Customer Reviews

The Education of a Poker Player

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading Yardley's book, I applied his techniques to my weekly kitchen game. While I normally came out ahead, using his advice, I booked the biggest win in the history of our game. Then I took his knowledge to Atlantic City. Strictly following his strategies for 7 card-stud, I booked my first win in a cardroom. And have used the techniques since. And won. Yes, the book is a bit dated, and yes, Yardley has a major ego. And his strategy is very conservative, which means once you employ it over the long haul, people will see you as a rock, and not give you much action. But there is no better place to start if you are serious about poker, and no better book to read to get a feel for the lore, and also to gain the confidence that you can win. An excellent read, filled with money-making advice, and a book you do NOT want your opponents to know about.

I have an old moth eaten, doggie-eared copy of this, in pocket book form. I think I got it for pennies in the discount bin way back when. What a steal! My good friend and I used to practice magic, had all kinds of card books by John Scarne and others. I bought several on card manipulation, and poker strategy. When you like to play around with card tricks, I guess poker just comes along naturally as a game. This book was put aside for a long while, and then one bored evening, I started to read it. Wow, what an entertaining book I thought. It featured colorful stories of a young punk, getting involved with a cagey veteran gambler. What he learned in each of these stories is a strong life's lesson on playing poker.

Actually, if you can believe, and adhere to the next few statements you don't need this book. The book teaches you in an interesting story like format to, play the odds. It teaches you not to go after loser hands, to get out, even if you're leaving money on the table "if" the odds are against you. It teaches there is no such thing as luck. Some nights you can do no wrong no matter how badly you play, but if you play badly in the long run, you will lose! I still recommend you read the book, even if you buy into what I just said. Losers will take exception to this I know, but that's why they lose!

Here are a few of my own experiences. I had attended a mid-west university on a shoestring budget. I was down to my last few hundred dollars, with gas and food to buy for the rest of the semester, nearly three months! I got involved in a poker game that some of the guys did on Friday. It was a popular game with six to seven regulars, and a few occasional players. I'm not one taken to gambling; I'd never bought a lottery a sweepstakes ticket before this, and in the years since, have only bought one in an office pool. Playing for money was serious business to me, and this book served as my bible. The first night I played I was going from memory, the books lessons served me well. I won that night and continued to play for the next few months every Friday. I re-read the book just to bone up on the finer points of playing again, but never showed it to the competition.

In about 15 weeks or so of playing, (not big time games, this was nickel ante poker, we were poor college kids) I lost once, about 8 dollars. The other 14 games (we generally played for about six hours), I routinely won around $15-$30 each evening. The interesting thing about this was that most of the other players, some good, and others very poor, typically won and lost between $5 and $75. Sometimes even the bad players had a good night. Because of the way, this book had me playing, I rarely lost, and neither did I win every hand either. Poker is about odds and tactics not luck. If you are not going to win, you fold!

It was interesting what came of this; my reputation in the game was of someone with great luck, who always "had" the cards. It even enabled me one evening to pull a legendary bluff. I had a friend named Art who had played with me in several games. He was a classic loser, because he was one of these guys, whose greatest fear, was giving away money to a good bluff. Consequently, I'd seen him call people in a stud game, when it was obvious he was beat, even from the "cards on the table"! I had made it a point in many games with him to, "always have the cards" when he was left in the game. One night in a game we played with about a dozen wild cards, I had started by making a bad play. I forgot about all the wild cards, because my regular hand looked so good, and I was still in the hand, well after I should have dropped out. The hand came down to me, and Art. I thought, "oh heck with it", I looked at him, smiled, and raised him the maximum limit. I knew he had me beat, and I knew he had this thing about having to call. He'd never beat me head to head, and I guess something told him it was time to give it up. He folded! His hand was a wild card laced "royal flush"! I had a full house, which was a weak hand, with that many wild cards in the game. Art said later, he was certain I had five aces to beat his royal flush, I'd done it to him too many times before. This kind of mentality is explained in the book. There's a reason the used copies, cost twice what the list price was. Try it out, you'll see what I mean!

Expecting a dry litany of statistics on the various games of poker, I was pleasantly surpirsed at the colorful pictures Yardley painted with the semi autobiographical story of his 'Education of a Poker Player'. The book starts with a shadey near-turn of the century poker room frequented by his youth. Much of the time the book focuses on this relationship with mentor and friend Monty. The book pleasantly shifts from pure strategy, to the philosophy and art of Poker, to the stories of Yardleys middle aged adventures as a code decriptor in China approaching the second World War. The only dissapointment in the book was the abrupt ending, no wrap up. While the story left you wondering what happened with the rest of his life, your knowledge of how to play and win all popular forms of the game Poker will be very much closer to complete

While I have my doubts about the truth of some of the stories, their intrigue and artistry make amends for whatever license Yardley took with the facts. He was obviously quite a character and self-promoter, and debates continue to this day over exactly how valuable his contributions were to US cryptology and intelligence... if any. His other major work, The American Black Chamber, caused a major stir when it was first published in the 1930s (including at least one Congressional debate)--and is an equally enjoyable read.

