"he skipped the postal rampage in John Henry Days and glossed past the nomenclature expert's final decision in Apex Hides the Hurt"

I...have no idea what you just said.

Maybe the author figures most people who might buy his book with a cartoonish suicide king on the front and which tells you right off the bat that it is largely interested in poker might also share that interest. Perhaps your complaint is be like some guy whining that a book about baseball doesn't bother to explain what 'batting .300', 'Texas leaguer', or 'Cooperstown' means. There's an assumption of a common language amongst those who might care to read certain things. Picking up that language is no harder here than in any other 'sport'.

I haven't watched or played a game of poker in years, but I'm pretty sure I understand those completely out of context sentences.

"Is be like"... I edit good.

"Low grade depression"?

Get back to me when you want to tear your own eyeballs out if the Good Lord (or whomever) would have the mercy to end your pathetic life.

THEN you might have a book to write you fucking pussy.