For Garrett Adelstein, returning to the iconic Commerce Casino in Los Angeles isn’t just another chance to sit down for a high-stakes cash game.
The Commerce was where Adelstein’s meteoric rise in live high-stakes cash games began. He could be found night after night, grinding till sunrise, long before livestream poker made him one of the most recognizable cash-game players in the world.
On October 6, Adelstein returns under very different circumstances. At 1pm, he will hold a book signing at the Commerce for his recent release, Beneath the Cards. Following the signing, he'll take a seat at Bally Poker Live to do battle in a live-streamed $50/$100 NLH game.
Ahead of the game, we spoke with Adelstein about the initial reaction to his book, playing on a livestream again, and his memories of past battles at the Commerce.
The good ol' days at the Commerce
Why come back and play now? What’s so special about returning to the Commerce?
I still love playing poker when it all comes together, and there's a good game. At this stage in my life, it has to work with my home life and other professional obligations. Bally has been trying to put this together for a while. This turned out to be the right time, about a month after the Beneath the Cards release, when we can hold a book signing event.
Do you still have fond memories of the Commerce games? What’s special about playing here again?
This is where it all began, so it will be really cool to be back where I started competitively playing live poker. I played a little in Arizona, but the Commerce is where I really cut my teeth playing the bigger live games.
What was your schedule like back in the early days playing there?
I was really working my ass off, playing the graveyard shift 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week. I really loved poker at this time. I really loved trying to figure out this new thing and this new environment. And I took so much pride in working incredibly hard.
I would get on the I-10 freeway at 8pm every night, knowing I'd be up all night. Whereas all the other guys, you know, they worked daytime hours, which were less profitable.
I have such fond memories of honing my live poker game at the Commerce, and the staff have always been really great to me.
I’m sure they wish you were playing there regularly. You were a big draw for their stream when you made your first live appearance a few years back.
Yes. Although it hasn't worked out for me to play that often, I was glad I could play when they first opened the new live-stream room. Hopefully, there'll be more times to play there in the future.
And obviously, anytime I can play streaming poker without having to get on an airplane, that's just icing on the cake.
'I was worried my readers were only in it for Jack-Four'
You’ll be doing a book signing for your memoir, Beneath the Cards, before the streamed game. What feedback have you gotten since its release?
I've gotten so much amazing feedback on the book; it has meant a lot to me. But I know the feedback is going to hit different in person. They’re just so meaningful in person.
I can talk poker with people that may have connected with the book. It's just going to be a really fun day.
What has been the most impactful thing you've experienced since releasing the book?
Two things come to mind. First, my wife and I had a lot of deep conversations about what I really wanted out of this project. Was it a goal to make sure I sold a hundred thousand books or something like that? That never really made the most sense.
The goal was always: could I help a few people? Could I help even one person? Could I help fifty, a hundred people, you know, with my words? I’ve received so many wonderful messages where people pour their hearts out to me about what the words have meant to them. They’ve shared that so many of my struggles are their struggles.
Overall, it’s been pretty damn rewarding. I've been kind of riding that wave, riding that high.
Can you disclose anything about the sales?
The sales have been tremendous, much better than I ever could have imagined.
Were you surprised that readers connected with so much more of the book than simply Jack-Four?
That’s the second thing that's just been a bit more surprising than anything. I'm so grateful. I was really worried that a good amount of my readers were only kind of in it for Jack-Four, and that people might skim other parts.
In fact, it's been the opposite. I was particularly worried about part one. My book is ten parts. Part one mostly focuses on the time in my life before I found poker.
It was the part that I enjoyed the most.
Thanks. So many people connected with family dysfunction, some of these struggles with perfectionism and things of that nature, which was the most impactful part for them.
That really surprised me. People seem to love hearing about some of my mental health struggles away from the table, my up-and-down relationship with Jen, and even with my mom.
That must have been very rewarding for you after pouring your heart and soul into it over the last four years.
It just really warmed my heart, because sometimes over the years I felt like something of a commodity to the poker fans. It was like that dumb expression, ‘Just shut up and dribble.’
Sometimes I felt people were saying to me, ‘Shut up and play poker or don't open your mouth.’ You know? And getting so much positive feedback about so many aspects of the book that had nothing to do with poker surprised me. It’s really a great compliment that has meant the world to me. From the start, my goal with this whole project was to make sure I wrote the best f**king book I possibly could.
Feature image courtesy of PokerGO.
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