Given a testimonial by Phil Hellmuth himself, this is the story of how a player known as ‘The Duckman’ went for broke at the World Series of Poker.

You might ask ‘What makes this story any different to anyone else’s shot at glory as they bid for the World Series of Poker bracelet so many players desire more than any other poker tournament victory.

The answer, however, might not be what you expect. The reason A Chip and a Prayer world so well as a book about shooting for the moon exactly how everyone else wants to is the familiarly that ambition then shares with the reader.

Marvin Karlins wants to be a poker champion, and not just any champion, but a bracelet winner. His idea isn’t to run up a ticket to the big one, but moreover, commit a huge amount of money to shortcutting the dream to the exciting section of actually taking part. In that sense, it cuts to the quick and you’re never bored reading this tale. It does, however, make you root for the man known as ‘The Duckman’ a little less than if his story had more of a rags to riches feel. Instead, it’s more a riches-to-rags tale and you don’t watch Rocky to see a conceited champion beating up the plucky try-hard, do you?