Some poker writers dream of writing a best-selling book. Others dream of making the final table of the main event, squaring off against the legends who are so often the subject of their stories.

Jim McManus has done both.

The envy of every gambling-minded, ink-stained wretch who has ever reached for poker glory but was left gripping the felt – and there are a lot of us – McManus details his wild ride to 5th place in the 2000 World Series of Poker Main Event in scintillating style in his 400 page cult favorite pre-poker boom classic, “Positively Fifth Street.”

The book stands as a modern-day sequel to Al Alvarez’s timeless “The Biggest Game In Town,” the early 1980s masterpiece that still serves as the penultimate word-driven kaleidoscope into the world of Las Vegas poker and all its characters. But “Positively Fifth Street” isn’t far behind.

McManus has a style and delivery that sets him apart and, while his book pays homage to great gambling authors who have come before him, his riveting recollection of the 2000 Main Event stands on its own considerable merits.

When I met McManus at a 2003 poker tournament at the Reno Hilton, a few things stood out - he is a genuinely nice guy, he has a sincere passion for poker and literature and he still isn’t over the bad beat that sent him to the rail in 2000. His inscription on the inside cover says it all: “Fold A-Q suited until I see you next year.”

He is referring to the hand in which Hasan Habib moved all-in on him with A-4 and McManus called with the aforementioned A-Q. The author’s dominating hand held up until Habib caught a 4 on the river and ended McManus’s once-in-a-lifetime run with a $250,000 payday for fifth place and one heck of a bad-beat story to tell.

Tell it, he does. Unfortunately, his taste for sour grapes is one of the book’s few drawbacks. He wallows in self-pity for far too many pages, thumbing his nose at being called a “big winner” by the tournament staff and even admits that eventual winner Chris “Jesus” Ferguson seemed to tire of the subject as they sipped wine at the champion’s dinner.

The only other notable blemish on “Positively Fifth Street” is the constant back-and-forth between the poker tournament and McManus’s coverage of the murder trial in the death of Ted Binion, the host casino’s owner who allegedly was murdered by his stripper girlfriend Sandy Murphy and her lover Rick Tabish. Make no mistake, it’s a fascinating trial filled with lurid details, and part of the writer’s assignment while he was in Las Vegas was to cover the trial. But once McManus starts going deep in the Main Event, readers are hooked on the poker action, and the trial updates feel like commercials during the big game that you’d rather fast-forward through.

Even so, the book’s minor shortcomings do not overshadow the author’s compelling tale as he goes from home-game grinder to a quasi everyman’s poker hero virtually overnight. Sent to cover an assignment for Harper’s, McManus gets the poker bug and uses his $4,000 advance from the magazine and some of his own funds to cover his entry into the main event.

Things get interesting, of course, when he starts winning. It’s a clever, fast-paced and easy read. Many poker connoisseurs can relate to the author’s plight; his relentless study of famed poker books, the authors of which he will soon tangle with at the table. His endless practice on poker software and sponge-like reception to feedback from anyone he believes can help him, including some big-name pros he encounters on his journey.

As poker players, we cheer from the rail as McManus takes on his heroes such as T.J Cloutier and Daniel Negreanu and, while his play isn’t always world-class, his heart and desire unquestionably are.

As writers, we cheer for McManus’s firm grasp of literature and his innate ability to weave creative poker tales that show the influence of poker’s most heralded wordsmith luminaries, but does not steal from them.

Here’s one memorable passage from an early chapter: “In no sense is poker a socialist or totalitarian enterprise. Much like financial markets, the game is a scary arena in which money management, pluck and intelligence combine to determine who will get hacked from limb to limb. Wealth gets created, egos deflated, blood spilled.”

If this type of poetic poker storytelling piques your interest, then “Positively Fifth Street” is positively a must-read. But even if you’re simply a casual poker fan who likes a good read, odds are you won’t be disappointed.