, like the style of poker in 1983, had its time?  

Far from being a poker diary, autobiography, biography or strategy guide, the book is the work of an acclaimed critic and poet in Alvarez, who would live a long and prosperous career writing on many subjects, of which poker was one of his favourites.  

The world of High Stakes Poker in Las Vegas wasn’t nearly as accessible in 1983, just 13 years after the inaugural WSOP Main Event saw Johnny Moss voted into the winner’s circle as the best player by his peers.