“Poker Tales” by William E. Heise (Jackson-Graham, paperback $14.95) will have its Maine book debut on Friday, July 27, when the author makes an appearance at Sherman’s Books and Stationery to sign copies of his book about the game of poker.

Heise, from Chicago Ridge, Ill., and an annual visitor to the family cottage at Ocean Point, will appear at the bookstore from 1 to 3 p.m. to discuss his 15 comic stories about playing poker.

These often outrageous tales are told by an old timer – known only as the Old Timer – to a young kid – known only as the Kid – who is in Las Vegas to try his hand at winning Harrah’s World Series of Poker. The Kid, as well as the reader, must decide whether the old man’s stores are true or whether there might be some bluffing going on.

If there is bluffing, that does not mean the Old Timer’s stories are completely false, so the question becomes what is the Kid to believe or distrust. In this way, “Poker Tales” mimics the act of playing poker, a game in which players, on their way to winning or losing, act on incomplete or deceitful information about the cards others hold.

Reading the Kid’s responses as he negotiates the Old Timers’ minefield of tales is only half the fun, as the reader is also drawn into hilarious narratives of riverboat gamblers and chess masters, actors and film directors, mobsters and Texas cheats and a story in which the Devil plays for someone’s immortal soul.

Heise received bachelor's and master's degrees in English literature from Northern Illinois University and his Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He has taught writing, English and computer subjects at Illinois colleges and universities. “Poker Tales” is his first novel.

Sherman’s Books and Stationery, 5 Commercial St., is open every day from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, call 633-7262.