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Cooke's Book Entertaining but Light on New Ideas
Product
How to Think Like a Poker Pro by Roy Cooke and John Bond
Hits
- Entertaining book that's easy to read
- Nuggets of good information buried throughout
Misses
- No hand analysis
- Collection of previously published columns
- More about personality than the mechanics of the game
Review
Roy Cooke's How to Think Like a Poker Pro sounds like a great book that's going to teach aspiring poker players how to become pros, or at the very least how the pros are able to think so quickly at the tables to come out winning players.
Instead, it seems more like a study in poker-player personality than in the mechanics of thinking like one.
This book isn't so much about pot odds, hand analysis or strategies to become a winning player as it is about the experience of playing poker and what kind of person you have to be to make a living at it.
It's a bit of a disappointing book after Cooke and John Bond's Real Poker II. His in-depth hand analyses were what made that book invaluable to poker fans, and it seems like a huge loss not to have any in How to Think Like a Poker Pro.
Even though readers aren't going to get much poker strategy and tips from this book, it's still an interesting read. The book collects columns published by Cooke between 2000 and 2005, and divides them into four sections:
- Philosophy of Life and the Game
- The Edge Concept
- So You Wanna Be a Poker Pro
- Strategy and Tactics
Because they were originally written as columns, the various articles in each section make for a quick and entertaining read. There is a lot of poker wisdom buried in each, but not necessarily the direct advice players may be hoping for if they want to know the best way to play an A-K.
For real strategy and playing advice, you're better off with Real Poker II. If you're looking more for entertainment with some poker wisdom mixed in here and there - check out How to Think Like a Poker Pro.
Details:
- $19.95
Paperback
ConJelCo
282 pages
