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The Psychology of Poker
Price:$9.68
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Two Plus Two Pub. |
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Product Description
Poker demands many skills and strategies. To be successful, you must be able to master all of them and then apply them at the appropriate times. They include proper hand selection, appropriate aggression, bluffing, semi-bluffing, understanding tells and telegraphs, choosing the right games, and reading hands. These skills do not come easily since they require unnatural actions. You cannot win just by "doing what comes naturally." This book does not provide strategic advice; you should get it from other Two Plus Two books. Dr. Schoonmaker is concerned only with the way that psychological factors affect your own and your opponents’ ability to play properly. For example, have you ever wondered why some players seem extremely aggressive while others are passive? Why some are tight and others loose? Furthermore, have you ever wondered why some tactics seem to come naturally to you while others don’t? This text will answer many of these questions. It will explain why you and your opponents play the way you do. Many people know how to play properly, but play poorly. Simply learning strategy does not mean that you will apply it properly. The author also suggests strategic adjustments that you should make to improve your results against different kinds of players, and he suggests personal adjustments that will help you to play better and enjoy the game more. |
Customers Reviews
2007-06-20
A Poor Effort at a Poorly Covered Topic
Virtually everything that addresses the presumptive subject of the book, namely "the psychology of poker", is good stuff that I haven't been able to find elsewhere. Getting into your motivations and the motivations of your opponents in particular is helpful. Some of the stuff is covered in other material on "tells", but Schoonmaker goes into more detail about the general psychology and less into the specific observable mechanics.
However, Schoonmaker is extremely annoying in several ways. He repeatedly derides GREAT PLAYERS (not by name) for being morons who just happen to be tremendously gifted. Again and again he says he doesn't want you to be a great player, he just wants you to grind out a little more edge. The inadequacy complex he displays is an interesting psychological study in and of itself.
He says he's not going to try to teach you to play poker, but unfortunately he doesn't stick to that promise. Some of the advice is actually quite good, especially how to adjust to different players (in limit games, though it's mostly applicable to NL). Some of it is just the whinings of a gutless player. Some of it comes from a much weaker theoretical framework than you would expect. In particular, he claims that "all maniacs are heavy losers" and recommends that players use the absolute tightest and most aggressive style possible. He calls these players "Stone Killers" which I assume is some sort of 60s slang. I will briefly explain why this is not the case. Imagine the most tight aggressive player possible - always raises with "the nuts" and check/folds everything else. Does that sound like a Stone Killer to you?
In defense of the author, for most limit players getting tighter and more aggressive equals an automatic improvement in their game. So generally his advice is sound, even if his theoretical understanding of the concepts is flawed. Also, despite how whiny he comes off, virtually every player would benefit by concentrating on the hundreds of mundane decisions that are made every session rather than the one "great play" opportunity that we might see a Phil Ivey make on YouTube.
In total the book is a bit of a mash of psychological material which is helpful to experienced players and play advice which is suited to uninformed players (who would benefit more from reading a book on strategy). With some inferiority complex ramblings mixed in. If you don't mind being herded into becoming a tight aggressive limit player this may actually be the book for you.
I don't know of a book that is as good on the psychological topics without the downside of this book, but I'm going to keep looking.
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2007-05-16
Not your average poker book
This book is great in that it focuses not so much on the game of poker i.e. odds statistics etc but rather it makes the reader review and refresh the reason that they are playing the game in the first place and also encourages you to ask those questions about the people you're playing with.
To get the most out of this book you have to want to focus on the way you play and your weaknesses and strengths.
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2007-03-15
Patronising
I wasn't a fan of this book.
The author is not a great player, and freely admits this himself on more than one occasion, yet that doesn't stop him persistently patronising the reader with "I'm not great and neither are you", "I can't do this and neither can you", "The pros can do this but you can't" etc. etc.
He even has the nerve to say you MUST play tight aggressive in order to be a winning player, just because he is not a skilled enough player to win money using a less safe style of play.
He doesn't offer the insight that other writers offer in other top-selling poker books with the purpose of improving your game, he ties you down to a bunch of third-rate ideas about analysing what might be motivating a player, when if you're playing against anyone even halfway good they're only ever motivated by playing winning poker.
I felt insulted by the tone of this book, and the author who I would love to bust for as much money as possible.
If you have any poker talent at all, any real skills, any winning results, any self-belief, and any ambitions to improve and take your game to new levels don't read this book cos it will insult you too.
If you are an unskilled player, who is forced to play the tight-aggressive style as a safety net to make up for lack of game, and you play poker with other players who aren't any good either, then give this book a look and suffer the author's persistent attempts to drag you down to his level.
2+2 publishing have produced some classic books from some superb player/authors, but this is not one of them.
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2007-02-02
The classic of this genre.
This is one of the first books on the psychology of poker and one of the most widely read. Schoonmaker divides players into four general groups: loose passive players, loose aggressive, tight passive, and tight aggressive players. Extreme and nominal versions of each type are also discussed, as are the ways to identify each type. The theme of the book is to decide what type of player your opponents are and then to play accordingly. There is also a section on ways to identify what type of player you are and ways to minimize the weaknesses associated with your type of playing.
This is one of those books that is best suited to beginning players because more experienced players have probably developed a similar system on their own. The experienced player will, however, also benefit from the book as it is so widely read that it will tell him how his opponents view the game. Thus, even if you an experienced player who does not agree with Schoonmaker, you should read this book to learn what others may know and try to apply against
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2007-01-15
"The Inner Game of Poker"
Once you've read all the endlessly repetitive how-to's and studied the probability charts, starting hands, yada yada yada, this is your next step. Schoonmaker, a practicing psychologist who also plays a mean game of poker, has written a book that describes the motivations behind WHY people play poker. The various "types" he describes are those we've seen in varying degrees at every table, and his insights guide you toward infusing your own game with the basic glimmerings of playing the people, not just the cards. He also insists on a ruthless self-assessment, convincingly arguing that the penalty for ignoring one's own short-comings leads to leaks that will cost a player considerable money in the short and long run.
This is a book that indirectly explains why Sammy Farha can get away with playing 9 2 suited against a raise, because it works at taking the mysticism out of intuition and makes awareness a replicable skill.
Like Harrington's volume III workbook, this text offers interactive quizzes and charts that provide opportunities for self-examination that will inevitably lead to self-discipline and discovery. Highly recommended for the intermediate to advanced player of both cash and tournament games.
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