Bigger Deal

With the release of the new James Bond film, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, and the simultaneous publication of Anthony Holden’s new strategy manual, HOLDEN ON HOLD’EM, BiggerDeal.com proudly presents an exclusive, three-part extract from the book, in which Holden examines the poker played by Daniel’s Craig 007 in the last Bond film, CASINO ROYALE.

All of which means that one table in particular must have quaked into its Martinis as they took their seats in the Casino Copenhagen, as the 2006 EPT tour reached Denmark. Forget former world champion Tom McEvoy and poker legend T.J. Cloutier (more than $9 million in lifetime winnings between them), who had crossed the Atlantic for the occasion. Also taking his seat on Day One was none other Bond villain Le Chiffre himself!

But there were no $115 million hands this time around. Nor were there to be any tears of blood. This was not in fact 007’s arms-dealing nemesis, but the actor behind the tuxedo, Danish movie star Mads Mikkelsen, back on home turf after his trip to the Montenegro location of Casino Royale.

In Hold’em, however, as some wisecracker cruelly pointed out, you only live once (which this is the chance I have awaited so long to correct to You Live Only Once). No full houses or straight flushes were involved as Mikkelsen made an early exit, his pair of tens seen off by Big Slick, A-K, on a King-high board.

But we still have a representative of Casino Royale on hand here in Denmark. The expert adviser for the film’s poker sequences was none other than… yes, the EPT’s own founder-director, John Duthie.

At least, that’s the word on the circuit all year. When I ask the man himself, he flatly denies it: ‘To be honest, Tony, there is no truth to the rumour that I was adviser to the Bond film. I wish I had been!’

So how come his official bio as a member of Team PokerStars says, inter alia: ‘Duthie was brought in to coach the new James Bond, Daniel Craig, in Casino Royale, where poker plays an integral part’? Online sources from the ever reliable Wikipedia to the even more authoritative CommanderBond.com say that Duthie was flown out to the set to advise on the poker scenes; it quotes the Daily Express quoting him talking about the cast and crew staking their wages on ‘extra-curricular’ poker games. Maybe he’s in a state of denial after seeing the movie?

Deciding that this is a case of ‘Very clever, Mr. Duthie, but not clever enough…’, I raise the subject with John again, only to be told: ‘I think that the Sun originally published my name as adviser, but have no idea where they got that from. Your guess is as good as mine as to how it spread across the internet. Eventually I got so fed up with denying it that I decided to have some fun with it, and almost always say “I couldn’t possibly comment” whenever asked.’
Enough said, Mr. D. Consider the record straightened.

Extracted from Anthony Holden’s new poker strategy guide, HOLDEN ON HOLD’EM, to be published by Little, Brown on 6 November.

COMING UP SOON ON BiggerDeal.com, ANTHONY HOLDEN TELLS THE HISTORY OF HOLD’EM, REVEALING THE GAME’S ORIGINAL NAME - A STUNNING REVELATION GUARANTEED TO BLOW YOU AWAY !