For two former players of an obscure fantasy card game to command one-fifth of the final table at the world’s premiere poker tournament is an astounding feat, and one that cannot be attributed solely to luck. One of these players, 23-year-old David Williams, took second place and a prize of $3.5 million. Magic alumni claimed two of the 10 spots at the final table of the 2004 World Series of Poker, culled from an original field of 2,576. But arguably the most successful newcomers are the alumni of an obscure strategy card game called Magic: The Gathering. Indeed, players from all fields are finding success on the felt–teenagers, movie stars, recent immigrants. It's Kushner's gift to be able to share that knowledge in a way that makes us all able to understand as well.Poker has arrived, again, after a long period of dormancy, and it’s not just for riverboat gamblers anymore. The story rings true not just because it's factual, but because the author really understands his subject. There's an author afterword where Kushner lays out his own geek credentials, and I'm tempted to believe that this is the secret to the book's success: Kushner is one of us. It even includes appendices on the basics of Magic: the Gathering, Blackjack, and Texas Hold 'em. People like Garfield and Finkel leap off the page, as do the more minor characters - Kushner is adept at capturing their voices and letting them speak to the reader.Įverything about the book works, from story to design. Plus, Finkel's story is so intertwined with the story of Magic that we end up with a pretty good history of the cultural phenomenon that the game became. Kushner is equally adept at telling the story of Richard Garfield and the creation of Magic: the Gathering. Watching Jon grow and change from a lonely, troubled teen into a successful and happy adult is an uplifting experience, and Kushner does a great job telling his story. We've all felt alienated and alone, and a good many of us have turned, like Jon did, to the welcoming arms of SF, fantasy, and D&D. But first and foremost, it's the story of Jon Finkel, a prototypical uber-geek who harnesses his massive brain to the study of Magic and goes farther than anyone would have believed.įinkel's story resonates with the reader because we've all been there, to some degree. Johnny Magic and the Card Shark Kids is many things, among them a history of D&D culture and an account of the creation and subsequent pop culture explosion of the game Magic: the Gathering. David Kushner, author of Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture tells us who those guys are and how they came to be there in a story that should warm the cockles of any true geek's heart. And if you watch those TV tourneys, you'll notice one thing: the final table is often filled with guys who look like they might still be in college. Poker tournaments are becoming regular sights on network TV, and online poker sites grow more and more popular. These days, you can't throw a stick in a bookstore without hitting a gambling book. ©2005 David Kushner (P)2005 Listen & Live Audio Read more This audio also includes an interview with Jon Finkel, a.k.a. ![]() If you secretly believe every player has his day, you're right. Acclaimed author David Kushner masterfully deals out the outrageous details while bringing to life a cast of characters rife with aces, kings, knaves¿and more than a few jokers. Thrilling, edgy, and ferociously feel-good, the odyssey of these underdogs-turned-overlords is the stuff of pop-culture legend. Then they took on the town's biggest game, the World Series of Poker, and walked away with more than $3.5 million! ![]() Taking Vegas for millions, Finkel's squad of brainy gamers became the biggest players in town. Once transformed, this young shark stormed poker rooms from the underground clubs of New York City to the high-stakes tables online, until he landed on the largest card-counting blackjack team in the country. Magic exploded from nerdy obsession to mainstream mania and made the teenage Finkel an ultra-cool world champion. ![]() The ultimate bully-magnet, Finkel grew up heckled and hazed until destiny came in the form of a trading-card game called Magic: The Gathering. Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids is his amazing true story: the jaw-dropping, zero-to-hero chronicle of a fat, friendless boy from New Jersey who found his edge in a game of cards and turned it into a fortune! And whatever you do, don't sit down across a gaming table from Jon Finkel, better known as Jonny Magic. If you think a gang of real-life geeks can't take on the world and win big.think again.
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