By Dylan Howard - Senior Executive Editor, Star magazine

He was warned to steer clear of the underground poker world, but he simply didn’t want to fold 'em.

New York Yankees' slugger Alex Rodriguez played in the illegal high stakes Hollywood poker ring that featured numerous A-list celebrities, Star magazine is reporting exclusively.

Cameron And Arod Hanging Out In Miami

What’s more, Star learned A-Rod played in another high-stakes no-limit Texas Hold 'em game as recently as the last two months -- which had a buy-in of $40,000.

Poker player Adam Bilzerian is one of several sources who confirmed to Star that A-Rod has been playing big-money poker — a development sure to catch the attention of major league baseball