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Back in March 2017, Eli Elezra released an autobiography Pulling the Trigger: The Autobiography of Poker Pro Eli Elezra, albeit only in Hebrew. Now, the 280-page book is getting an English-version release thanks to Two Plus Two Publishing.
The book, which was six years in the making, opens with the 2004 World Poker Tour Showdown, which Elezra won for more than $1 million to forever cement his image in the minds of poker fans. It also dives into his childhood in Jerusalem, fighting in the 1982 Israeli/Lebanon War, and gutting fish in Alaska. Sprinkled in are stories of poker legends such as Doyle Brunson and David “Chip” Reese.
Strazynski: 'What I like most about the book is that there's something in there for everyone.'
To date, Elezra has more than $3.6 million in lifetime tournament earnings, and countless millions more playing in some of the biggest cash games in the world. Among his career highlights are winning three World Series of Poker bracelets, finishing runner-up in this past summer’s 2018 WSOP Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $258,297, and finishing second to Sean Yu in the 2016 WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood Main Event for $105,281. More recently, he crushed 888poker Week on Poker After Dark.
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Bringing the Book to English Readers
Originally written in Hebrew, Elezra and company wanted to find a way to market the book to English readers, which of course required translation. Enter Robbie Strazynski, founder of CardPlayer Lifestyle and co-host of PokerNews’ Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast alongside Bruce Briggs.
Strazynski was one of over 200 peoeple who attended the Hebrew version book launch and it was there he was approached about the possibility of translating the book.
“I've always been a big Eli Elezra fan,” Strazynski told PokerNews. “Like so many other poker fans out there, I enjoyed watching him on High Stakes Poker and following his legendary career. To have been asked to undertake a project like this is a true honor, and I'm grateful to have precisely the right set of skills in order to carry out the task.”
'Eli's is just a fascinating story that you don't have to be a poker player or enthusiast to appreciate.'
He continued: “While I speak and understand Hebrew, it's not my mother tongue, so I can't do simultaneous translation like the professionals at the United Nations, for example. The process consisted of 1) scanning the Hebrew book with my eyes while audio recording myself speaking the translation in English. 2) Transcribing the audio recording, which I couldn't really get assistance with because it was pretty raw and not fluent speech. 3) Editing and proofreading the transcription.”
Strazynski took it one chapter at a time, slowly plugging away at it during his downtime. With about 30 percent of the book translated, they began to approach organizers. Once Two Plus Two Publishing came on board, he set about finishing it off.
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“What I like most about the book is that there's something in there for everyone, from the more hardcore fans and players who enjoy reading about strategy to the more casual fans and players who are just interested in reading more about a bona fide poker legend they've watched for years on TV,” said Strazynski. “Even beyond that, Eli's is just a fascinating story that you don't have to be a poker player or enthusiast to appreciate. I genuinely think this book has mainstream appeal and that anyone who picks up a copy will be hard-pressed to put it down.”
Pulling the Trigger: The Autobiography of Poker Pro Eli Elezra is slated to release on January 3, 2019 and paperback versions are available for preorder for $24.95 on Amazon.
Here’s a highlight video filmed by Strazynski at the initial launch of Elezra’s book:
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