The book is rather thin, and it's certainly not a wondrous tome of poker strategy. However, it was a welcome contribution in an age when there was a dearth of serious books on any gaming strategies, let alone gambling. It's a very readable introduction to some basic poker knowledge, much more so than many modern works on the subject.

His strategy advice mainly focuses on playing the odds, and he repeatedly emphasises that people (he calls them "simpletons" or "suckers") who blindly gamble without taking probabilities into account will soon be parted with their money. That's good advice even today; I don't know how well his recommendations would work against more sophisticated modern players, but it's a decent place to start and should stimulate some new ideas in novices. And his advice, basic as it is, would definitely give an edge to the typical "kitchen table" poker player.

If you have any interest in poker or "spy stuff" (the half-true kind), it's worth reading at least once. You might even learn something.

In looking at some of the other reviews for this book, I find I am not alone in being the proud owner of a copy which is easily over 40 years old, in a 50 cent Cardinal Edition paperback book. I acquired my copy when I was a junior in high school, on the advice of a buddy who was even more bookish than I, and we used it to hone our penny ante games with a bet limit of a nickel.

I have not spent a lot of time with any other books on poker, as I never felt the need for any better advice on the game than what I got from this book.

While the author, who went on to become a major American cryptanalyst (code breaker), has put a lifetime of statistical experience into his suggestions in this book, most of the recommendations can be summarized in a few simple sentences.

And, using these principles for all the basic games such as five card draw, seven card stud, five card stud, and low ball, I have almost always won. These suggestions work so well that I required no convincing to believe that unlike virtually all other casino games, playing poker is NOT gambling, if you know what you are doing.

On top of all that, the book is entertaining to read. And, in addition to guidance on the statistics of the game, the author gives sound advice on how and when to bluff. This advice is not deep, but for the average game, it is more than enough.

While there are probably now hundreds of fair to good books on playing poker, I strongly suggest this to any newcomer to the game, as it served me very well when I knew nothing about poker or probablility.

The only reservation one may have about the book is that it really only deals in depth with the most familiar older games. While a clear thinker should have no problem translating the author's suggestions to games such as Texas hold-um, I cannot guarantee all the advice will transpose effectively.

But, I am certain you can get a copy of this little gem very cheaply. And, it is worth every penny.

I first bought this book in 1963.

I played poker 3 nights a week for the next 20 years & like the author never had more than 3 consecutive losing games.

It is a great read and I am at present reading it again for probably the 7th or 8th time.

A must for any poker devotee

What a golden oldie! Scenes from Wild West taverns, magnificently fallible opponents, all that stuff from the Far East - and good hands always win. Fun to read, and comforting in a way, but if you want to learn poker, get something else, unless extreme frustration from expecting to scoop up cash every time you play well is what you want. Half of the decent casino players today would shred someone playing according to Yardley, if the antes didn't do it first. But that's not really what the book's about in 1999.

But mostly, it is a collection of autobiographical anecdotes by one of the most interesting characters in twentieth century American history.

Actually, it is about an even split between poker and the exploits of Herbert O. Yardley, but it is hard to tell which aspect the author invested more of his energy in.

Regarding poker; both the mathmatical disciplines of poker and the psychological game of poker are well addressed in terms that make the knowledge easy to apply. Well structured breakdowns of when to fold and raise based on straight probability make the book straight forward from the numbers aspect. Anecdotes of various poker games and player that Yardley knew address the psychological game, including bits on reading the other player and how to present yourself at the table. A little dated, perhaps but mostly relevant.

Regarding Yardley; the anecdotes provide a portrait of a man you do not want to trust with secrets. Vain, arrogant, self-serving, and possessed with the belief that laws are for other people, but he still conveys surprise and resentment that he was put out of the American intelligence community (such as it was) in the 1920s. This book should be a cautionary tale for people deciding who an organization should place in a position of trust. If someone sounds like Yardley, DON'T put him in a sensitive position.

Still, the advice on poker is good, and the tales are exciting (whether historically accurate or not; I have a hard time believing that Yardley was the hero and 'James Bond' type that he paints himself). Also a great adjunct to serious reading on game theory, both for the applications and psychological vignettes related to the subject.

E. M. Van Court

As addressed by the other reviewers, this is the best book on poker available for those who like to play poker with friends and family and be a consistant winner. Proved its worth in my 20 years of military service; was a successful winner where ever my assignments took me....even playing against senior officers of the Korean Army. In summary,on of those basic father to son life skills responsibility.(one of your best legacies)

Right from the start, from his very first awakeining of the game until it's cold calculating & unbeatable play, he shows us the "real education" of how one becomes a great player. The stories and insight are uncanny and if you play the game you will understand and appreciate what Mr Herbert O. Yardley is offering.