Poker Wars was conceived by author/screenwriter/producer Philip Guitar. Through his
love of both poker and Texas history, he pieced together the series of events that make
up the book, exposing the violence that went along with it.

He then brought in multi-published author/editor/writing coach Jim Martyka to first help
flesh out the concept for a series of magazine articles in the Fort Worth Business Press
and then the more in-depth exploration in this book.

Through twenty-three action-packed chapters, Poker Wars briefly explores poker’s
origins and the unbelievable stories of the early pioneers that brought the game into the limelight, like Titanic Thompson and Nick the Greek. The bulk of the book focuses on “The Cowboy,” Benny Binion, the illiterate horse trader turned gambling boss who was as quick-tempered and power hungry as he was business savvy. Poker Wars offers new insight on Benny’s feud with “The Catman” Herbert Noble, who rose from the slums of West Dallas to become “The
Aristocratic Gambler” and a fierce opponent to Benny that just wouldn’t go away, no matter how
many bullets he took. Their war sucked in several others like a destructive tornado, be it
criminals, mobsters, the law and plenty of innocent victims.

The book also focuses on Texas Circuit and its colorful personalities, like Johnny Moss
and Doyle Brunson, who made their lives and their riches playing cards on the road and
introducing a brand new and extremely popular game of poker, before eventually taking their
talents to Reno and then Vegas. And of course, Poker Wars brings all the major players together
for a small competition that would soon explode into a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Poker Wars progresses like a round of Texas Hold ‘Em and shows how the formation of
the World Series of Poker, through a sequence of incredible connections and moments, is
reflective of the game, requiring a combination of skill, luck, observation, bad blood, and action!