Short stories by a gathering of contemporary writers for teens reveals how a simple game of Texas Hold ’Em can illuminate the best and worst of human nature, and a lot that comes in between. K. L. Going’s “Poker for the Complete Idiot” is a stellar examination of classism and stereotyping as a teenage boy is outsmarted at the poker table by his country girlfriend’s “redneck” father and brothers, whose restraint makes his humiliation all the more complete. “Positively Cheat Street” by Francine Pascal features a teenage girl going up against the boys, one of whom can’t handle being beaten by a woman, but she may have lost more than she gains when she succumbs to the temptation of cheating to put him in his place. “Up the River” by Will Weaver examines the addictive lure of high-stakes gambling to a teen in over his head. These and seven other stories comprise an anthology that reveals more than one straight flush among its hands. (Ages 12–16)

Is there any greater thrill than staring down your opponent across the poker table, waiting for the card that will make or break your hand? Acclaimed YA novelist Pete Hautman would know—he’s been a poker fanatic for thirty years. And with poker now an international TV phenomenon, the time seems right for an anthology about this most exciting game.

From a contest that pits a hapless teen against his girlfriend’s redneck family, to a midnight game with the Devil, to an Internet poker scheme gone horribly wrong, the stories here brilliantly reveal how poker can both irrevocably affect and eerily imitate teenage life.