Title	Pass the Sugar
Author	Joe Hachem with Peter Ralph
Year	2009
Skill Level	any
Pros	Great telling of Hachem's 2005 WSOP Main Event victory.
Cons	Too many bad beat stories from other tournaments.
Rating	3.0

Note: the actual book has no table of contents.

Eight pages of mostly color photos are tucked between pages 96 and 97, and another eight pages of color photos appear between pages 224 and 225.

Joe Hachem borrowed his catchphrase, Pass the Sugar, from an older Greek player named Michael Marcos. But he truly made it his own during the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, when he broke it out after he won a big pot with 20 players remaining. Even more memorable were the "Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!" chants from his countrymen behind the rail. The Australian's friends and family are what made his first trip to Las Vegas happen, and they are his support crew that help him get through the week.

Even his wife Jeanie, who hasn't made the trip, is key. Having initially said, "No", she gave him permission to go half-way around the world with the family's finance's not in great shape and young kids at home when she sensed his deep disappointment at being left behind after one of his friends satellited in to the WSOP Main Event and was quickly joined by the others. From early in the tournament, she repeatedly tells him on the phone that he's either going to win or come in third.

The books is split into three sections. The first and by far the best neatly alternates between Hachem's backstory and the 2005 WSOP Main Event. He was a chiropractor and only turned to poker when a rare disorder called erythromalgia debilitated his hands and feet too much to continue his chosen career. Returning to the past adds suspense to the tournament recap. Even though you know how the tourney ends, you're probably not familiar with most of the hands, especially in the early parts of the event.

The second section, "Seeking Validation", covers the next year and a half as Hachem tries to prove that his championship run wasn't a fluke. This section mostly details his disapointments but ends with the second biggest win of his career in late 2006.

The final section, "Fame and Family", bounces around telling various unrelated stories in eleven short chapters. Various celebrities make appearances as Hachem has become one himself.

This would have been an excellent, if short, book without the last two sections, but they do share some enjoyable stories and show how well Hachem handled his fame and fortune and served as a poker ambassador.