Learns from a pro
Laerns to think like a pro
Learns to play like a pro
Learns to win!
And meet colorful characters of the poker subculture.
At first I was reluctant to write every day, but eventually enjoyed it. No one was more surprised than I, that journalizing became a lifelong part of my routine. I still do it today.
What does any of this have to do with poker?
As I became an accomplished poker player, friends began to ask for my advice. We quickly discovered that serious discussion of poker topics was very difficult because we didn’t share a common background, or have the same fundamental understanding of how to approach the game. I welcomed the opportunity to discuss the game and its mysteries, but first we had to establish common ground. We needed to define "winning." We needed to agree on the fundamentally correct way to approach winning and develop winning strategies.
Establishing this common ground was a lot of work. But it was worth it to have someone to discuss serious poker issues with. Eventually, several guys participated in my poker group. And it became common for new guys to join.
Every time I got someone new, it took a lot of time to build their foundation. Although it was good to have them, it reduced the time we had to explore new frontiers, and bringing them up to speed became boring. They had to learn all of the same fundamentals that I’d learned many years ago. Then it occurred to me that everything a new guy needed to know was in my journal, the for-my-eyes-only journal. The journal that I knew no one would ever read. I was sure that having the new guys read it would reduce their startup time; however, I wasn’t sure I wanted anyone reading it. But, when my good friend Bob wanted to join, I went ahead and photocopied the relevant sections. I figured that was better than going through the tedious process that we had gone through with the others. I told him to skip the personal stuff, and explained that the poker concepts covered the fundamental elements that were necessary to our discussions.
Copies of my journal became quite popular. It became required reading for anyone wanting to join my poker group. Friends often encouraged me to publish it. They thought it portrayed a unique slice of Americana that should be preserved in print.
After several years of consideration, I decided to take their advice. But I couldn’t decide which portions to leave in, and which portions to leave out. Since practically every part is related to another part, and since I’d rather play poker than edit my journal, I left everything in. You will read it, as I wrote it.
However, an occasional footnote has been added for clarification. Appendices are included that reflect specific "homework" that I did at that time, and other items of interest that served as primers for discussions within my poker group.
So there you have it, the same information I gave my friends. I hope your discoveries are as enjoyable, and profitable, as ours have been.
Steven James
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
