“Deal Me in”: Neoliberal Workers and the Poker Mindset

Summary

Chapter in Toxic Masculinity, Casino Capitalism, and America’s Favorite Card Game 

Manno examines the pressures on blue-collar and white-collar neoliberal workers as they are required to take on more risk in the face of an increasingly contingent and temporary employment landscape. Focusing on the pressure employees face to become self-sufficient career managers who create personal brands, Manno explores how such workers struggle to be “dealt in” to the workforce in meaningful ways. The chapter uses examples of the problems that truckers and white-collar Amazon employees face and the unequal way that issues of social class impact how employees have access to resources in order to manage work instability. The chapter concludes with twenty-first-century examples of the Poker Mindset as seen in the careers of Daily Fantasy sports gamblers, e-sports participants, and online gaming streamers.