Customer Reviews

The Psychology of Poker

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It was hard for me to know whether to give this one four stars or five because it is not the best of the poker books out there, yet reading it definitely enhanced my game. All I can say though is that if you're a beginning or intermediate level player, the volume has much to offer.

A crucial aspect of psychology is understanding why we do what we do. Dr. Schoonmaker considers it of the greatest importance to determine what our internal motivations are for playing poker in the first place. Is it all about the money? Well, for me it is, but, for others, there may be numerous factors such as the need for socialization, and a need for competition. He introduces concepts like the eight principles of poker, a series of questions to help ascertain whether you have "the right stuff" for the game, the law of subjective rationality, and the egoistic fallacy. Yet, all of these ideas are presented in layman's term and not in sentences filled with psychoactive mumbo-jumbo.

The key section of The Psychology of Poker concerns The Styles Grid, in which we answer some basic questions about ourselves in order to figure out our style at the table. Of course, the most common style is one somewhere in between the four presented. I will mention them now and give their nicknames within brackets: Loose-Passive (Calling Station), Loose-Aggressive (Maniac), Tight-Aggressive (Stone Killer), and Tight-Passive (Rock). Out of these four, the optimal mode is that of Tight-Aggressive. I believe that Dr. Schoonmaker's perceptions and descriptions are clearly on target in regards to cash ring games, but, should one be tempted to apply his advice to tournaments, you'd be in big trouble. The book was written in 2000 just before the big poker craze began, so the author could not have anticipated just how much the gigantic freeze outs would predominate the way in which we play poker online. If one sits around and waits for great cards then, even if they plan on acting with focused, intense aggression should those cards ever arrive, they'll lose because it is probable that the blinds will eat you alive before you see those big pairs or big slick. You can't play conservatively and expect to make it past the first 90 minutes of a multi-table event (at least online as some of the blinds change at five minute intervals).

There was one aspect of The Psychology of Poker that immediately helped my game, which was Dr. Schoonmaker's analysis of playing with Loose Passive Players (LAPs) at the lower limits in what he labels, "No Fold `Em Hold `Em." He points out that this game is actually very good for the better players as discipline prevails. However, due to so many players sticking around until the river, the overall hand strength is so high that what can win in a regular game is a big loser if five people go to the river. Until I read his view, I could not figure out why I was losing so often with straights and trips. The moral of the story is that you just have to be patient when you play, and, also, to know thyself.

The strength of this book is in helping you understand why you play the game (it may not be what you think), and more importantly, why your opponent is playing. Understanding motivations can help you understand and predict the actions of your opponent. In poker, knowledge is power, and this book will help you to win pots you may have folded, and lay down hands when you are beaten. The chapters on various playing styles are especially important. Following Dr. Schoonmaker's tips has helped me to get out of the way when beaten, and jam the pot when I had the best of it. Thanks Dr. Schoonmaker for helping make my poker play more profitable!

This is an absolutely wonderful book that fills a huge gap in poker literature. While many poker books have discussed psychology, they rarely include more than a few paragraphs or a chapter. This is the first book to directly tackle one of the most fascinating elements of poker.

The book divides poker players into four groups: loose aggressive, loose passive, tight passive, and tight aggressive. Each group has different psychological characteristics, and each has different motivations for playing poker. Each group also represents a very distinct playing style - with its own strengths and weaknesses. The bulk of the book is devoted to describing these differences and explaining how you can profitably exploit them. When playing against loose aggressive players, for example, Schoonmaker offers fourteen concrete adjustments that you can make to your play. Such recommendations include bluffing less frequently, check-raising more, and minimizing deception and "fancy" plays. For most home games, this section alone is worth the price of the book. Perhaps most helpful to beginning to intermediate players, however, is the guidance Schoonmaker provides in helping a player recognize his own style of play and how he can learn to toughen his game by moving into the tight-aggressive category (the most profitable style of play). He uses written exercises that force the reader to examine his own style of play and motives for playing. He concludes with a list of deadly sins for poker players and a refreshingly honest view on making money at poker - "don't quit your day job."

