The word heart carries a particular meaning in the poker player’s vocabulary. Fiendishly hard to define, but a lot more than mere grace under pressure, it has to dow ith courage and ingenuity, nerve and self-possession. “Heart” is what you ned to take your life in your hands, to back your own instincts against the whims of fate, in the toughest, coldest, most fearless company. Jack Straus himself defined it as “intestinal fortitude.” Heart, to me, was what defined Jack, both as a man and a player. After so many years displaying such vast quantities of the stuff, and putting such pressure on his own, it was really no surprise that it finally registerd the ultimate protest.”