Straight Flush

The True Story of Six College Friends Who Dealt Their Way to a Billion-Dollar Online Poker Empire--and How it All Came Crashing Down…

By: Ben Mezrich

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House - the sources for the films The Social Network and 21 - comes the larger-than-life true tale of a group of American college buddies who brilliantly built a billion-dollar online poker colossus based out of the hedonistic paradise of Costa Rica.

One problem: the U.S. Department of Justice was gunning for them....

Based on extensive insider interviews and participation, acclaimed author Ben Mezrich's Straight Flush tells the captivating rags-to-riches tale of a group of University of Montana frat brothers who turned a weekly poker game in the basement of a local dive bar into AbsolutePoker.com, one of the largest online companies in the world, on par with some of the behemoths of the Internet. At its height, Absolute Poker was an online empire earning more than a million dollars a day, following savvy business strategy and even better luck. Its founders set up their operations in the exotic jungle paradise of Costa Rica, embracing an outrageous lifestyle of girls, parties, and money.

Meanwhile, the gray area of U.S. and international law in which the company operated was becoming a lot more risky, and soon the U.S. Department of Justice had placed a bull's-eye on Absolute Poker. Should they fold - or double down and ride their hot hand? Straight Flush is an exclusive, never-before-seen look behind the headlines of one of the wildest business stories of the past decade.

©2013 Ben Mezrich (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Shatner?

What didn’t you like about Sean Pratt’s performance?
There were moments where he seemed to be channeling William Shatner.

Any additional comments?
If you liked the movie "Runner Runner" one of the storylines woven into it was the Absolute Poker story that is told in more detail (and with less dramatic license) in Straight Flush.

Interesting Topic, overly simplistic writing

It started out as an interesting story, but halfway through the book it seemed more like the writer took a news story and applied stereotypes to the people involved in absolute poker and wrote a novel. I don’t care about the chicks he spent time to detail every over page, I had hoped this would have been a more detailed account of the business and the inner workings that made it possible to build. Should have been much better.

Great story and a fun listen!

What did you love best about Straight Flush?

I loved the feeling I got listening to the story and trying to capture how the characters felt in different situations.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The story from rags to riches to rags...all though not exactly. But I liked how the story evolved and it was fun to hear about how a few guys with an idea made a profitable business.

Have you listened to any of Sean Pratt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

High stakes, high flying, pure enjoyment!

Who knew??

What an interesting behind-the-scenes peek into the Online Poker world! I had no idea what was, or is, really going on!

This is my third book by this author, and I have enjoyed all three. They are well researched, extremely well written, and this one is also narrated very well. I feel like I still have an unanswered question after finishing, but it is only a minor detraction from an otherwise very good story.

I do recommend this audiobook--I felt it was definitely worth the time and credit spent!!

great story and great writing

the narrator left a little to be desired but the overall story was great I wish I knew how it really ends

Fascinating

Makes you rethink your contempt for the Absolute Poker guys. I'm sure this is heavily biased towards the story they want told, but it makes you at least consider that they weren't all bad.
Solid narration.

Usual Mezrich

It was fine. You never know if Mezrich is telling the truth or not since he is notorious for making or exaggerating scenes. 90% of the book is partying.

they even tried to do it the right way

Another fast moving, feels like you are there, story from Ben Mezrich. The usual themes: young folks with a laser focus on bringing home the brass ring. Great narration too.

The Downfall of Absolute Poker

Interesting story of how the US government temporarily put a dent in online Poker by focusing on crushing Absolute Poker. The frat kids were scapegoats for the US's attempt to stop online gaming. To me, it was heartbreaking to learn they were within 1 week of being billionaires, only to have the rug swept from under them.

The narration is excellent.

Online poker is awesome

What a great story, I always wonder how online poker started. I wish this story goes to the big screen as well, there aren’t many poker movies.