According to hearsay, Nolan Dalla was born with a deck of cards in one hand and a linesheet in the other. A gambler since childhood, Nolan grew up in Dallas and worked his way through the University of Texas playing poker and betting sports. After graduating in 1984 with a Political Science degree, followed by a year in a Masters Degree program in Public Policy Administration at UT-Arlington, Nolan racked up his chips and moved to Washington, DC and worked on a U.S. Senate committee for a year.

He hated it.

After burning out on politics, Nolan returned to his hometown Dallas and found himself unemployed. He quickly discovered several poker games around town and began frequenting the underground circuit -- from $5-10 hold'em games up to pot-limit. Over the next three years, Nolan supported himself by playing poker -- both in Texas and during sporadic visits to Las Vegas and the West Coast.

Eager to establish a career, Nolan eventually went back to a "real" job. He was hired by the United States Department of State in 1989. He trained at the Foreign Service Institute and completed Romanian language studies. He was assigned to the American Embassy in Bucharest, Romania for a two-year assignment in one of the Eastern Bloc's most repressive nations. While in Romania, Nolan witnessed the fall of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and the end of Communism in Eastern Europe. He was the first American to establish contact with the revolutionary government inside the Communist Party's Central Committee Building on December 22,1989. He also hosted one of Eastern Europe's most popular poker games on the diplomatic circuit. While in Romania, Nolan worked a short stint as a blackjack dealer under contract for Casinos Austria.

In 1992, Nolan returned to the United States and worked for the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department. He later took a position in the Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC where he worked as a speechwriter and information officer.

In 1993, poker was legalized in Atlantic City. Nolan started playing poker regularly there -- first part-time on weekends, and gradually became a full-time poker player again. He has supported himself by gambling ever since -- a combination of playing poker, sports betting, and writing on gambling subjects. Nolan has been married to his wife Marieta for 11 years. He currently lives in Washington, DC.

Nolan Dalla's career as a poker writer began in 1994 when he started writing for Card Player. His column "Tales From the Felt" quickly became one of the magazine's most popular columns. Over the next seven years, Nolan wrote over 150 columns -- many on poker strategy and gambling theory. He has also written for The Intelligent Gambler, Poker Pages, and many gambling-related websites. In December 2001, Nolan began his association with Poker Digest. He is also the lead sports gambling columnist for Casino Player magazine. Nolan contributed a chapter to the popular Lou Kreiger book, Poker For Dummies. Nolan also created poker's "Player of the Year" tournament rankings using a mathematical rating system he devised. "Player of the Year" has been awarded by Card Player since 1997. Nolan is also known for his odds on the World Series of Poker and other major events related to poker and gambling.

Nolan's first book is scheduled to be released soon called, Behind the Shades: The Life and Times of Stu Ungar -- the biography of the greatest cardplayer in history. He currently hosts a website devoted to sports gambling and writes a daily handicapping report at: (http://www.madjacksports.com).

Nolan has worked diligently on behalf of the integrity of casinos. He worked closely with the legendary Mike Caro (a.k.a. "The Mad Genius") last year in a lengthy investigation into allegations of cheating. Nolan believes strongly that all casinos and off-shore sportsbooks must maintain the highest ethical standards in order to continue to grow and gain wider public acceptance. He has visited over 100 cardrooms in 16 states and six foreign countries. Nolan plays all major poker games well, concentrating mostly in the $10-20 to $20-40 range. He also plays pot-limit hold'em and Omaha frequently. He rarely plays in tournaments.

"Gambling is the great metaphor for life," Nolan says. "Whether in gambling or in life -- I find that the harder you work, the better your chance of success."

Nolan is proud to be part of Poker Pages and the Poker School.