Dan "Jungleman" Cates is writing a book. Pokerworld, co-written with Washington Post journalist Rick Maese, is a memoir that traces Cates's path from early online poker to the private high-stakes games around the world, and it is scheduled for release in May. Preorders are open, and the book is priced at $28 for 208 pages. For a player best known for high-stakes cash games, a book is a notable step, and it arrives at a moment when poker memoirs are suddenly in vogue.
The Basics
According to PokerNews, which reported the news on October 29, 2026:
- Title: Pokerworld
- Authors: Dan "Jungleman" Cates with Rick Maese
- Publisher: Matt Holt Books, distributed by Simon & Schuster
- Release: May
- Length and price: 208 pages, $28
- Availability: preorders open through online retailers such as Target and Amazon
The book is described as a candid memoir rather than a strategy manual. It reportedly covers Cates's early online poker days through the private games he has played around the world, and its themes include decision-making with incomplete information, handling downswings and maintaining discipline and emotional control. It also draws connections between poker, business and life more broadly.
Who Is Dan Cates?
Cates, a 36-year-old Maryland native, is best known as one of the sport's most feared high-stakes cash game players, though he has also accumulated significant tournament success. His résumé includes:
- Two WSOP bracelets, both from the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, which he won in 2021 and 2022
- More than $19 million in live tournament cashes
- A reputation in cash games and high-stakes mixed games
In 2025, Cates won three consecutive heads-up matches against Ossi "Monarch" Ketola for $15 million, which PokerNews described as the largest livestreamed win in poker history. That stretch of matches brought a new mainstream audience to the high-stakes heads-up format.
It is worth noting that the $50,000 Poker Players Championship is a mixed-games event, which is the format that tests breadth of knowledge more than any other. Winning it twice in consecutive years speaks to the versatility the memoir presumably explores.
A Poker Memoir Moment
Cates's book lands in a crowded field. PokerNews notes that Garrett Adelstein's Beneath the Cards was released in September. That book covers Adelstein's gambling stories and the "Jack-Four" scandal, in which he accused Robbi Jade Lew of cheating him out of a six-figure pot on Hustler Casino Live four years ago.
Two high-profile poker books in the space of a few months suggest that publishers see an appetite for stories from inside the game. The audience has grown thanks to streamed cash games, televised tournaments and social media. A reader who first met poker through a streamed high-stakes session may now want to know how the players got there.
Why Memoirs Matter for Poker
They reveal the grind. Public discussion of poker tends to focus on the biggest wins. A memoir can show the long stretches of study, losing runs and emotional management that sit behind those headlines. Cates's stated themes of downswings and discipline are particularly relevant for anyone who has ever struggled with tilt. Our guide to what tilt is explains why emotional control is a core poker skill.
They put decision-making in context. Poker is a game of incomplete information, and the best players constantly update their beliefs as new information arrives. That mindset appeals to readers beyond the poker community, which is probably why publishers are marketing the book to a broader audience.
They capture an era. Cates started in the early online poker boom. The game has changed enormously since then: solvers, training sites and data-driven approaches have reshaped how players learn. For a sense of how strategy has changed, see our analysis of GTO vs exploitative strategy.
What This Means for Players
A memoir is not a strategy guide, but it can still help your game.
Learn the mental side. Technical knowledge only takes you so far; the ability to handle a downswing without changing your approach is a separate skill. Players who struggle with discipline can benefit from reading how elite players think about variance, and our bankroll management guide provides the practical side of weathering swings.
Think in terms of incomplete information. Whether you play cash games or tournaments, every decision involves uncertainty. The more you practice estimating ranges, calculating pot odds and weighing equity, the better your decisions become.
Compare formats. Cates built his reputation in cash games and mixed games, but he has also won big tournaments. If you are deciding where to focus your own energy, our cash games vs tournaments comparison covers the main differences.
Read widely. If you want more technical guidance, our poker strategy hub collects articles on fundamentals, and the poker glossary explains terminology you will encounter in any serious poker book.
The Heads-Up Matches in Context
The $15 million Ketola result is probably the most widely known part of Cates's recent career. Livestreamed heads-up matches at these stakes are rare, and the sheer scale of the money involved made the series an event. In a memoir, a story like that offers an opportunity to explain the preparation, the psychology and the decisions that preceded the headline figure. Whether the book digs into those details is something readers will find out in May.
What Readers Should Expect, and What They Should Not
Because the reporting describes the book as a memoir, readers hoping for hand-by-hand solver analysis or preflop charts should adjust expectations. The stated themes (decision-making under uncertainty, downswings, discipline and emotional control) point toward narrative and reflection. That is not a weakness. Many of the most useful lessons in poker are not about any single hand but about process: how you review your play, how you decide when to move up or down in stakes, and how you protect your mindset when results turn against you.
It is also worth remembering that a memoir is one person's account. Cates's route, from the early online boom to private games around the world, was shaped by a specific era and a specific set of opportunities. Today's aspiring professionals face a different landscape, with more training resources but also tougher competition. Treat the book as inspiration and perspective, and treat your own study and bankroll discipline as the foundation.
Why May?
A May release places Pokerworld ahead of the 2027 World Series of Poker season. That timing is a natural fit: poker interest tends to rise in the lead-up to the summer series in Las Vegas, and a high-profile memoir could ride that wave. Our WSOP schedule page will have the dates when they are confirmed.
The Bottom Line
Pokerworld is one of several signs that the poker world is increasingly willing to tell its stories in book form. For fans, it offers a chance to hear directly from one of the game's elite high-stakes players. For aspiring pros, it could provide a realistic look at what a career built on incomplete information, downswings and discipline actually looks like.
Details are based on PokerNews reporting from October 29-30, 2026. Release dates and pricing may change; confirm with the publisher or retailer.