The Dark Side of the Felt (Dark Side Book 1)

This is the fifth book I've read by Tyler and I enjoyed this one the most.The story grabbed me from the first pages and I found it quite realistic. It entertains until the end and makes you want to know more about the main character. There are few good poker novels and this is one of them.It is the first volume of a trilogy, which continues with "The Darker Side of the Felt" and "The Burning Felt".

I have never gone to a casino or gambled on anything more then a lottery ticket every week. I never understood the draw to a casino was so big for other people, then I read this book. I'd say that there is an adrenaline rush that makes a person looking for a new rush. The Dark Side of the felt explained uses humor and drama to paint the life of an underground gambler, and draw the reader into the story. The twists came quickly and made me want to read more waiting and waiting for another twist, another resolution. As a non poker player, I didn't relate well, but I think someone who knows poker will appreciate this book. There was good story behind the poker story, I was just interested in the poker long enough to see how it fed the next scenario. If your a poker player you'll enjoy this book, but if not the poker doesn't take away from the rest of the story, the drama, the humor will engage you.

In The Dark Side of the Felt, Tyler Nals descriptive style of storytelling allows the reader the rare privilege of living vicariously through exciting, enlightening and often dangerous poker related experiences.An effective poker players thought process is multidimensional. He/she is constantly in thin slicing mode....coming to amazingly accurate conclusions based on the most minute bits of information. This intelligent form of observation is a constant thread throughout Tylers book. Getting the reader to live in this mindset is sufficient value alone even without the rich entertainment aspect to invest time in living these stories.I have a friend for whom I have an abundance of respect. One of this man's best qualities is his affinity for telling both amusing and intriguing stories about his amazing life without regard for how he comes off in the story. Tyler possesses this same quality. It leaves me feeling valued and respected as his reader when he has placed both me and the integrity of the story ahead of any self image agendas he could have created.Needless to say, I'm a fan and recommend this book. Can't wait to read more of Tylers stories!

I have been playing poker for 20+ years, in Casinos and also in other areas. The author is a very good author, but the stories he wrote seem to be a bit over the top and I do not believe 75% of the stories. BUT, the author is very good and I did enjoy the book and likely will read some of his other books.

I loved it and hated it. I honestly hated Tyler a lot at times, but he was funny, honest, explained a lot, knew when to trail off on a tangent and come back before you were pissed off. Thrilling. Made me understand why my dad loves poker. (PS I don't like my dad so that put a heavy bias on Tyler). Good read though. Definitely felt his rush, tilt and pain.

A good read if you're interested in poker or not. The author takes you to the underworld of illegal poker games intertwined with twists and turns of all the pitfalls that you can encounter along the way. I was constantly kept in suspense , the more I read, as the plot unfolded. It was a great marriage of gambling and mystery novel. I would highly recommend the book.

I enjoyed this book, haven't read the other 2 on this series, YET, but have them on my Kindle.I spent 20 years in Columbia SC and played poker there before moving back to Tampa area to play mostly at Derby Lanes Poker Room.I felt like I was right there at the tables.Looking forward to reading all your books(when I'm not in a game).

This novel is pretty fun to read, but there are better poker novels to read.My biggest complaint is that the author derails his own topic for pages at a time. I found this frustrating.To be fair, I really love reading about poker. If this novel was another topic, then I would really dislike it.

A quick an easy read - yes, the typeface is quite large and the lines are double spaced .... but that's coolThe one issue that I have is the continuous explanation of poker terms - I expect the targeted readers are poker players and if not, then put the terms in a glossary at the endIf you like your poker and like poker books / stories then this is a good addition to the collection

Great read. Art imitating life and vice versa. We can all relate to the protagonist, Tyler’s journey in some way as Poker players and love of the game that we often find ourselves chasing too hard. (John Leung)

There was just enough drama, action AND poker ideas in there to keep me hooked. Nice novella length story.

Not that great.. The book seems to be Published by the autor, and there is a reason for that. First i thought the book was for children as the are VERY few words pr. Page, very odd