The Only Way To Play It: A Novel

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.

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.