Arthur W. Goodhart

Born in London to an American mother and English father my education reflected this Anglo-American background. I went to Williams College, USA and then Oxford University. Thereafter I worked in publishing in both London and New York before starting a literary agency. Being an agent seemed to suit me, neither author nor publisher but sympathetic to both parties. After thirty years I finally chose sides and became an author. For many years backgammon was my gambling game of choice. I eventually discovered poker, appropriately enough given my professional interest in books, by reading Anthony Holden's 'Big Deal'. In those distant days poker players were poorly served by London's casinos so I watched with enthusiasm as the city became better acquainted with the game. I began to play regularly, learnt to choose my game and manage my bankroll with care. Writing and poker have much in common. Failure is central to both. You have to be resilient, patient, solitary by nature. Both are activities where you can improve with practice and perseverance. Reading, of course, can help. I've been the beneficiary of the industry and creativity of many novelists while my poker has been improved by those kind enough to share some of their wisdom. Like everyone who plays poker seriously I've learnt from reading Doyle Brunson's 'Super/System' and 'Super/System 2'. I've also gained enormously from reading the books TJ Cloutier has written with Tom McEvoy and those Dan Harrington has written with Bill Robertie. Gus Hansen's 'Every Hand Revealed' was also full of helpful insight. I recently sat at a poker table where a neighbour boasted he'd been playing the game for over fifty years. I've been playing for half that time. The game offers frustration and fascination, pain and pleasure, angst and adrenalin. This intensity, quite rightly, is missing from the manuals already cited. Those books emphasise the need to be analytical, to observe, to be careful and rational and this is correct. The challenge is to be all these things as the pressure mounts, the hours pass, emotions intervene and it is this aspect of the game my writing tries to explore.