Shut Up and Deal - Paperback

by Jesse May (Author)

Cheating, shooting angles, hustling -- whatever you want to call it, its what poker is really all about, and in the tradition of Mario Puzo's Fools Die, that's what is at the heart of the drama of this riveting first novel told by a nontraditional 1990s kid with an incurable obsession, an outrageous wardrobe, and a knack for staying in action.

He smokes a lot of pot, hides behind mirrored sunglasses, and practices yoga. But appearances are deceiving -- he may look like a live one, but he has not gone broke. He has made his way from teenage games in the basements of New Jersey suburbs, to professional games across America and Europe. Perhaps this is because he understands something most people just don't get: "Poker is a combination of luck and skill. People think mastering the skill is hard, but they're wrong. The trick to poker is mastering the luck. That's philosophy. Understanding luck is philosophy, and there are some people who aren't ever gonna fade it. That's what sets poker apart. And that is what keeps everyone coming back for

Front Jacket

In 1987, there was legalized poker in Nevada and in one county of California. Author Jesse May was seventeen years old and already hooked. By 1996, poker could be legally played in casinos in over twenty states of the union and five countries in Europe. Legalization changed the face of poker, and as the game came of age, so did May, who by 1989 had dropped out of the University of Chicago after one year due to irreconcilable differences between Tuesday- and Thursday-morning classes and Monday- and Wednesday-night poker games.
Based on his experiences in the strange world of poker, May's debut novel "Shut Up and Deal is the story of a nontraditional '90s slacker, a dropout with an incurable obsession and incredible stamina, who makes a career in a profession where the only goals are to stay in action and to not go broke. In "Shut Up and Deal, a professional poker player takes readers along on his adventures over several years in and out of casinos and card rooms in locales such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Amsterdam.
Told in a catching, likeable voice, this story offers up one rip-roaring poker-table drama after another, with narrator Mickey ultimately finding himself in a spot that jeopardizes his entire bankroll and calls into question his morals, such as they are. In rhythmic, high-octane prose that is as addictive as the game it describes, "Shut Up and Deal zooms in on the swirling, feverish microcosm of the contemporary poker world from its very first line and never cuts away.

Back Jacket

This is a wild and stormy trip into the booming casino industry of the 1990s, told by Mickey, an obsessed young poker pro. He's the Cincinnati Kid all tricked out for the 90s, and his story is poker, pure poker, brought to life by a cast of shrewd, outlandish characters, all of whom give him a run for his money. Here is a world in which the anarchy of chance comes into cold, harsh focus, and Mickey navigates his way through it with an unusual combination of guile and virtue.

Author Biography

Jesse May has written for Poker Digest and High Stakes Magazine, and is the author of the novel Shut Up and Deal. He is the voice and play-by-play commentator on the British television series Late Night Poker. Originally from New Jersey, he now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark, but can usually be found wherever the best game is.