Ben Saxton

Shut Up and Deal is Jesse May’s 1998 novel that follows ramblin’ gamblin’ men to Atlantic City, Foxwoods, and Las Vegas. Rather than get into the nitty, gritty details of the tome,

Ben Saxton reflects on the book through the lens of an interesting cash game session that he played with a bunch of poker pros at Aria.

The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King is one of the world’s most legendary poker books, in which author Michael Craig immortalized the tale of Andy Beal squaring off against “the Corporation” of poker players for millions upon millions of dollars. Here’s a unique take and review on the book, which also combines Ben Saxton’s real life experiences playing in the Bellagio, adjacent to the infamous “Bobby’s Room”, where the legendary poker action took place back in the early 2000s.

Way back, almost 20 years before the debut of Rounders, an anthropology professor wrote a book about his 10,000+ hours of experiences playing in Souther California live poker rooms. David Hayano’s Poker Faces: The Life and Work of Professional Card Players might be a little dated, but nonetheless offers an enjoyable ethnography of a poker room. Read the full review to get the complete picture of what this great poker book is all about.

After having reviewed the fascinating poker book Cards, Ben Saxton takes it one step further and interviews the books author. Get set for a very interesting read to learn about the “story behind the story”. Maxwell calls Cards his “masterpiece”. Now we get to find out how the whole thing came about. You’ll enjoy this read!

Sometimes, some of the most riveting poker tales need to be discovered. The little known poker book Cards, by Jonathan Maxwell, details the poker life of Mike Jameson, a typical 28-year-old grinder. By delving into the authentic, hand for hand experience, Maxwell manages to get readers to truly understand what it feels like to make a living at the poker table.

A plethora of poker books have been written over the years, ranging from Doyle Brunson’s classic Super System to more modern titles focused on online poker strategy. What’s never been attempted before is writing a poker-themed comic book… until now. PokerNews’ Chad Holloway worked on his pet project for two years before it finally came to fruition and manifested itself as the WSOZ – The World Series of Zombies. Here’s a review so you know what to expect from this very special poker book.

Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor Ben Saxton continues his mission to find some of the most interesting poker players you haven’t (yet) heard about. In this third article of his Poker Faces series, Ben interviews Steve Bierman, who is determined to make a run at the poker world’s most coveted bracelet while playing in his first ever WSOP Main Event. This is a story you won’t want to miss.

Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor Ben Saxton is on a mission to find some of the most interesting poker players you haven’t (yet) heard about. In this second article of his Poker Faces series, Ben interviews Tim “The Trooper97” Watts, who is aiming to document his life in a series of YouTube vlogs. After an exhausting career in the restaurant industry, Tim is trying to make it as a professional poker player. Definitely a story worth checking out.

Though Al Alvarez’ The Biggest Game in Town has been a classic poker book for years now, each new poker book review of the tome provides some interesting, unique analysis and insight. Have a look at our new review of Alvarez’ master work and we’ll bet that you’ll want to pick up the book and start reading it again (or for the very first time).

Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor Ben Saxton is on a mission to find some of the most interesting poker players you haven’t (yet) heard about. In this first article of his Poker Faces series, Ben interviews Carl Dunn, who has been making a living in Las Vegas as an artist, by playing guitar for tips, and by grinding it out at the poker tables. A pretty cool story – check it out!