Rating: 
Summary: The Real Deal
Review: "Shut Up and Deal" by Jesse May is one of the best novels I have ever read. The writing is excellent and the author tells the truth about poker.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Deal
Review: "Shut Up and Deal" by Jesse May is one of the best novels I have ever read. The writing is excellent and the author tells the truth about poker.
Rating:
Summary: Captures the true flavor of the life.
Review: A must for poker "rounders" but it may not be for others. I don't know, I'm not an "other" It has no real plot and it basically goes nowhere, but that's how the poker life is. The book gives a realistic feel of the small and different world of the pro, and would-be-pro, poker player.
Rating: 
Summary: Affected wannabe 'tough guy' ruins some good stuff
Review: Considering that Jesse May is not really a novelist, Shut Up and Deal is quite good. Even though the book suffers severely from a lack of plot, but there are so many intriguing vignettes and characters that you tend to forget this.The story revolves around a self-referential professional poker player and the moves he makes as poker relocates itself across the nation and gains acceptance. However, the characters are the true charm of this novel. They each have their own kind of persona and can even move around in the story, appearing in certain locations and stealing the entire show, so to speak. Another great aspect of the book is how May shows the absense of time while playing poker. Having accidentally sat at a nine hour straight poker game, I can truly relate to the elapsation of time in this story. Days, weeks, and months pass as the same people buck the table and play again and again without break, except to get up and literally run to the bathroom so they won't lose their seat. Sometimes it's told in an extremely funny way and others the prose seems to create a sense of urgency that anyone who has played poker in a casino before can relate to. The entire novel is set at a breakneck speed with only a few breaks in the tension to resolve some character issues. Overall, this is very good novel that will please just about everyone. The subject matter might not appeal to everyone, but if you're looking for a very charming story with extremely well-written characters, then Shut Up and Deal could possibly be that book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad at all
Review: Considering that Jesse May is not really a novelist, Shut Up and Deal is quite good. Even though the book suffers severely from a lack of plot, but there are so many intriguing vignettes and characters that you tend to forget this. The story revolves around a self-referential professional poker player and the moves he makes as poker relocates itself across the nation and gains acceptance. However, the characters are the true charm of this novel. They each have their own kind of persona and can even move around in the story, appearing in certain locations and stealing the entire show, so to speak. Another great aspect of the book is how May shows the absense of time while playing poker. Having accidentally sat at a nine hour straight poker game, I can truly relate to the elapsation of time in this story. Days, weeks, and months pass as the same people buck the table and play again and again without break, except to get up and literally run to the bathroom so they won't lose their seat. Sometimes it's told in an extremely funny way and others the prose seems to create a sense of urgency that anyone who has played poker in a casino before can relate to. The entire novel is set at a breakneck speed with only a few breaks in the tension to resolve some character issues. Overall, this is very good novel that will please just about everyone. The subject matter might not appeal to everyone, but if you're looking for a very charming story with extremely well-written characters, then Shut Up and Deal could possibly be that book.
Rating:
Summary: Horrific honesty
Review: First, (most important) if you don't play poker you won't get much out of this book, if you do play... read on. Good poker is a boring, often frustrating business, and this "novel" (like most first novels, it's fact thinly disguised as fiction) struggles with that reality. Narrated by a jaded, yet moderately sucessful young pro named Mike (in the original manuscript he was probably called Jesse) its a frank honest look at the "glamourous" world of professional poker. Poker is a game of skill in the long term, but because of the high chance element, can be anything but skill day-to-day. As Mike says early on "the skill ain't hard, its mastering the luck that's difficult." As the novel progresses we gradually realise that Mike isn't really going anywhere. At times he's quite wealthy, at other times he can hardly make the buy-in for a medium stakes game, but the only thing that distinguishes him from other skilled players, is his persistence; the gritty resolution to ride out the streaks of bad luck and keep going. Like any cardroom, the book has its "regulars" - players who appear over and over again. Among them is the vividly drawn Bart Stone, who may be the devil - a reckless evil conman with occasional flashes of charm. Opposed to him is John, a mellow, amazingly talented player who's blown his winnings on cocaine and is making a comeback. The two play several times, eagerly watched by Mike, but the end result, like many a poker game, is less about winners and losers, and more about a few bucks up or down due to the cards on the day. People complain (rightly) that "Shut Up and Deal" has no plot, and doesn't go anywhere. But its this honesty that makes the book so real. Pro poker players don't go anywhere - they work in the cardrooms, they put in long hours, and for obvious reasons they don't make many friends and their working hours don't encourage a social life. Casinos are magnets for misfits and this strange sub-group are no exception. The locations can change but the games, and even some of the players remain the same. If Jesse May can't plot this novel very well, he's got no such problems with description and atmosphere - you can see, feel, and even smell the grubby glitter of the casino cardrooms where the action takes place. The final section of the book is the best description of being "on tilt" (i.e. playing badly from frustration, and not necessarily realising it) that I've ever read. Familiar to anyone whose played cards seriously for any length of time, the helpless reader is drawn into the irrational yet compelling innner voice of Mick, explaining everything away... Flawed, yet very powerful and honest, "Shut Up and Deal" is the perfect antidote to yet another sugar-sweet article in "Card Player" magazine. Its also a must-read for anyone contemplating a professional career in poker.
