Friday, 29th March 2024 08:23
Home / Uncategorized / ANZPT7 Sydney Day 1A: A real grinder

There’s one player in the Poker Room at The Star who stands out from the other players in the ANZPT Sydney Day 1A field. Mostly because of the way his blue and purple hair shines in the dimly-lit poker room. After all, he tells us he did shampoo and blow dry especially for today.

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Ashton Cartwright describes himself as a “full-time poker player, part-time author, and most-of-the-time hair aficionado”. He’s well-known here in his home town of Sydney, usually on the cash game tables at The Star, but occasionally dabbling in tournaments such as today in the ANZPT Main Event.

While he enjoys himself on the tables, it’s away from the felt where Cartwright is making a big impression.

Over the years there have been a plethora of poker books released covering all sorts of topics, but very few out here in Australia. So it’s refreshing to see Cartwright’s publishing company release the poker book Real Grinders – How To Play Poker For A Living earlier this year.

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It’s also nice to see a topic rarely covered in the poker industry as Cartwright interviewed 28 of the regions finest rising poker pros to find out exactly what it takes to make it as a poker professional. Many of those very pros are playing today in the ANZPT Sydney Main Event.

It appears that his book has been well received by the community. A quick look on the Amazon page for Real Grinders shows 64 reviews giving an average 4.5 star rating which is a pretty positive endorsement.

“We were #1 for poker on the Kindle worldwide Best Sellers list for like two months,” said Cartwright with a glimmer in his eyes. “That was until Jonathan Little’s new book came out! The response has been great!”

So would Cartwright rather be focussing on playing or writing?

“Definitely playing. I get bored writing!” said Cartwright. “But everyone was saying to me that I should write a strategy book, so I’m going to do that next. It’s going to be called the 7 Habits of Successful Poker Players so keep an eye out for that!”

In an industry that struggles with an identity in the public space, it’s great to see someone in the poker community find a niche with great success. Now all that’s left to prove is whether Cartwright’s success with his book will also translate to success on the felt at the ANZPT!

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