• Real Grinders: How to Play Poker for a Living

  • Poker Books for Smart Players, Book 1
  • By: Ashton Cartwright
  • Narrated by: Joshua Risser
  • Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (32 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Real Grinders: How to Play Poker for a Living  By  cover art

Real Grinders: How to Play Poker for a Living

By: Ashton Cartwright
Narrated by: Joshua Risser
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Three years in the making. 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 include:

  • 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. 

©2014 Ashton Cartwright (P)2019 Ashton Cartwright

What listeners say about Real Grinders: How to Play Poker for a Living

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

nothing to learn here

great narration of pointless dribble with no actual knowledge or insight into the poker world. the whole book is a story about a dude that's real proud about himself.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth the listen

Solid, realistic, unexpectic, and worth the listen. Just good insight into real life as a poker player.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I want my money back.

waste of time. I want my money (credit) back. I used my monthly credit so it was kind of free - still not worth it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
  • AP
  • 12-22-22

not a "how to" at all!

This was a bunch of poker players being interviewed for a puff piece. void of all strategy and instruction but tons of "how did you get started playing poker?" and "what do your friends and family think about you playing poker for a living?"

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good Persoective

The book gives good insight but a more diverse question list would have helped more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Nephew loved this

He is a poker freak and listened to this more than once on the way to work. Said he enjoyed it. I was given this free review copy audiobook and have voluntarily left this review.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for S. Place
  • S. Place
  • 10-26-19
Listener received this title free

Read it if you are considering turning pro

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

This book is a little different from other poker books I have read: it is not a bunch of strategy/hand reading advice but a set of short interviews with professionals explaining what doing it day in/day out entails. I think for anyone considering playing poker for a living they should read this book/useful for partners/friends of poker players to read.

I played online poker for 4/5 years full time before transitioning to a regular job as i could see the direction after black Friday, the discussions contained reflect the range of views and attitudes to playing the game full time. The various views on staking were particularly interesting to me and I now regret not being more aggressive in particular with respect to the weak live tournaments.

The format was good: i could listen to one pro/chapter at a time although I didn't really know too many of the names of the individuals in the book and do not really have any way of knowing who were the stronger players. If you enjoyed Ace on the river by Barry Greenstein then this is a good accompaniment along with something a bit more technical for the particular game you are playing.

I don't know how audible does the chapters but if the pros name could be added so you could go straight to an individual that would be good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Jean Genie
  • Jean Genie
  • 03-21-19

Interesting listen...

I used to play poker for a living, so it is always fun to catch up with the online poker world and learn about the characters still playing the game day-to-day.

Still, many of the poker players interviewed in this book sound more like gamblerholics, than professionals. And, if you are looking for insights into what it means to be a real poker pro, I am not sure you will find it here.

However, if you just treat the audiobook as simply a great way to listen to some crazy characters chat about their love for the game of poker, then the book makes for a more than decent listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!