Shut up and Deal is a poker fiction book that is written by Jesse May and reads like he speaks. Shut up and Deal involves the high stakes cash games life of Mickey Dane, it may even be a semi autobiographical story of the author.

The book appears to be a fictional version and mixture of The Biggest Game in Town and Poker Nation but with Jesse May’s brutal honesty about the world and characters that inhabit the poker world.

For those who only know of Jesse May as a poker commentator it may come as a surprise to know how good a poker player Jesse May was and may still be. You get the feeling that especially the sections involving Europe may be more fact than fiction.

 
Mickey Dane, the main character in the book, is the name used by Jesse May during the original Late Night Poker series. Jesse May played in the series and was then asked to do the commentary for the shows. As he playing and commentating his name was shown as being Mickey Dane when playing.

 

No matter what – just Shut Up and Deal

Shut and Deal is a great read – lots of humour, characters and poker truths about the motivation for playing poker. Apart from the addiction side Jesse May seems to say and show that it is all about the money, the angles and how you get your slice of the pie. Perhaps for a lot of people there are no morals about how you get it as long as you do. About doing anything to keep playing, no matter what the long term cost is to others and in the long term yourself. Just shut up about it and deal.

And with all the scandals, cheating, scamming and Full Tilt stuff going on it seems to show that although poker has gone online – poker, the characters, desperation, greed has not changed. Although now you can scam and cheat people and you have never met them or sat next to them.

As long as you are ok and can carry on playing then as Jesse May said then and is still saying now – Shut Up and Deal

Shut up and Deal – how to buy

Shut Up and Deal (amazon.co.uk)

Shut Up and Deal (amazon.com)