Rating:
Summary: Horrific honesty
Review: First, (most important) if you don't play poker you won't get much out of this book, if you do play... read on. Good poker is a boring, often frustrating business, and this "novel" (like most first novels, it's fact thinly disguised as fiction) struggles with that reality. Narrated by a jaded, yet moderately sucessful young pro named Mike (in the original manuscript he was probably called Jesse) its a frank honest look at the "glamourous" world of professional poker. Poker is a game of skill in the long term, but because of the high chance element, can be anything but skill day-to-day. As Mike says early on "the skill ain't hard, its mastering the luck that's difficult." As the novel progresses we gradually realise that Mike isn't really going anywhere. At times he's quite wealthy, at other times he can hardly make the buy-in for a medium stakes game, but the only thing that distinguishes him from other skilled players, is his persistence; the gritty resolution to ride out the streaks of bad luck and keep going. Like any cardroom, the book has its "regulars" - players who appear over and over again. Among them is the vividly drawn Bart Stone, who may be the devil - a reckless evil conman with occasional flashes of charm. Opposed to him is John, a mellow, amazingly talented player who's blown his winnings on cocaine and is making a comeback. The two play several times, eagerly watched by Mike, but the end result, like many a poker game, is less about winners and losers, and more about a few bucks up or down due to the cards on the day. People complain (rightly) that "Shut Up and Deal" has no plot, and doesn't go anywhere. But its this honesty that makes the book so real. Pro poker players don't go anywhere - they work in the cardrooms, they put in long hours, and for obvious reasons they don't make many friends and their working hours don't encourage a social life. Casinos are magnets for misfits and this strange sub-group are no exception. The locations can change but the games, and even some of the players remain the same. If Jesse May can't plot this novel very well, he's got no such problems with description and atmosphere - you can see, feel, and even smell the grubby glitter of the casino cardrooms where the action takes place. The final section of the book is the best description of being "on tilt" (i.e. playing badly from frustration, and not necessarily realising it) that I've ever read. Familiar to anyone whose played cards seriously for any length of time, the helpless reader is drawn into the irrational yet compelling innner voice of Mick, explaining everything away... Flawed, yet very powerful and honest, "Shut Up and Deal" is the perfect antidote to yet another sugar-sweet article in "Card Player" magazine. Its also a must-read for anyone contemplating a professional career in poker.
Rating:
Summary: Only if you play
Review: For non poker players, I can't imagine that this is worth buying. It is completely focused on the world of poker playing, mostly in east coast casinos. For poker players looking for advice, techniques, and ways of winning, this book won't help much. It's not about poker strategy, it's about the poker world, or one part of it.
But if you are interested in that poker world, this book is fantastic. I swallowed it in one grim, exciting, painful gulp. As previous reviewers said, there is no real plot, no real story, just poker and the strange world it creates. It's almsot philosophical. It tries to figure out what makes people keep on playing, what separates the live-ones from the sharks (and how easy it is to cross back and forth from one to the other), it's zen and poker. As a poker wannabe I found it to be a powerful warning of where I could go if I tried to walk in May's footsteps.
I'd also love to meet the guy, which I think says something about his book.
Whatever you do, don't play with a guy named Bart.
Rating:
Summary: A Lively but Disorganized Noel
Review: Having played poker for a living I really wanted to like this book. It is written in a kind of stream of consciousness which is boht its biggest weakness and it's biggest attraction. The author does a good job of showing the endless monotony of playing poker for a living and the ups and downs a player has to go through. He describes many characters in the book. Some of these characters seem true to life but the book would benefit from some tighter plotting and a better editing job. Still I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to those interested in the poker lifestyle.
Rating:
Summary: Finally! A peak on the personal daily diary of a rounder!
Review: I agree with the other reviewers that this book is for poker players only! The author uses lots of poker terms and jargon that is familiar mostly to poker players. And it's hard for a non-"rounder" to understand what's truly going on in the authors mind.adrenaline, excitement, bluffs, and that one critical decision that separates winners from losers! Personally, as a poker player, I enjoyed the book all the way to the end, got my adrenaline pumped up several times from just reading some of the action and decision making in the story. Like I said, this book can be really entertaining if you are a rounder, however, the storyline lacks a progressive organized story plot, not terribly bad for a person who doesn't write for a living but the story and character development could've used some refining. It's more of a personal daily diary than a true novel...just keep that in mind while reading the book and you'll enjoy it.
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