Nate Fischer is grinding out a living in New York’s underground poker clubs. As an artist, he’s always depended upon unconventional side hustles to support his precarious existence. A decade ago, as a young painter, poker seemed like the perfect way to pay the bills. But marriage and parenthood have definitely complicated things. Especially lately, when Nate’s hit a cold streak in more ways than one. His once-promising art career is in freefall. His wife may be having an affair with a dashing book editor. And his ex-con father’s problems are becoming his own. On any given night, a bad beat could mean the collapse of his house-of-cards life. Just as it looks like he’s about to turn it all around, one of his buddies is shot and killed right in front of him, and the cops padlock every poker club in the city. For Nate’s wife, this is the last straw. Forced to move out, into his tiny painting studio, Nate confronts the true cost of his choices. Making matters worse, his deadbeat dad is evicted from his apartment, and Nate finds himself taking in the one guy who knows exactly where this kind of story ends – and the one least likely to help him figure a way out. Nate’s search for salvation takes him from the shady Russian enclaves of Brighton Beach to the exclusive art auctions of elite Manhattan galleries. In the end, though, it is his father, revealing a side of himself that Nate has never seen, from whom he learns what it means to put everything on the line in the interest of love and loyalty. "Here is the poker novel I've been waiting years for someone to write. It doesn't just feel true. It is." --Brian Koppelman , co-writer of Rounders and Billions "It's like a sequel to Walker Percy's The Moviegoer --with poker as a stand-in for movies, and the protagonist now having married and become a father. I started reading, couldn't stop." - Tom Beller , author of J.D. Salinger: The Escape Artist " What a ride! I have to confess sometimes the anxiety was so great I had to put the book down and build up my courage before I could pick it up again. But I was so glad I did and was bereft when the book ended--sad to be off this roller coaster ride through the world of live-or-die high-stakes poker and marriage." -- Beverly Donofrio , author of Riding in Cars with Boys and Astonished . "Captures the underground New York poker scene down to the grime on the chips." -- Matt Matros , three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner "Here is some of the tightest and most intense writing I've ever read about the psychology and terror of high stakes poker. 'The Only Way To Play It' is about love, and family, but it's also about luck. Peter Alson has had a lifetime of ups and downs around the poker table, and puts these moments to use in a novel that sings." - Matthew Klam , author of Who Is Rich? "The experience of reading The Only Way To Play It is like being in the middle of a high-voltage poker hand in which the pot keeps getting bigger and each new card seems to change everything--it's well deserving of a seat at the short-handed table of great poker novels." - Martin Harris , author of Poker and Pop Culture "This is the story that Rounders wished it could've been. In fact, it's among the best gambling novels we've ever read...Don't try turning these pages just before going to bed. The extraordinary tension of high stakes poker will have you tossing and turning for hours...We can't recommend The Only Way To Play It highly enough!" -- The Las Vegas Advisor " The Only Way To Play It raises the poker fiction stakes. Alson gives the reader much to consider regarding how the decisions we make affect our futures, and how much luck ultimately determines where we end up." -- PokerStars Blog "Excellent...Allows readers an inside glimpse into what it's like to be a [professional] poker player." -- Poker News Peter Alson is the author of seven books, including  One of a Kind, The Vig  and  Game Ball . He's also an editor, publisher, and former professional poker player. He and wife, screenwriter Alice O'Neill, live in Greenwich Village with their 17-year-old daughter, Eden, who just published her second novel.