While the majority of the plot revolves around Ant’s families’ love for the card game “Spades,” there are a number of important subplots. Fifth-grader, Ant, feels the pressure to win the tournament this year, having bombed in last year’s tournament. His family has been winning the Spades tournaments for three generations, and he still hasn’t forgiven himself for doing poorly last year. He and his friend are crushed in Spades by the new student, Shirley, and her partner, which shakes Ant’s confidence.

Subplots include issues around Ant’s family dynamics. His father is an alcoholic and a gambler. His mom has kicked him out of the house. While Ant loves his dad, new facts are revealed about him that show him in a poor light. This gives a second meaning of the title, “Playing the Cards You’re Dealt.” One more subplot includes the fact that Ant has developed a crush on Shirley and she seems to like him back.

The Afterward leads readers to information about Alcoholics Anonymous and support for Teenagers affected by alcoholism.

Overall, the story was good, but probably best-suited for an elementary school, being the protagonist is a fifth graders. The characters were well developed, the plot sometimes funny. I liked Varian Johnson’s book, “The Parker Inheritance” more than this one.