Poker Wars is an engaging and well written true crime history about organized crime in Texas & Las Vegas and the nascence of the world series of poker, written by Philip Guitar and Jim Martyka. Released 11th Aug 2026 by Crooked Lane, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
The first half of the book is a more or less directly factual historical recounting (and some of the mythology) surrounding Benny Binion and his deadly feud with Herbert Noble, and a motley cast of thugs, gamblers, grifters, and con men doing the gambling circuits in Texas and Las Vegas. The second half is a lightly fictionalized account of the origins of the World Series of Poker.
It's especially interesting for gambling fans, but even for fans of true-crime, there's enough to make an engaging read. The author/publisher have added a disclaimer firmly stating that it's fiction, but there's at least a distinct framework of real history included, and the names used in the book are the actual names of the actual players.
Four stars. Interesting (and scary in places - those guys weren't nice).
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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