Real Grinders: How to Play Poker for a Living

by Ashton Cartwright

Six different countries.

Twenty eight professional poker players.

All of them Real Grinders.

If you’ve ever wanted to know if you have what it takes to be a professional poker player, now is your chance to find out. We’ve brought together some of the best pro players from around the world to talk about what it's like playing poker for a living; the good parts, the bad parts, the successes, and the challenges. Everything that separates the winners from the losers in a game where fortunes can be won or lost on the turn of a card, and a level head and a quick wit control the table.

Some of the players in this book

Aaron Mordey
Alan McMaster
Alek Givotovsky
Alexander Antonios
Ashley Warner
Ashton Cartwright
Brett “brett_threat” Chalhoub
Bryan Huang (Pokerstars Pro)
Chris Lee
Cole “TopKat5757” Swannack
Didier “didibearrrr” Guerin
Grant Levy
Jackie "Jackstar" Glazier (888 Pro)
Jackson Zheng
Jacky Wang
Kahle Burns
Mathew Brown
Octavian Voegele
Oliver “Talerric” “SwoopAE” Gill
Patrick “pmahoney22” Mahoney
Paul Hockin
Rory Young
Ryan Laplante
Slava Sheynin
Tom “winga699” Wing
Victor Teng, and more.

Real Grinders. Professional poker doesn't get more real than this.

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 18, 2014

About the author

Ashton Cartwright is a part time author, full time poker player, and all the time hair model.

A dedicated Juggalo, as well as a master of mathematics; he happily lists his three favorite things as "Profit and money," which enlightens us all to the virtues of his pure and loving heart.

Ashton has been married concurrently a record 27 times, mostly through virtue of getting a celebrant drunk on home-brewed moonshine. His current collection of partners includes three geese, a doorknob, and a life-sized cardboard cut-out of himself.

Ashton is also currently working on the screenplay for his new movie: I Know What I Did Last Summer.

"Why did I write this book? Well, from an early age I knew that I wanted to profit from the suffering of others, so it was either this, politics, or reality TV."
- Ashton Cartwright

Reviews

[Vivienne Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a great read. sometimes you pick up a book out of curiosity, to learn something about another way of life. I was expecting an instructive, text book introduction into professional poker playing, but was delightedly surprised to find that the author writes with intelligence and humour from his own viewpoint and the resultant stories that he gleans from his interviews, are fascinating and often very entertaining.

Some of the answers from the professionals seemed to me to be actually played poker face, concealing their hands, as if saying to much would reveal too many tricks of their trade. Others more open, giving fascinating insights. The book shows that many see this profession much as a more usual form of business with the ebbs and flows of income just a bit more dramatic. It was a revelation to find out first hand what it is really like to be a professional poker player. Fascinating.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know the saying, “If you can’t spot the sucker, you are the sucker!” Well, this is an excellent poker book that will help you avoid being the sucker. This book gives and in-depth view into the world of poker and its players. The interviews gives great details into the strategies and methods of the various players. Overall, this is a very entertaining and insightful read.

[Andrew Cabon · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you become a professional poker player? Ashton Cartwright answers this in an intriguingly strategic way. By assembling 28 successful poker players and asking each player his fourteen questions, Cartwright provides real insight into what it takes to operate as an individual in an extremely competitive and dynamic arena. Obviously there are a lot of common observations across the selected participants. Most stress the application of intelligence, focus, mental toughness and perseverance. One or two of the contributors have a coherent strategic overview of where the sector might be headed. We even have moral considerations (this is a zero sum game, to win means that someone must loose and musings about the sector developing some sort of corporate social responsibility). Other contributors, particularly Chris Lee, provides passionate and detailed responses. Some of his answers show irritation as he bemoans the lack of respect and misunderstandings his efforts and dedication sometimes attracts. By comparison, the responses from other poker players contributing here, are brief, curt even. As if the contributor was wary of giving too much way. Real Grinders: How to Play Poker for a Living does not get boring. Each contributor has his or her own ideas of what is the `the right stuff' for a successful poker career.

Some of the poker players contributing to this book see what they do has a job requiring a highly honed set of skills (read carefully and you will see that the rewards for this `job' are probably not what you might imagine). Others clearly identify themselves as businessmen and women and experience all of the stresses associated with trying to turn a profit (`you can go weeks or months and not make any money' is a refrain that will ring true with many small business owners). I found the pragmatism of the the participants parents and near family's heart warming. Lets be honest `I am going to become a professional poker player' is not what most parents expect to hear from their son or daughter.

This was always going to be an enjoyable read for me. I am a fan of structured interview questions repeated across a range of interviewees. Generally speaking if you interview enough subjects using this approach you get depth, detail and a lot of genuine insights. Cartwright has done a good job of letting those of us interested in making a fortune in poker know what it might actually take to realise that particular dream.

A good read. Recommended.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting quick read, mostly the pros recommend getting a coach and watching videos for upping your skills, get staked if you can't meet your 100 ABI / level, get used to variance to avoid tilt, study study study, review you tough hands, read/watch/discuss hand analysis by those who know better then you, and don't get sucked into -EV degenerate life sucks.

[Book Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good poker book for the more sophisticated players that are looking to move onto the next level and play for a living.

[Raphael Clayette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice views from professional grinders. Same questions asked to everyone, bring interesting landmarks. The variety of players can satisfy a lot of people, with different type of answers.

[John Morton · Rating 2 out of 5]

virtually all the subjects interviewed were from Australia or New Zealand and all answers pretty much the same. Not a lot of use really and was tempted not to finish it.

[James Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educating


This is filled with wisdom and perspectives of various grinders. It is a good book for people looking for an answer about the longevity of being a poker player.