Inside the Poker Mind: Essays on Hold 'em and General Poker Concepts [Paperback]

John Feeney (Author), David Sklansky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

Poker is a game of many skills and to become an expert poker player you need to master them all. This includes concepts such as hand selection, position, proper image projection, and reading hands. However, there are many players who have mastered most of these skills yet they still do poorly in the games — at best they are only small winners. And when they step up in limit and challenge the better players, they almost always fail. You see, knowing the concept is one thing, putting it all together is another.

As the text will show, winning poker is a process that requires a lot of thinking as well as a thorough and systematic approach to the game, and that is what this book is about. Topics include "Playing Too Many Hands," "Self-Weighting Cold Calls," "Short-Handed Play: Don’t Miss Out," "The Strategic Moment in Hold ’em," "Countering a Good Reader," "A Poker Player in Therapy," and "Thoughts on the Effects of the Poker Literature." Those of you who are serious about your game should find much of this material to be extremely valuable.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Feeney spent his youth in Phoenix Arizona. After attending the University of Colorado he moved to San Diego to pursue graduate work in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology. His interest in poker was sparked while observing a hold ’em game during a weekend trip to Las Vegas. True to his background, he took an academic approach to the game, studying the poker literature, consulting with David Sklansky, and getting the requisite playing experience. By the time he received his Ph.D., poker was beginning to compete with psychology for his attention. He soon began to log more hours in the cardrooms of Southern California than in his field of psychology, until ultimately poker became his primary focus.

Today John can often be found in mid-limit and higher games in San Diego, Los Angeles, or elsewhere. When not at the tables John now devotes a good portion of his time to writing. His articles in Poker Digest have been well received, and he is a regular participant in poker discussions on the Internet.Away from poker John enjoys spending time with his wife, Nanci, and two young daughters, Olivia and Blythe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Two Plus Two Pub.; 1 edition (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880685264
• ISBN-13: 978-1880685266
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #619,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inside "Inside the Poker Mind," pros and cons, March 30, 2004

By 

Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)   

This review is from: Inside the Poker Mind: Essays on Hold 'em and General Poker Concepts (Paperback)

This book is more of a "Best Practices" poker book in many ways.

Here's the real skinny on the book and the reviews as I see it.

TRUE:

1. This book should not be the first poker book you read. But reviewers neglected to mention that the author himself states this in "General Poker Concepts" and suggests many starter texts.

2. This book does spend significant time on topics other than what's going on inside a poker player's mind. The author might do too much of that, but it's clear that he does so to provide supporting info. The sections contrasting the thoughts of average vs advanced players do treat the subject and perhaps they deserved more emphasis.

3. Yes, the author does criticize non-limit and tournament play. Playing in casino situations is very differnent from tournaments where the chips don't represent real money dollar for dollar. Nobody said it doesn't take skill to win. It's just a different skill set. Truth be told, there are plenty of great tournament books if that's what you are into.

FALSE:

1. No, it is not fair to say this book is unoriginal. Nor is it accurate that Sklansky's and Malmuth's books cover everything in this book. This book has some really great real world examples of poker logic spelled out much more clearly than in other books. It doesn't have to be the definitive poker book to be a valuable read.

2. While the book does start out a little slow, I found the stories very funny. For those who play in casino or card-room games, you will find humor in reading Feeney's examples of mistakes that you have seen yourself and others make. I did.

3. One point needs clarification before some unsuspecting person goes and drops $2K in Vegas after reading this book. Reading this book will NOT save you thousands of dollars. No book will save you $. Only UNDERSTANDING the concepts the book trys to bring across will actually make you or save you money.

On pg 62, he writes, "Education in poker theory reduces one's susceptibility to illusions which can interfere with good play." Man I wish I could believe this. I think his advice to seek psycotherapy might do more to that end.

So many people read a few books and lose their shirts because of false confidence. While I totally understand the value of the material, value cannot be derived by reading it. It must be digested, pondered, and mastered to be valuable.

The coolest thing about this book is the relevance of the examples. Every topic, from reraising the weak to calling on the end, was treated in a real world way that I have observed in casino play. A great example is "Maximizing the Set" on pgs 127-128. So many books treat these concepts abstractly. I must say that I did not fully understand much of this till I read this book.

Again, the outline of the way bad players think was the hallmark. It talks about things that not only stop you from making mistakes but help you identify the saps in a real game. Perhaps the treatment of tilt could have been more explicit. But his unique viewpoint provokes thought, even though it comes along with resistance.

There's a common quote that goes, "If you look around the poker table and don't see any suckers, you're it!" I would strongly advise anybody reading the sections on advanced vs. weak player thoughts to read the hands and honestly evaluate what they would be thinking if they drew that hand before reading the author's explaination. This is a serious wake-up call to those who are unknowing maniacs or overconfident goats.

Overall this is a very practical read that deserves the attention of anybody looking to increase their hourly rate in actual casino and card-room play.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile, but not for the beginner, March 8, 2003

By 

luadhas (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside the Poker Mind: Essays on Hold 'em and General Poker Concepts (Paperback)

Overall Inside the Poker Mind should be part of any serious poker player's library. However, it shouldn't be one of the first books read about poker. Quite frankly, beginning players won't get much out of it, and most who have (that I know of) are dissappointed.

For the intermediate to advanced player, the subjects addressed should be extremely useful. For the most part, the book focuses, as the title implies, on different ways of thinking rather than strict tactical plays. Example: in the "strategic moment" section, the author contrasts what the average player thinks as opposed to what the advanced player considers. In this way the author illustrates the depths of poker.

Overall very worthwhile if you're ready for it.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is the Book for Any Player Looking for Something Deeper, August 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside the Poker Mind: Essays on Hold 'em and General Poker Concepts (Paperback)

Feeney has produced an extraordinarily deep work. The sections discussing the thought processes of an expert poker player are truly eye opening, and offer an insight into the complexities of the game that most books fail to capture. The book is exceptionally well-written -- exceptional in the sense that most great poker players are not great writers and most great poker books are, well, written by great poker players. (Slansky & Malmuth essentially open their "Texas Hold Em for Advanced Players" with an apology for their poor writing). This is not a book for beginning poker players, but I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone who has become familiar with basic poker theory. I had read about a dozen books on poker and hold 'em before I came to this one. No book before or since has made me feel so excited about the game.