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The Psychology of Poker
Product
The Psychology of Poker by Alan N. Schoonmaker, Ph.D.
Hits
- Offers very insightful analysis into the mind of poker players
- Great self evaluating "quadrants" help the reader discover their true player type
- Very good advice on maximizing the edge of your specific style of play
- Great self-rating system helps the reader discover their skill level
Misses
- Not a book on expert play or masterful skills
- Sometimes the arguments are too long and the text too dense
Review
The Psychology of Poker author, Alan N. Schoonmaker, Ph.D., is not only an accomplished poker player, he also holds a doctorate degree from the University of California at Berkley and is a self-professed lover of people watching. He modestly admits, "I'm not a poker expert. I'm a psychologist who plays for moderate stakes and writes about poker psychology. I rarely give advice about playing specific cards because many people can do it better." Indeed, it is his skills as a psychologist and his interest in people that serve as the basis for this book and also what make it an especially interesting read.
First off, it has to be said that this is not a book about reading expert players, making fancy plays, or beating the world's top pros. It is a book that explores the psychology of the every day/intermediate poker player and aims to help the reader determine why they make the plays they do. More than anything else, this book is a great way to "read yourself," meaning it will help you find out what type of player you are, why you play the way you do, and what you can do to change your own game.
If you are a very accomplished poker player who plays the highest limits and knows all the odds and facts, this is not a book for you. Just about anyone else, however, from a happy beginner to an intermediate player looking to dig deeper into the psychology of their opponents and, more importantly, themselves, will find this book very enlightening. Major self-help tools featured include self-evaluating questions and quadrants designed to help determine the reader's own player profile and highlight problems and edges related to the specific player type.
This book consists of seven parts: (1) The Right Stuff; (2) The Right Skills; (3) Styles and Ratings; (4) The Loose-Aggressive Player; (5) The Loose-Passive Player; (6) The Tight-Passive Player; and (7) The Tight-Aggressive Player. Two additional sections, "Our Deadly Sins" and the "Conclusion," respectively address the mistakes all players make and provide a quick recap of the book. As with most books from Two Plus Two Publishing, "The Psychology of Poker" also offers good appendixes, a great index, and a few blank pages for note taking.
This book reads 330 pages in total.
Details:
- Paperback $24.95
Two Plus Two Publishing
