Bruce Brown's semi-fictional memoir offers life and investment advice through a humorous lens. John, whose nom de guerre is JM on the poker battlefield, is a finalist in a big buy-in poker tournament that he desperately needs to win. After he pushes all in and awaits his opponent's decision, he wonders how he reached this point - where his happiness and financial future will be determined by another. Pondering "how did I get here?" JM ruefully reflects on his life. While job hunting after college, he discovers the exciting, legal card clubs in CA. Along his wayward, zig zag journey, he learns strategy and life lessons from some older, grizzled players. He also meets a pantheon of poker players who are Runyonesque, funny, and quirky, if not riveting.