REVIEW
"What
in the world were they thinking?" I'm
sure I'm not the only poker player who
has asked this questions literally hundreds
of times at the poker table. What drives
players to play the way they do, especially
if they play badly? What drives each of
us to do things at the table that we know
are costing us money? In The Psychology
of Poker, Alan N. Schoonmaker, who holds
a PhD in psychology, attempts to understand
what motivates poker players and to understand
how they think and why.
After
an introduction, Schoonmaker asks the
reader to examine their own game, looking
at one's own motivations and skills critically
and honestly. Of course, if one isn't
truly honest, much of the rest of the
book won't help, but the author does a
good job of guiding the reader toward
understanding their true motivations.
Poker skills are covered next, including
reading hands and game selection, with
a discussion about how one's personal
tendencies influence these skills. Next,
Schoonmaker introduces a grid system on
which players can be rated. Tightness
vs. looseness and passiveness vs. aggressiveness
are discussed, and the reader is guided
through the process of rating oneself
and other players on this scale.
The
problem is that this doesn't cover the
whole picture. As one example, a player
can be tight and aggressive, playing few
hands but playing those strong, but if
these hands are garbage, they won't go
very far. There's at least a third axis
(and probably several more) that includes
good and bad decision making. Counting
the number of hands and the proportion
of raises to calls can be useful, but
it still gives an incomplete picture,
and this may lead to an improper strategy.
The author does mention the possibility
that a player may be of a mixed type,
for example, tight and aggressive before
the flop, but a calling station from then
on. However, the book doesn't give us
a lot of information about why these people
might play the way they do.
The
next four sections cover various types
of players focusing on the corners of
the grid. We are told what the characteristics
of players in each of the zones are likely
to be, and some suggestions are made as
to what motivates them. This is done from
the perspective of analyzing the play
of other players in each of these categories,
as well as coming to terms with our own
game if we fall into any given classification.
After
this, the book presents some analysis
of ways in which players self-destruct
in their games, and what can be done to
avoid it. Then we have the conclusion,
and finally there are three appendices:
A quiz covering whether the reader has
the "right stuff" to play poker well,
an article on why an aspiring poker player
should think again if they're considering
turning pro, and quick summaries of the
previous chapters.
Schoonmaker
claims that he's not a poker professional
by any means, that he is a moderate winner
in low limit games. He says that the purpose
of his book is to analyze players, not
give strategic advice, and that's fine
by me. However, I see a great deal of
strategic advice in this book. Some of
it is quite good, for example, I don't
recall seeing the concept of "buying outs"
explained better. Some of it I have some
minor disagreement with. The fact that
David Sklansky reviewed the book from
a strategic angle probably explains the
generally good quality of this information.
However, there isn't nearly as much information
about examining the motivations and methods
of other poker players as I would have
hoped, which is the author's field of
expertise, although what's there is fairly
decent.
Another
deficiency is that almost nothing is said
about the less extreme, "average" players
that don't have tendencies near the edge
of the author's grid, which is where we
would probably locate the majority of
players. While it may not seem interesting
to cover the average case, I honestly
don't know what a "5,5" player in a local
3-6 Hold'em game might be thinking about,
but I'd like to. I was hoping this book
would tell me, but it doesn't.
Overall,
we probably get a better grounding of
the psychology of the people who play
poker, both our opponents and ourselves,
than we do in any other book. However,
the book has more advice on how to play
against these people and how to alter
our play than it has information on why
people play the way they do. I was hoping
for more of the latter than I got. However,
it is a good book, one that I found worth
reading, although the true masterpiece
on poker psychology has yet to be written.
Capsule:
While
The Psychology of Poker is probably the
best book written on the mind of the poker
player, there is more strategic advice
and less psychology than I would have
expected or liked. The book is certainly
worth reading, not just to understand
our opponents, but also to understand
ourselves. However, the ultimate book
on poker psychology has yet to be written.
I do recommend it, however.
Nick
Christenson
Gambling
Book Reviews
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