While the book includes some discussion of tells (poker mannerisms such as a shaking hand that may reveal insights into the quality of a player's cards), it is limited in this respect. If your idea of poker psychology is trying to read the body language of your opponent then you would probably be better off with Mike Caro's "The Body Language of Poker : Mike Caro's Book of Tells." Schoonmaker's book also does not devote much text to specific hand situations. If you want to understand the psychological elements of third street play in high stakes heads-up seven card stud, for example, the book for you is "Inside the Poker Mind: Essays on Hold 'em and General Poker" by John Feeney (although this is a fairly advanced book - definitely not for beginners).

It should also be noted that the psychological advice provided by the book is more helpful for home games or low stakes casino games. High stakes players tend to consistently play tight aggressive poker and do not exhibit as many of the weaknesses described in the book (although I have played some high stakes myself and have seen more than a few pros who will slip up every now and then!).

All in all, a great book that will have you thinking more about why your opponent plays the way he does AND why you play the way you do. Highly recommended.

I want to like Dr. Schoonmaker's book. He seems like a nice guy, and he clearly understands that for many of us, poker is still a fun game. A couple of pages are a refreshing change of pace from the macho, "everyone wants to be a pro," "poker is to win money and nothing else" approach of some pro-authored books. That said, his writing style is repetitive and dull. Despite his pleasant tone at times, his approach to instruction appears to be similar to that of an abusive high school football coach, only with milder language. Once you've read him telling you that you stink 18 times in the first 50 pages, you stop respecting his desire to clear your mind of delusions and start wondering if he's actually going to offer any help.

When he does get into the helpful content, the soil is very thin and, again, the same small number of points are beaten into the ground. The endless surveys that ask you to assess motivations in percentages don't seem to be of much utility whatsoever. His four player style types are not terribly useful in that they are too overgeneralized, and the analyses of each type are shallow and repetitive rather than broad or deep.

This is a good companion book for a problem gambler who needs to go to Gamblers Anonymous. It's not terribly useful for a healthy player who knows his limitations and, rather than wanting to be reminded of his limitations ad nauseum, simply wants to learn. There are some decent nuggets in there, but their buried in repetitive, awkward language. I just got done reading it, and it's infecting my writing style as I type this.

When I read the reviews on this book I was confused because of the wide range of views. At that point I decided to get this book. I think their will be few people that really love this book because it will take about 100 hours at the table to master its valid concepts.

In today's fast food and ATM's people want results now and this book will not show results quickly because its will take time to categorize people you play with... Especially if you play with different people all the time. In order for this book to help, you will need about 20 to 30 hours of play with one type of player. For the player that plays the cards and/or odds this book is not for you. If you believe the theory that you play the people and not the cards, read this book. It will plant the seed and its up to you to see what grows.

The book helps with to analyze what type of player you are and how people view your play. In real life there are a limited number of personalities. In the poker real world there are a very limited number. This book will give you a game plan for the top 4 personalities you will see at the table. If you are dumb enough to sit with really good players that change styles through out the game. This book will help you recognize these changes and give you a baseline strategy that correlates your base style to give you a fighting chance.

This book will only be valuable after you master Doyle's or Harrington,s Books. Once you can get outside your head when you are playing poker and into your opponents, right then this book will explode your confidence as a good hold `em player.

This book outlines the basic concepts behind WHY people play the way they do, which is essential to understanding how to play against different types of players. The playing characteristics of looseness and tightness are rated on one dimension, passiveness and aggressiveness are rated on another. These dimensions outline the four basic types of players: loose-passive, loose-aggressive, tight-passive, and tight-aggressive. Each player type is described in detail, their strengths and weaknesses are outlined, and strategies for playing against them are discussed as well. The reader is given opportunities to assess their own play according to the principles outlined in the text. This book is especially good for the beginning poker player to whom these ideas may be completely new. Advanced players who have not read this book will still undoubtedly learn much from it as well. One of the books listed on the *required reading* list for the San Diego Poker Discussion Group.

I should mention that I played a role in editing this book, and that I am good friends with Dr. Schoonmaker, and the readers of this review should know of my potential bias. However, I still stand by the book, if it wasn't good I would simply refrain from saying anything.

