 |
The Flow Show with Jeff GrossAuthor: Jeff Gross
Join Jeff Gross in his conversations with the best poker players and industry leaders to learn what sets them apart from the rest. Language: en Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Sports Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Garrett Adelstein: High-Stakes Cash Game Legend and First-Time Author, Beneath the Cards, the Truth About Jack4, Broke at 22 to the Nosebleeds, and Harmony Over Balance
Episode 228
Thursday, 3 September, 2026
Jeff Gross sits down with Garrett Adelstein, one of the most recognizable and respected high-stakes cash game players in the world, just two weeks before the release of his debut memoir, Beneath the Cards, out September 1st. Garrett explains what it actually took to write it: more than three years of drafts, therapy sessions that turned into pages, and a story far bigger than the headline he is best known for. He opens up about how the controversial Jack4 hand at Hustler Casino Live became the unexpected catalyst for the whole project, why he still doesn't feel he has every answer, and how he reads the public perception of that night today. From there the two go back to the beginning: grinding online as a college freshman in 2004, running his bankroll to nearly a million dollars by graduation, then losing almost all of it in six months. Garrett gets candid about the on-and-off mental health cycles that peaked on his 30th birthday, the harmony-not-balance philosophy he uses to raise two young kids while still chasing big goals, why he believes it is harder than ever to build a poker career today, and why the game deserves far more credit for the real-world skills it teaches. Chapters 00:00 - Intro: Beneath the Cards, Two Weeks Out, and What the Memoir Actually Covers 03:32 - Jack4 Revisited: Public Perception, the Misinformation Narrative, and the Documentary to Come 12:49 - The Origin Story: Online at 18, a Near-Million by Graduation, and Going Broke at 22 15:35 - Black Friday, Talking Stick, and Falling for Live Poker at Commerce Casino 21:26 - Writing the Book: Therapy Turned to Pages, Three Years of Rewrites, and the Real Metric 28:06 - Fatherhood and Harmony, Not Balance: Two Kids, the Midlife Squeeze, and Non-Negotiables 33:38 - Mental Health: The On-Off Cycles, a 30th-Birthday Breakdown, and Building Resilience 45:32 - The Upswing Course, a $999 Deep Dive, and the Rounders Casting Question 50:37 - The High-Stakes Reality: Profit Ceilings, Poker Politics, and What's Misunderstood 54:12 - Poker's Real-World Skills, the Legal Gray Area, and Advice for the Next Generation 1:06:50 - The Lodge, Coming Back Rusty, What the Elite Share, and Why It's Just Gambling Links and Socials Beneath the Cards (pre-order / all formats): https://garrettadelstein.com/links/ Garrett Adelstein Instagram: https://instagram.com/garrettadelsteinpoker Garrett Adelstein X (Twitter): https://x.com/GmanPoker Garrett Adelstein YouTube: https://youtube.com/@garrettadelsteinpoker Garrett Adelstein Website: https://garrettadelstein.com Jeff Gross: https://www.youtube.com/jeffgrosspoker https://www.youtube.com/jeffgrosspodcast https://twitch.tv/jeffgrosspoker https://instagram.com/jeffgrosspoker https://x.com/jeffgrosspoker
