Question of the Day - 09 June 2011

We received this question a few months ago and weren't sure at the time exactly when Annie Duke's first book for Huntington Press would hit the shelves. We were aiming for the start of the 42nd Annual World Series of Poker and we just made it -- the books are in-house now and began shipping Tuesday.

Our initial plan had been to bring out the new updated edition of Annie's autobiography, originally titled How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at the World Series of Poker, but which we're renaming Poker Bitch, as the first of her books with HP. A lot has happened since 2005, when the book first came out, including "Celebrity Apprentice," "Ante Up for Africa," the National Heads-Up Poker Championship victory, and much more.

However, as the manuscript for Decide to Play Great Poker began to roll in, everyone agreed that it was too important a book to delay, so this project jumped to the head of the line. Click here to read an excerpt.

Publisher Anthony Curtis likens Decide to David Sklansky's seminal Theory of Poker, saying, "It might be the first must-read poker book in more than three decades."

"It's about big-picture concepts that you simply have to understand if you want to compete in today's game. The book's not elementary by any stretch and you'll have to work to extract maximum value, but for all but the bona fide expert, Decide will absolutely change and improve your game."

If it doesn't, "you're not paying attention," as poker legend Doyle Brunson succinctly puts it in his back-cover contribution.

As the publisher of the book, we're able to offer a significant discount, and we currently have two -- in fact three -- different deals running in parallel. Choosing the best option for you depends on some factors we explain below. All three offers expire June 20, 2011. Here's the lowdown:

• If you're interested in Decide to Play Great Poker by itself, the cheapest option is to take advantage of our new offer, whereby you can buy this book alone for just $22.95 (reg. $34.95), inclusive of shipping.
• If you'd like to purchase a bundle consisting of Annie Duke's new title, plus the latest from the Kill Everyone stable, you can pick up the Decide to Play Great Poker & The Raiser's Edge Poker Bundle for just $34.95, plus $7 flat-rate shipping*. Normally the two together would cost $69.90, so that's a huge saving, and if you're going to be in town for the WSOP, you'll have some opportunities to get both books signed**. Note that The Raiser's Edge isn't due in-house until early July, when it will become available from our office store, and at which time the Bundle will also begin shipping.
• The third option is for those customers who wish to purchase Decide, but would also like to buy additional products from ShopLVA.com. Assuming the other products are a) anything other than The Raiser's Edge or, b) items that have no shipping charge attached, including e-Books and strategy cards, then the best option is to purchase the book for our lowest rate of $19.95, plus our standard $7 shipping*, which will also cover whatever other items you choose to add to your order.
• Actually, there's a fourth option if you're an e-Book aficionado, since Decide to Play Great Poker is now avaialable for just $9.99 for both the Amazon Kindle, (we don't normally like to brag, but on release it jumped straight to the #1 spot for gambling titles), and the Barnes & Noble Nook.

As to when Poker Bitch is due out, we don't have a definite date yet, since we had The Raiser's Edge to get to the printer and back in time for the WSOP Main Event, too, but rest assured it's in the pipeline. Watch LVAPoker.com and the LVA newsletter for updates on this and other upcoming HP projects.

*U.S. only; additional shipping charges apply for Canada and overseas.

**See the regularly updated listings regarding which HP authors are playing which events, and what their current chip counts are, at LVAPoker.com. Also check the News Feed there for details of official book-signing events.