First off this book DID improve my game by forcing me to look at myself and taught me how to weather the good and bad streaks. As far as "psychology" i was really hoping the book would go deeper. The player analyzations seemed to run together which made the book seem redundant. The best way to get the most out of this book is to find the useful tidbits that apply to your situation and style of play.

this is a good book that centers on why people play the style of poker they play and how to play against them. it provides short questionnaires that delve into why _you_ and other players have chosen a style and the motives for playing behind each style. it basically breaks down players into tight or loose and agggressive or passive and investigates their motives and repercussions of that style. it also contains some usable information for playing against each of the styles - mainly adjustments that you should make for playing in games with these kinds of players.

overall it may not contain any earth-shattering info but it does effectively cover an area of poker that you dont see covered very often. this topic is especially applied to the low-limit player. basically, it tells you how to identify and make adjustments to the different styles of players you will find, mostly at low limits. it is an interesting read and very applicable to low limit games.

the really annoying part is my copy started falling apart on the first reading. once it starts its like a thread unravelling - more and more pages just keep coming out. i'm probably going to have to pull all the pages out, punch holes in them and put them in a binder...extremely annoying and lame for $24.95.

This book is so annoying that I couldn't read it to the end.

For me it seems like Schoonmaker is an amateur poker playing psychologist, who wants to have something to say in the pokerworld and used his friendship to David Sklansky to publish his ideas.

What's so annoying about this book is that Schoonmaker is talking to you as if you are a hopeless loser who needs to be cured. He doesn't stop telling you that you don't have talent and that you need to realize this if you want to improve your results. But of course you aren't as "gifted" as the pros, so don't expect to become a great player. I don't know why but he doesn't stop creating negative feelings to the reader (on his picture on the back of the book he also looks like a very negative person).

I mean ok, most players are losing players, so perhaps I just don't feel adressed because I make a living from playing poker and usually have good results. But which "everyday losing player" that he seems to be talking to in this book would buy a book about poker psychology?
It seems he assumes that the reason why you bought his book is that you are a bad player looking for advice to stop losing.
So probably every more successful player will feel insulted by this book.

A lot of things in this book look important and scientific at the first sight but in my opinion are pretty useless in reality. I bet not one individual truly improved his/her results and became a better player by doing the self-tests in this book and analyzing himself using this ridiculous style grids which measure your degree of looseness/aggressiveness etc. That reminds me of some cheap psychology tests in a women's magazine.

Better read any other book to improve your results.

However not everything in this book is bad, the chapters about the different player types are useful if you didn't know that before. (But nowadays you can google the same informations in 2min or read them in a lot of other books that have been published after this one.)
However I expected here a bit more depth.
But I mean hey, Schoonmaker is a recreational player, so don't expect him to teach you revolutionary things about poker. (Even though he might think that he has revolutionary things to teach).




p.s. I've read halfway through "Your worst poker enemy" by Schoonmaker too (I wouldn't have bought it myself, it was a present from my girlfriend.) and I hated that one too. Same reason, it's too negative. Will definitely not read a Schoonmaker book again.
If you're looking for truly good books on that topic then buy "The Poker Mindset" by Hilger/Taylor and "Inside the Poker Mind" by Feeney which are much more practice orientated because they are written by actually professional poker players.

Once you've read all the endlessly repetitive how-to's and studied the probability charts, starting hands, yada yada yada, this is your next step. Schoonmaker, a practicing psychologist who also plays a mean game of poker, has written a book that describes the motivations behind WHY people play poker. The various "types" he describes are those we've seen in varying degrees at every table, and his insights guide you toward infusing your own game with the basic glimmerings of playing the people, not just the cards. He also insists on a ruthless self-assessment, convincingly arguing that the penalty for ignoring one's own short-comings leads to leaks that will cost a player considerable money in the short and long run.

This is a book that indirectly explains why Sammy Farha can get away with playing 9 2 suited against a raise, because it works at taking the mysticism out of intuition and makes awareness a replicable skill.

Like Harrington's volume III workbook, this text offers interactive quizzes and charts that provide opportunities for self-examination that will inevitably lead to self-discipline and discovery. Highly recommended for the intermediate to advanced player of both cash and tournament games.