Schoolboy Summary:

Schoolboy is an instant classic, a compulsively readable novel that will keep you awake and turning pages late into the night.

It is the story of Joe “Schoolboy” Mackey, a brilliant young poker player, his obsessive and unconventional love affair with a beautiful older woman and his life-long connection to a brutal crime family.

Schoolboy spans 25 years, from the days when poker was an illegal and often dangerous pastime, to the present, when poker has achieved worldwide popularity. The novel is packed with poker insights and filled with colorful, compelling characters. It is a violent, sexy, and sometimes darkly humorous story that features gangland intrigue, obsessive love, tragic death, a harrowing two-year exile in a Tijuana hellhole, revenge and redemption. The story climaxes at the World Poker Championship in Las Vegas where the legendary Schoolboy settles old scores and returns to the game of poker, which has given him everything he ever wanted, but exacted a steep price along the way.

Here are just a few of the dozens of colorful, eccentric and unforgettable characters you’ll meet:

Joe “Schoolboy” Mackey – From his meteoric rise to the top of the poker world to his equally stunning fall from grace, the Schoolboy learns the hardest lesson of all: Some hands are not worth playing.

Ann Wrobleski – The woman who means everything to the “Schoolboy” and whose love and devotion keep him grounded in a violent and unpredictable world.

Ronnie Pardo – Youngest of the Pardo crime family, whose dreams of a life beyond the mean streets seem out of reach until an unspeakable act of violence changes his destiny.

Artie Pardo – Brutal head of the Pardo family, who lets nothing stand in the way of his quest for vengeance.

Gentleman Billy Hodges – The Schoolboy’s friend and mentor. The dapper Cockney cardsharp has a clear vision of poker’s future and is determined to play a large role in it.

Set in seedy back rooms and glamorous casinos, in locations as varied as Chicago, Miami, Mexico and Las Vegas, with characters that will etch themselves deeply into your memory, Schoolboy satisfies the reader on every level.

According to Ben Joravsky, acclaimed author of Hoop Dreams, “Schoolboy is the best poker novel I’ve ever read. An extraordinary achievement.”


About the Author:

Milo Samardzija is married with two children and lives in Chicago, Illinois. He has been known to occasionally enjoy a game of cards. Everyone who writes him will receive a personal reply - milosam7@yahoo.com.