In the world of high-stakes poker, Huck Cheever is a blaster--a player who goes all out, all the time. But in his personal relationships, Huck plays it tight, expertly avoiding emotional commitments and long-term expectations. When Huck sets out to win the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker--and the affections of Billie Offer, a young singer from Bakersfield--there is one significant obstacle in his path: his anger toward his father, L.C. Cheever, the poker legend who abandoned Huck's mother years ago. As these two rivals progress toward a final showdown at the poker table, Huck learns that to win in the games of life and poker, he must try to play cards the way he has been living his life and live his life the way he has been playing cards.