Ken Warren has parlayed his poker-playing skills into a second career as a writer and he's sold tens of thousands of books teaching others how to win at the game.

Now, the increased interest in the game has boosted the Biloxi writer's fortunes.

"I got lucky," Warren said. "People just went ape over this poker thing. Millions of people all over the U.S. would watch these matches on television and then go to the bookstore. Then they would see my books."

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Warren said his first book, "Winner's Guide to Texas Hold'em Poker," reached more than $1 million in gross retail sales at the end of 2003. His latest book, "The Big Book of Poker," sold more 24,000 copies before it was released this week.

Warren was introduced to poker in 1981, when he was serving in the Air Force in Turkey. His roommate had nightly poker games that would last past midnight.

"For two months, I laid in my bunk, trying to get some sleep while these guys were playing poker," Warren said. "After two months, I decided 'What the hell? If you can't beat them, join them.' "

Soon, Warren was sometimes winning as much as $1,000 a night.

His next assignment was Nellis Air Force Base, just outside Las Vegas. He started visiting the poker rooms in Vegas but wasn't bringing home any money.

Warren bought some poker guides, but the books, which were written by poker champions, didn't help.

Warren, who worked as a teacher's assistant at Arizona State University, said, "I thought, 'Well, I can write a better book than that.' "

It took Warren years to develop the poker skills to write his first book. During that time, he left the Air Force and worked as a truck driver in the Kansas City area. On his rounds, he drove a truck from poker room to poker room with his employer's blessing.

"They knew it; they loved it," he said. "They would always try to give me loads going from Las Vegas to Phoenix, to here (Biloxi), up to Atlantic City, Connecticut."

He now makes all of his money playing poker and writing about the game. Warren has a regular column in Player, a gambling magazine published by Cardoza Publishing, the Las Vegas company that has published his four books.

Warren said he spends about 16 to 20 hours a week playing poker, mainly on weekends. His two favorite haunts are Grand Casino Biloxi and Copa Casino.

He predicts the nation's interest in poker will continue to grow because casinos promote the game and the media gives it national exposure.

"It's on television now; it's respectable," he said. "It wasn't like it was 50 years ago, when it was played in the basement, behind the saloon or in the back of the police station."


THE WARREN FILE

Name: Ken Warren

Age: 48

Home: Biloxi; building a house in Ocean Springs

Education: Bachelor's degree in political science from Arizona State University

Family: Married to Olga Warren

Books: "Winner's Guide to Texas Hold'em Poker," "Ken Warren Teaches Texas Hold'em," "Winner's Guide to Omaha Poker," "The Big Book of Poker." Warren will sign copies of his books at Barnes & Noble in Gulfport from noon to 5 p.m. March 27.

Theory about poker:

"Poker is very complicated if you're going to play it right. You have so much to think about. It's real easy if you're not going to play it right, because all you do is play."

Source: Timothy Boone, The Sun Herald