Huck Porter is a poker prodigy, having been groomed by his father from a young age (much to the chagrin of his mother). Every year the local church hosts an annual Texas Hold'em tournament and sends the winner to Las Vegas to play in a high stakes tournament. The standing agreement is that whatever money is won will be split between the winner and the struggling community. Huck's father has been the tournament champion for the last three years and it's only as his father is dying that a new tournament champion is named: Mr. Abbott, the meanest math teacher to ever dust an eraser. When Mr. Abbott stiffs the town by refusing to split his earnings, Huck sees this as an insult against his father who once donated all of his winnings to the town. As a result, Huck decides it's time to humble Mr. Abbott both in the classroom and at the poker table.

While the opening chapter offers a lot of promise (Huck and the other poker players are being robbed at gun point in an elevator), it quickly lost momentum from there. I thought the premise of a small time, small bets poker tournament being used as a means of sustaining an economically depressed community was a little far fetched and Mr. Abbott was almost cartoonishly evil in his tyranny over the classroom. In addition, Huck is dealing with some pretty heavy conflicts, but they're glossed over and resolved in simplistic ways.

For the target audience, which I assume to be 13-15 year old boys, this is probably a good read (especially for struggling readers) for all the reasons that I didn't like it. While the chapters are short and keep the action moving along, there's not a lot of description or character development, and there are several implausibles that will probably sneak right on past a young reader. While I will certainly recommend the book to my students, it's not something that offers satisfaction to a more sophisticated reading audience. ( )

If you like books about gambling and sizinp up people as a gambler you will love this book. ( )

It's to the point, but it gives you enough detail to keep you gripped. The teacher was such a jerk! I just couldn't wait to see him go down. It was and easy read but a great and thorough story. Simple but very clever. Very impressed with this one. It's good that it didn't slow down with boring details. Clean and to the point - I like it. AHS/EK

The main character is real and insightful. It felt like you could relate to him. In the last chapter, when Huck was against Abbott, and it was to see who won or not, I was literally on the edge of my seat. I loved it. Very compelling. The book seemed very real, but still kind of out there. It had the teacher that gets on your nerves, and a way to get back at him without breaking the rules. It was a page turner. I read it all in one night. I just couldn't stop. AHS/EK

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

With the recent popularity of poker, especially Texas hold'em, Paul Volponi's book is sure to be a success. Usually Volponi focuses on sports, but his switch to poker as a theme in THE HAND YOU'RE DEALT will still satisfy his fans and most likely earn him some new ones.

Huck Porter has grown up surrounded by poker. His father was a local poker champion and taught Huck everything about the game. As he sat by his father's deathbed, at least he was comforted by the fact that the man proudly wore the treasured watch every tournament winner got to wear for a year until a new winner was crowned.

But that comfort suddenly disappeared when the watch was stolen by Mr. Abbott, Huck's high school math teacher, who insisted his poker skills had won him the right to wear it.

From the moment of his father's death, Huck swears to seek revenge. His every waking thought is focused on how and when he will beat Abbott and wear the watch that had made his father so proud. Unfortunately, many things stand in his way.

His mother doesn't approve of the poker tradition set by her late husband, his best friend thinks it's time to let the whole thing go, and the girl of his dreams doesn't view their relationship to be as serious as Huck would like. Even getting in the famed local poker tournament is proving to be a bit of a challenge.

Volponi uses family loyalty, colorful characters, and card shark action to draw readers into the story of Huck's attempt to regain what rightfully belongs to his family. Understanding the finer points of poker is not a necessary requirement. Readers just need the ability to follow some fast-paced action and cheer on the good guys. ( )

Paul Valponi's story of a young man out to get revenge against a despised math teacher who took away the one symbol of hope that he and his mother had while his dad struggled to stay alive in the hospital after suffering a stroke, is certainly one of the more clever stories I've ever read. Though it was somewhat predictable and other parts unbelievable, I liked the story and thought that kids, especially those who are poker enthusiasts would also enjoy it. ( )