When the Winner Lost (Wildside Pulp Classics)

A broke, disgraced pilot is recruited by a discreet handler who outfits him in money, clothes, and access—then gives one rule: from now on, he must be a consistent loser. His job is to look rich, careless, and irresistibly exploitable, shedding cash in public games until the right observers decide he fits a certain profile.

Chicago’s backrooms and club floors reward performance as much as luck. Crooked dice, staged etiquette, and polite conversation mask a system built to sort victims from threats. The more convincingly he plays the fool, the more he feels unseen eyes measuring his instincts and his nerve. When a private invitation finally comes, it isn’t a compliment—it’s a doorway into a higher game where walking away is not guaranteed.