Earlier this year, Garrett Adelstein announced that he would be releasing a memoir, Beneath the Cards: A High-Stakes, High-Anxiety Poker Journey. In the months that followed, preorders for the book spiked as Garrett released several titillating videos teasing the book.
In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s release, Garrett hit the poker media circuit, granting numerous interviews, including on the PokerNews Podcast.
On Tuesday, the book immediately shot to the #1 New Release in both Poker and Sports Biographies on Amazon, where the paperback retails for $20.49, Kindle $15.99, and the Audiobook, read by Adelstein himself, for $15.39.
So, how is poker’s newest book? Well, that might depend on what side of the infamous Jack-Four controversy you’re on. While that alleged cheating incident comprises only a fraction of the book (about 10 percent according to Garrett), there’s no doubt it’s the biggest draw. As such, if you think Garrett was cheated, chances are you’re really going to like the book, especially the appendices in which he lays out some new arguments and circumstantial evidence.
However, if you’re more on the side of Robbi Jade Lew and feel she was falsely accused of wrongdoing, you probably won’t like what you read. The Jack-Four controversy was highly divisive, and the book has that potential if you’re intimately familiar with the topic.
That said, the book is much more than Jack-Four. As the title suggests, the book also opens the curtains for a behind-the-scenes, intimate look at the high-stakes poker scenes, a world closed to most, even PokerNews and other media at times. It’s a secretive world involving vast sums of money, and Garrett serves as a tour guide of sorts, giving readers a figurative seat at the table.
Book Details
- Publisher: Permuted Press
- Publication Date: September 1, 2026
- Length: 400 pages
- Cost: $20.49
- Available in Paperback, Kindle, and Audiobook
- Audiobook Listening Length: 11 hours and 15 minutes
If you’re a fan of poker, specifically cash games, live streams, and high stakes, there’s a lot to sink your teeth into in Beneath the Cards. As someone highly ingrained in the poker world – I was one of the first to interview Robbi Jade Lew after the 2022 HCL incident – and a reader of dozens of poker biographies, I thoroughly enjoyed Beneath the Cards.
I was concerned the memoir might be narrow-minded and self-serving, glossing over the ugly parts of one’s life (we all have them) in favor of painting a prettier poker picture.
Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to see Garrett offer up a stripped-down and raw account of his life where he talks about his complicated family upbringing, his personal battles with depression and perfectionism, and even his body dysmorphia.
Those are not easy things to talk about for all the world to read, but Garrett leans into it. As he told us on the PokerNews Podcast, if he was going to write a memoir, he was going to be as open as can be and give the world a true glimpse at his life, and I felt that was accurate as I read the book.
Personally, I am a big fan of the long-running TV reality show Survivor, in which Garrett competed in 2014’s Survivor: Cagayan, the 28th season of the show. As such, I was excited to read that chapter, and it did not disappoint. I won’t spoil anything, but I will encourage you to go back and watch his season, which you can do on Paramount Plus.
Beneath the Cards doesn’t offer a smoking Jack-Four gun that some readers might be looking for. If that’s why you buy the book and it’s all you want to read about, you might be disappointed. However, if you go in with an open mind regarding the alleged cheating, you might find that Garrett makes some compelling arguments.
Garrett’s book delivered for me, which was a tall task as it’s one of the few poker books to be released by a mainstream publisher – Permuted Press has been around since 2004 – at least since the Poker Boom days. I had high expectations, and I was not disappointed.
If you’re a poker player, Beneath the Cards deserves a spot on your bookshelf. If you’re just a book reader unfamiliar with poker, Beneath the Cards will introduce you to a truly unique world for which you may not be ready.
Click here to order your copy of Beneath the Cards today!
Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager