The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King
Encyclopedia
The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time (ISBN 0-446-57769-3) is a 2005 book by Michael Craig detailing billionaire Andrew Beal
's series of high stakes poker games with Las Vegas
' top professional poker
players. The book title refers to some of the professional players involved in this series. The Professor is mathematical poker mind Howard Lederer
, the Banker is Andrew Beal
himself, and the Suicide King is crazy, sometimes reckless player Ted Forrest
. It also refers to the King of Hearts, since on the card the King's sword appears to be put in his head.
and a group of professional poker players called "The Corporation." It begins as Ted Forrest
, a professional poker player, is driving outside of Las Vegas when he calls the Bellagio
poker room. The personnel in the poker room tell him the highest game is $10,000-$20,000 (which, at the time, was more than two times larger than any cash game ever played). He decides to go straight to the poker room, sit down with his last five hundred thousand dollars, and play against the other two men sitting at the table (Chip Reese
and Andy Beal). Forrest had lost $400,000 without playing a single hand, and questions why he is there.
The book then flashes back to February 2001, when Beal first visited the Bellagio poker room. He enjoys the atmosphere and the players, and meets many professional poker players, like Todd Brunson
. He ends up winning over $100,000 dollars, and thinking it was luck, trains intensely to face the top players. Andy returns to Las Vegas, and wants to play heads-up with a professional for the highest stakes. Because they are in a casino, nothing can prevent other players from sitting down at the game, so the top professional poker players decide to pool their money with everybody who they thought would sit down at the game. Then Beal starts his match with Chip Reese.
Beal and Reese play their match, and then Ted Forrest sits down. (Forrest was unreachable, so he was not originally part of the group.) Down to his last $100,000, Ted makes a stand and ends up winning $1.5 million. He is then asked to join the group, and for the rest of the book, nobody else sits down besides Beal and his selected opponent, who alternates throughout the story.
The book then chronicles the three years of matches between the professionals and Beal, with the professionals winning most of their matches, but Beal occasionally coming out on top. It also delves into personal stories of the pros and Beal. In March 2004, Beal loses 16 million dollars in two days, and vows to give up poker, which ends the book.
.
Andrew Beal
D. Andrew "Andy" Beal is a Dallas, Texas-based billionaire businessman who was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. He made his fortune in banking and real estate and is the founder and chairman of Beal Bank and Beal Aerospace Technologies. Beal is also known for his high-stakes poker games and...
's series of high stakes poker games with Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
' top professional poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
players. The book title refers to some of the professional players involved in this series. The Professor is mathematical poker mind Howard Lederer
Howard Lederer
Howard Henry Lederer is an American professional poker player and brother of poker professional Annie Duke, and author and poet Katy Lederer. On September 20, 2011, the U.S...
, the Banker is Andrew Beal
Andrew Beal
D. Andrew "Andy" Beal is a Dallas, Texas-based billionaire businessman who was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. He made his fortune in banking and real estate and is the founder and chairman of Beal Bank and Beal Aerospace Technologies. Beal is also known for his high-stakes poker games and...
himself, and the Suicide King is crazy, sometimes reckless player Ted Forrest
Ted Forrest
Ted Forrest is an American professional poker player, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada.- Tournament Wins:...
. It also refers to the King of Hearts, since on the card the King's sword appears to be put in his head.
Plot summary
The book tells about the highest stakes poker match of all time, over the course of a few years, between Andrew BealAndrew Beal
D. Andrew "Andy" Beal is a Dallas, Texas-based billionaire businessman who was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. He made his fortune in banking and real estate and is the founder and chairman of Beal Bank and Beal Aerospace Technologies. Beal is also known for his high-stakes poker games and...
and a group of professional poker players called "The Corporation." It begins as Ted Forrest
Ted Forrest
Ted Forrest is an American professional poker player, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada.- Tournament Wins:...
, a professional poker player, is driving outside of Las Vegas when he calls the Bellagio
Bellagio
Bellagio is a comune in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located on Lake Como. It has long been famous for its setting at the intersection of the three branches of the Y-shaped lake, which is also known as Lario....
poker room. The personnel in the poker room tell him the highest game is $10,000-$20,000 (which, at the time, was more than two times larger than any cash game ever played). He decides to go straight to the poker room, sit down with his last five hundred thousand dollars, and play against the other two men sitting at the table (Chip Reese
Chip Reese
David Edward Reese , more commonly known as Chip Reese, was an American professional poker player and gambler from Centerville, Ohio...
and Andy Beal). Forrest had lost $400,000 without playing a single hand, and questions why he is there.
The book then flashes back to February 2001, when Beal first visited the Bellagio poker room. He enjoys the atmosphere and the players, and meets many professional poker players, like Todd Brunson
Todd Brunson
Todd Alan Brunson is an American professional poker player and the son of poker legend Doyle Brunson.Although Brunson's father Doyle is a poker player, Brunson did not learn the game when he was young. It was not until he was studying law at Texas Tech University that he learned on his own how to...
. He ends up winning over $100,000 dollars, and thinking it was luck, trains intensely to face the top players. Andy returns to Las Vegas, and wants to play heads-up with a professional for the highest stakes. Because they are in a casino, nothing can prevent other players from sitting down at the game, so the top professional poker players decide to pool their money with everybody who they thought would sit down at the game. Then Beal starts his match with Chip Reese.
Beal and Reese play their match, and then Ted Forrest sits down. (Forrest was unreachable, so he was not originally part of the group.) Down to his last $100,000, Ted makes a stand and ends up winning $1.5 million. He is then asked to join the group, and for the rest of the book, nobody else sits down besides Beal and his selected opponent, who alternates throughout the story.
The book then chronicles the three years of matches between the professionals and Beal, with the professionals winning most of their matches, but Beal occasionally coming out on top. It also delves into personal stories of the pros and Beal. In March 2004, Beal loses 16 million dollars in two days, and vows to give up poker, which ends the book.
Post 2004
After 2004, Beal keeps his vow to quit poker, but in 2006 returns to high stakes poker. These later matches were told online by Craig for Bluff MagazineBluff Magazine
Bluff Magazine is an American magazine specializing in the game of poker. Separate editions are also published for Europe, Latin America, South Africa and Australasia....
.