Like a lot of my generation the book Big Deal was part of our early addiction to the game. Near the beginning of the book our intrepid outgunned hero Tony Holden sits down in the World Series of Poker.

His nervous, fervent prayer is that he be dealt 7-2 offsuit so he can fold quietly and spend the next few minutes trying to calm down. As it happens he was dealt A-10 suited and decided to play... oh no Tony!

He also managed to call Stu Ungar’s raise and play a decent-sized pot with him on the first hand; so much for calming down.

Nowadays, the huge number of satellites and the deflationary effect on the size of the buy-in has meant that any of us could be sitting in the world’s biggest poker tournament.