Peak Performance Poker: Revolutionizing the Way You View the Game [Paperback]

Travis Steffen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 2010

The days of smoke filled rooms, whiskey, cheeseburgers and late nights are gone. The new-school poker players are younger, leaner, and more focused on improving their physical and mental health and they re crushing the games. Daniel Negreanu A NEW ERA OF POKER IS DAWNING... As a poker player, you have a great deal in common with today's professional athletes: You've dedicated serious time to learning the fundamentals; you practice regularly; you strive to improve by analyzing every move; you use psychology to hone your winning edge and, if you don't take care of yourself both mentally and physically, you'll lose your winning edge... CAN YOU COMPETE WITH THE BEST? Learning to treat poker like the competitive endeavor it is and yourself like the sportsperson you are will give you the best chance at success every time you play. Packed with solid research and feedback from top pros, PEAK PERFORMANCE POKER will show you how to prepare your body and your mind to achieve optimal results during that next big tournament or cash game. Being in peak physical condition sharpens every aspect of your play, whereas poor diet and neglect of your emotional life undermine your game at every turn. Just ask Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and the other top pros featured in this book, all of whom understand crucial aspects of PEAK PERFORMANCE POKER, including: - Flow what it means to top athletes and why it's equally important to you - Chips on the table, not on your plate eating right to improve your game - Taking it easy how essential rest and recovery really are - Getting psyched applying sports psychology to help you win - Time management the benefits of balancing poker with the rest of your life The modern poker table is the domain of smart, fit, healthy competitors; let PEAK PERFORMANCE POKER seat you with the best of them.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Travis Steffen is an avid poker player, strength coach and professional mixed martial artist from Iowa. He received his master's degree in exercise science from the University of Northern Iowa in 2010, and has been an active fitness professional for five years, helping numerous collegiate and professional athletes, high-level mixed martial artists and poker pros achieve peak performance in their respective sports.

Product Details

• Paperback: 169 pages
• Publisher: Dimat Enterprises, Inc. (July 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0984143483
• ISBN-13: 978-0984143481
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Poker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Meh..., March 14, 2011

By 

Scott - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Peak Performance Poker: Revolutionizing the Way You View the Game (Paperback)

I knew getting into this book that this was not going to teach me anything about how to play cards. I understood that and am fine with it. I've been playing for over 10 years and am past those books. It's basically just a healthy lifestyle/work-out book and seems the author just puts the words "to improve your poker game" at the end of every chapter. I was expecting much more than what I got. The stuff in the book makes sense but makes "common sense" at the same time. If you're looking for a way to get healthy, buying a nutrition and healthy lifestyle book would be no different than buying this book. Just this book gives you quotes from Daniel Negreanu about how he's a vegetarian... wooptie doo.

2.0 out of 5 stars Peak Performance Poker, December 6, 2011

By 

Andrew Flynn (Green Bay, Wi United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Peak Performance Poker: Revolutionizing the Way You View the Game (Paperback)

I didn't care for this book. It took the premise that poker is a sport and was largely an encouragement to eat well and be fit. The interviews with the pros were thin. And there was an attempt to liken the game to professional sports and the use of sports psychology. It probably wouldn't be a bad book for an overweight person and people with really bad eating habits who love professional sports and who look at poker as a macho competition--and there are plenty of people like that. But if you are intellectually oriented; know enough to rest before a long session of poker play; if you have good eating habits and a wiser view of the game; this book is not for you. If you view poker as a challenge of self rather than a confrontation of others, wherein you learn every time you play; this book is not for you. Poker is a game where one balances their desire to win with humility and checks on one's emotions.

If you are an avid reader and a poker player you might want to take it out of the library--if it makes it there; or borrow a copy; or look for it in the 1/2 price bin at a drugstore--where it will end up; or, maybe in a used bookstore. In the big bookstores you might want to skim the chapter titles for a small lesson or two worth reading on the spot. But, I would not buy this book. It was mostly predictable, somewhat boring; and, frankly, I didn't even finish reading it. It seemed a book that was cashing in on the media generated poker excitement of the past few years.

Don't rule it out though, if you don't eat right and prepare badly for games with little rest; and like to drink when you are playing for more than $50 and a $100. Thumbs down for me 'tho.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book about your mind and body with Poker, November 11, 2010

By 

Don Carpenter "Dream Builder" (Garnet Valley, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Peak Performance Poker: Revolutionizing the Way You View the Game (Paperback)

I did not know what I was going to expect when I bought this book.
I was very surprised by the great content that the book had. Being
a novice poker player, I did not know how much nutrition and exercise
was so important in playing poker or any athletic event. Poker is a sport
and this book really was important in the mindset of making valuable
decisions.

This is a good book, and I would recommend it to anyone that likes to play
poker.