The Original Poker Diary [Paperback]

Jonas Barrish (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 2005

This is not like other poker books. It is not a how-to book. This book provides a unique system for improving one's poker game through more focused awareness of play, strategy and opponents. "The Original Poker Diary" comprises hundreds of journal pages for players to write on in order to keep track of "Memorable Hands," "Player Notes," "Bad Beats," "Tells," and more. Instructions for use, along with a sample diary entry, are described in the first few pages, followed by over 300 journal entry pages divided into two sections; tournament play and online/live casino play. This one-of-a-kind book concludes with a comprehensive glossary of poker terminology and slang. If used consistently, "The Original Poker Diary" will become an indispensable handbook to help you devise your own strategy for learning from the game...and winning.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Created by Jonas Barrish, this handbook will help you devise your own strategy for learning the game. As Barrish states in his Copyrighted slogan: "Write. Study. Play. Win!"

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Leathers Publishing (January 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585973092
• ISBN-13: 978-1585973095
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,598,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A nice concept, but a plain old spiral notebook is better, April 25, 2005

By 

M. Grapenthien (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Original Poker Diary (Paperback)

Any serious poker player knows they should keep a notebook or diary; to record thoughts, results, mistakes, notes on opponents, etc, but very few actually go to the trouble of doing so. I've often wished I had better organized and more consistent records, and hoped this volume might help.

The book is tacky, poorly designed and ill-suited for its intended purpose, to serve as a notebook/diary. The second page reads "THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE NEXT MILLION-DOLLAR POKER CHAMPION (insert your name here)." There is little more than a paragraph on how to use the book, an example entry, and then 300 pages of blank entries. Each entry template is three pages, with blanks for date, time, location, checkboxes for game and limit, win/loss, and then sections for "Memorable Hands," "Notes on Players," "Bad Beats," "Tells," and "Other Notes." Each section has about ten blank lines. These choices are ill-considered, and it's hard to conform one's actual thoughts to their rigid template. And what's the point of recording bad beats every session, self-pity?

The book is thicker and heavier than a typical notebook, making it less convenient to carry in the car or a suitcase. The binding is more rigid than most books, and getting a page flat enough to write on comfortably requires breaking the spine.

The Original Poker Diary is clearly aimed at very casual players or well-meaning aunts and grandmothers looking for a "cute" gift. A blank notebook would be both a lot cheaper and more useful.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique system for improving the reader's playing performance, June 11, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Original Poker Diary (Paperback)

The Original Poker Diary by dedicated poker player Jonas Barrish offers a unique system for improving the reader's poker playing performance through developing a more focused awareness of play, strategy, and opponents regardless of the specific type of poker game being played. A good many world-class poker players keep detailed notes of their games to help them review successes and learn from their mistakes. Barrish incorporates this principle into The Original Poker Diary with 300 journal entry pages for players to record on in order to keep track of "Memorable Hands", "Player Notes", "Bad Beats", "Tells", and more. Enhanced with a comprehensive glossary of poker terms and slang, The Original Poker Diary will prove to be an invaluable addition to any serious poker player's personal reference shelf.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My poker obsessed friend loved it., May 19, 2005

By 

Retro Vegas (Vegas baby Vegas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Original Poker Diary (Paperback)

I don't know much about poker, but my friend does and he has so many poker books, but not this one. It is a cool diary for poker players and he uses his and loves it. It shows him how much money he loses LOL. It makes a great gift.