All in

May 2, 2011
Poker is one of the few competitive endeavors where amateurs can play alongside professionals and have a shot at beating them. That's what Yang, a psychologist and former social worker from California, did when he won the main event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas in 2007. In this first book, an earnest but plodding memoir, Yang tells of his journey from watching poker on ESPN and playing in small local tournaments to his $8 million WSOP victory, besting a field of nearly 6,400 players. Yang comes across as a competent player and not particularly adept at describing his simplistic poker strategy. But his WSOP victory does not hold a candle to his earlier life. A Hmong born in Laos, Yang fled the war-torn country with his family in 1975, lived for years in a Thai refugee camp, and eventually made it to California, a harrowing story of exile, deprivation, loss, and horror. Yang recounts this dramatic story with an admirable matter-of-fact tone, but even with veteran writer Tabb's help, the writing doesn't convey its full impact. Yang comes across as a good guyâhe donates huge sums to children's charitiesâbut neither poker players nor general readers will find much to cling to.

Starred review from June 1, 2011
Sure, there are plenty of up-by-my-own-bootstraps, poker-playing autobiographies out there, but few possess the kind of personal drama this one does. Yang was a Laotian immigrant with a wife and six children struggling to get by in their modest Southern California home when, one 2005 evening, in atypical fashion, he and his wife plopped on the couch, remote in hand. While flipping around to find something for mommy to watch, Yang happened upon the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and was hooked. Having never played a hand of cards in his lifenot Solitaire or even Go FishYang found something transfixing about Texas Hold 'Em: namely, the particular attitude needed to be successful regardless of the cards dealt. With a $25 buy-in, Yang participated in the 2007 WSOP and, against all odds, won $8.2 million. What helped him develop the mental fortitude to succeed was a childhood spent in the killing fields of Southeast Asia. Stories of his family's struggles to escape the tyranny of the area are peppered throughout and transform this simple I-think-I-can saga into a story of ultimate personal triumph.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)