The Cincinnati Kid

by Richard Jessup

He was a skinny kid, just twenty-six when it started, with a face set off by a large nose that gave him the look of a hawk. He was a tight man. Everything about him was close and quiet; his gestures were short and clean, with no wasted movement. His eyes were bright and hard, the kind of blue you might see in the sky at high noon, if you looked straight up at the sky; almost white, but still pale, pale blue. He had dark yellowish circles under his eyes that rested on his cheekbones where the skin was drawn tight, as if he might have liver trouble from too much drinking, but he was physically sound and the circles came from playing stud poker all day and all night for many years.He had been playing in the back room of Hoban’s Pool Room and Poker Parlor since Monday at 4 p.m. It had started out as fooling around and then, as happened so many times, it developed into a game. The others began to drop in and a gig was working. It was nickel-and-dime stuff as long as it was The Kid and The Shooter and Pig, but when Carey and Carmody came in, both of whom bet the Cardinals and had won nicely over the weekend double-header, the play moved, deceptively, from nickel-and-dime to a quarter and a half and then wide open. It was Wednesday now, eleven in the morning. The game, like an endlessly circling bird, moved with a slow inexorable pace toward the center pot of money that grew magically with each dealt hand; revolving hands of cards, accompanied with a musical comment of silver upon silver tossed into the center of the table as the chant was heard, so soft as to be a litany calling on ghostly assistance and deliverance. “Queens bet.” “A half.” “In.” “Kicking it a half.” “And another half.” “And a half more.” “Buck and a half to me, and a half more.” The ritual quickened. It was the fourth card. Now the whisper and flutter of paper money would wash into the middle of the table. Someone dealt. The cards sliced through the smoky airless room like silent stealing death. And with each card, face up, a chant of destiny from the dealer, for he was the sole instrument in the life of a rambling-gambling man, bringing face up for all the world to see the next wonderful secret. There is nothing more for the gambling man. It is all there, sealed in the narrow turn of the next card.“A five to the queens, a jack to the possible, a nothing to the fours, an ace to the kicker, and the Gun shoots himself a red ten. Still queens.”“Queens check.”The raiser came back with a touch, a breath, feeling his way into those checking queens like a man fumbling in the dark. He touched it and then the queens slammed down hard on him.“Twenty dollars.”It was the clap of doom. Three players dropped out and it was back to the raiser. He hesitated. He knew three fours could not beat three queens. And to make sure (though there was another card coming and another chance) there were three queens, it would cost him twenty dollars. Pig had the fours. The Kid had the queens.They looked at each other’s cards. They were past the point as rambling-gambling men where they could play each other’s faces. Pig played the cards. There was no hope in playing The Kid. And it was not worth twenty dollars to see if The Kid was bluffing. He folded.The Shooter gathered up the cards and began to shuffle. In his huge hands the cards were like summer moths around a light, fluttering, singing, tightening and then disappearing as he cut them and rippled them again. The Shooter was acknowledged as the best man with cards along the Mississippi and west to Vegas. He looked over at The Kid who was stacking his half dollars. “They say Lancey is in town,” he said softly.

Genres: Fiction

151 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Also wrote under the name Richard Telfair

Richard Jessup was a prolific American author and screenwriter.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Cincinnati Kid is a young up-and-coming card player who decides to challenge the reigning champ, Lancey Hodges, in an underground poker game. Will he win or lose? Snore.

Richard Jessup’s 1963 novel The Cincinnati Kid is a rightfully forgotten pile of garbage about tedious people doing supposedly interesting things in an uninteresting narrative.

Jessup fails to bring to life the excitement of high stakes poker matches and, unless you’re familiar with five-card stud (I’m not - and the rules are unhelpfully printed at the end of the book rather than at the start), these sequences will be totally lost on you as to what any of it means. Better authors can write about subjects readers will be unfamiliar with but still make them understand the drama behind them, like Walter Tevis writing about pool or chess in The Hustler and The Queen’s Gambit; Jessup is nowhere close to Tevis’ level though, unfortunately.

Half the novel is about the Kid and his dreary country girlfriend Christian anyway. No idea why either because there’s no drama there whatsoever - I guess it’s to add pages to this slight novel that’s basically one scene. Some of the terminology is outdated - Jessup uses the term “rambling-gambling man” unironically, which only makes it seem more lame than it probably was at the time. The wafer-thin characters have stupid names like Pig, Ladyfingers and The Shooter. Dorks.

The big match between the Kid and Lancey is so underwhelming. I didn’t feel any tension in their encounter, they’re much too cordial with one another, exchanging the most pointless, boring dialogue you’ll ever read, stopping and starting before the anticlimax.

It looks like this rubbish got made into a Steve McQueen movie judging by the cover - definitely won’t be watching that! The Cincinnati Kid was the dullest drivel from start to finish. If you want to read a fun novel about card players, check out Jim Dodge’s Stone Junction instead.

[Andréa Geleynse · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the very rare times I have to admit the movie is better than the book.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessup shows us one man's reach for the brass ring of poker glory in a brisk 154 pages. Similar to the movie only in the broad strokes, the details of this novel make it vastly different work. Unencumbered by the minor characters and sub-plots larded onto Norman Jewison's film, the novel makes The Cincinnati Kid a character, not a caricature.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great American writing.

