Poker Articles

Max Shapiro

Max Shapiro has been writing a humor column for Card Player magazine called "Read 'em and Laugh" almost since its first issue. His satiric columns are populated by a colorful assortment of characters, some real, some made up, such as Big Denny, thuggish proprietor of the Barstow Card Casino; Ralph the Rattler, who lures six-year-old kiddies to his home games; Dirty Wally, the consummate hustler, and his Civil War veteran grandfather, Filthy Willy; Aberdeen Angus McTavish, the tightest poker player in the world, etc. Shapiro, a journalism graduate, won several awards for his feature writing as a newspaper reporter. He has also done corporate P.R. and advertising copywriting, as well as promotional writing for a major Los Angeles area casino.

Although he has played poker since he was 16, and has won small Omaha tournaments at the Mirage and Peppermill and finished third in a major Commerce Omaha tournament, he considers himself strictly a recreational player, a writer who plays poker as opposed to a poker player who writes.

Max Shapiro's Article Listing