“Good crowd," Lancey said.
"Yeah," the Kid said.
"Nice groceries, too."
"And good booze. My brandy must be Napoleon."
"Uh-huh."
"Yeah."
"Nice looking broads."
"That's a fact," The Kid said.
"Ain't that Shooter something? Love to see him skin a deck."
"It's downright sexy," The Kid said.
"He loves 'em."
"Like stroking a beautiful tit," The Kid said.
"That's it - that's it," Lancey said, nodding.
"Yeah."
"You seen him yet?"
"No. You?"
"No."
"I dint hear he wasn't coming," The Kid said.
"He'll come, Kid," Lancey said, almost, but not quite, warmly and reassuringly.
"I sure hope so," The Kid said. "I like Nig."
"Well, I do too."
"I heard talk."
"Long time now."
"It ain't hard to like Nig."
"Not at all."
"Him sitting down yonder in Memphis and he knows it all."
"Everything."
"They oughta take him into the intelligence."
"They ought."
"Pig shouldn'ta done that."
"No," Lancey said. "He was wrong. Dead wrong."
"I ain't apologizing."
"I know it - I know it."
"It's just - "
"Kid, I know all about it," Lancey said.
"Yeah, you been around."
"Long time."

[Sharon Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I don't know much about cards, but I found this book impossible to put down. The time, the people, sounds,smells, tastes...I was drawn right into this rich world. This book is destined to be one of those I will set aside, only to pick it up again over time when I feel the need to travel to a friendly place. I expect to enjoy it for the rest of my life.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about more than just card sharks, it is a look at anyone who is the best, waiting for someone to challenge them and knock them off their seat.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is tale about an up and coming star, The Cincinnati Kid, in the informal world of stud poker players during the 1950s. He decides to take on the man recognized as the king of these stud poker players. The book goes into detail describing this rambling, gambling world and the people who inhabit that world. The story includes the Kid’s relationship with the woman in his life. It is an interesting world of gamblers and a great read. The story fills with tension as the big showdown game occurs and each turn of a card can bring victory or complete defeat.

[Elliot · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book alright…solid story…I can see how he was inspired by The Hustler written by Walter Tevis. However, The Hustler was a much better novel.
Thought the Cincinnati Kid lacked tension where it was necessary. There didn’t seem to be much character development in The Kid or Lancey…I kept asking myself why is he facing off against Lancey who is known as The Man…why do I care about this poker game?
I’m glad I saw the movie before reading the book…I could definitely see McQueen playing this character.
Movie was better than the book, which is hard to do.

[Lester F. Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

better than the movie

I saw the movie many times.
Always enjoyed it with the family too.
Great actors and reflection on a time long past.
The insight of a real poker game played by the pro’s of that time period
The book has more details and the ending is so well done.
Not only the lifestyle of a card player. But the respect they had among other players and the community itself, much different than today!
If you enjoyed the movie, you’re going to enjoy the book.
It was written well and worthy of reading!

[Robert Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cincinnati kid is a gambling man in the Midwest,by the time he’s 16 he is in St Louis at the age of 26 he is ready to take Lancey Hodges ,the man to beat.
The game is stud poker,there are a few days which build up to the showdown in a scene which is full of unnerving tension which remind me of the movie ,the hustler,
This is a close,tight story with the riffle of the deck and the cold fever of the gambling man.

[Jennifer Morefield · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just okay for me. I am not a huge fan and know little about playing poker, so it was kind of boring for me. I also had a hard time imagining a person could give up everything to make cards and gambling their main priority and obsession. I guess that what professional gamblers need to do. The overall story was pretty good, but the long part about the game was kind of long and boring. That is why I gave it a 3.

[Thomas J. Hakala · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Great Yarn for the Guys

A very entertaining character study set in the immediate post-WWII midwest - before TV, air conditioning, low-fare jet airliners, and women’s lib. Guys can get into it. Gamblers will love it. Women should best stay away. This is not a story for the modern woman.

Significantly different from the Steve McQueen movie of the same name - including the St. Louis, as opposed to New Orleans, setting - but each has its good points.

[Bryan Mcquirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessup's novel about a young up and coming poker player facing down the best stud player was written four years after the Hustler, and follows a similar story arc.
Jessup's writing is not as good as Tevis, and the final showdown lacks the tension of the Hustler.
It is a quick read however.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Milton

[J Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very similar story to that of “The Hustler” except with poker instead of pool, but the writing isn’t quite as good and the characters are less well-developed.

[Grump · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about a guy who’s really good a cards but isn’t quite the best. He plays a really long game with the Man. It would be better if I understood the lingo of stud poker.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality prose and a solid story about talent and ambition. Would recommend.

[Thomas McDade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the film many years ago. It was wonderful reading the novel with cast members flashing in my mind:

Steve McQueen as Eric "The Kid" Stoner
Edward G. Robinson as Lancey "The Man" Howard
Karl Malden as Shooter
Ann-Margret as Melba
Tuesday Weld as Christian
Joan Blondell as Lady Fingers
Rip Torn as Slade
Theodore Marcuse as Felix
Midge Ware as Mrs. Slade
Jack Weston as Pig
Cab Calloway as Yeller
Jeff Corey as Hoban
Milton Selzer as Sokal
Karl Swenson as Mr. Rudd
Émile Genest as Cajun
Ron Soble as Danny
Dub Taylor as the first dealer
Sweet Emma Barrett as the blues singer

[John Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good as it ever was

I read this book over fifty years ago and it resonated then. Something made me revisit it this week and the tightness of the storytelling stands the rest of the years. What a classic.

[Tom Stamper · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's set in St. Louis whereas the movie was set in New Orleans. So far the best poker novel I have ever read.