Customer Reviews

Why You Lose at Poker

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

 

 

This is a very mediocre book. Okay for very weak players, but if you already know the basics and are looking for a book to help plug leaks in your game, this isn't it. The authors say that playing too many hands, cold calling raises when you should fold, and chasing draws are common problems. It also points out that you should try to maximize your wins and minimize your losses. If you need this kind of advice, get this book. I still had some hope of learning something in the final chapter which discusses 20 "real" hands. Unfortunately, it is awful. Many of the plays discussed are just silly, like re-raising an early raiser with 10-7 suited or calling 3 pre-flop raises with J-8 suited. And all the discussions are at a very superficial level. I'd look elsewhere.

I have read dozens of books on Poker and none have revealed to me why I truly did not make it to the final table week after week.
I was not a particularly bad player and could consistantly hold my own, but I realized through this book many of the STUPID things I did on a regular basis - particularly when trying so hard to follow the advice of so many other authors.
I read this book about 5 months ago and have changed my rankings in a weekly poker league from the mid 20's to top 10 and regularly make the final table by following the simple advice given.
This book does a really good job of making you look at your own style of play and evaluating it better than anything else I have read.
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone - unless you are going to be playing against me - in that case it sucks and you should not buy it!

Looking at the title of the book, I felt the same way that I did the first time I saw a For Dummies book on a topic in my field. Having said that, I would classify this as exactly that. A for dummies book for EXPERIENCED players.

If you are ready to get serious about your poker and become a winning player, I highly recommend this book. I can not count the number of times where I saw an obvious chapter title like, you play too many hands or you need to play position and would nod, yeah yeah. I would then get to the chapter and still be nodding my head, and then BAM - my jaw would drop open as they recounted a session that fit me to a T. Not just once, but over and over again. This book has helped me analyze my play and indentify some big holes I had thought I had overcome long before.

In todays internet poker age, there are a lot of decent ABC poker players as well as a lot of wild poker maniacs. This book goes a long way towards helping you analyze your own poker style as well as understand others on a much deeper level. I can not recommend it enough.

If you are a beginner with little experience at the table, this book is NOT for you. You'd be better off with a book from Doyle or Sklansky.

However, if you have played at the table for a while and are starting to look for ways to improve your game, GET THIS BOOK. The authors do a tremendous job at helping you understand how to APPLY the advice that we've all heard. It doesn't do any good to understand you need to be more aggressive if you don't understand how to quantify the amount of aggression and when to use it.

The examples are directly on target (in my case, many of the character names and their play styles are identical to people I've played with) and useful to understanding situations. The writing is so good that you not only understand the overall picture and the viewpoint of "your" player, but you also understand the viewpoint of the other players in the example. As a result, you're presented with a window into the logic and thinking (or lack thereof) of the "bad" plays, enabling you to understand why bad players do the things they do. That makes it all the easier to spot them and know how to counter they're plays to increase your profit.

I've been playing for years and picked up this book as an afterthought simply because I needed something to read and thought I might get a tip or two to improve my game. That was an underestimation. As a direct result of this book, I've gained a much stronger understanding of other players' play and improved my profits by over 200%.

In short, I can't recommend this book enough.

This is the second title from the authors I have purchased. My tendency in poker pooks is to gloss through them in my free time and try to pick up nuggets that are unique. With so many titles out there all on the same general topic, there is obviously a lot of duplication in information.

On my first perusal of this book, I found an Omaha 8 tip that has vastly improved my O8 game, and this from a book that is not about O8 in particular. There are many other tips about plugging leaks that i am trying to implement but that one had such an immediate effect, I have to give this book the highest marks because it instantly accomplished it's goal: cut down a player's mistakes.

I have read and written much on poker and how to enjoy the game but Fox & Harker come at it from a whole new direction. Everyone can tell you how to win but they help you learn not to lose. They make you rethink your strategy and game plan. Their approach helps you hold on to your chips but without playing "scared" money. After reviewing the math and education of poker, you better ubderstand why many losing hands are simply the odds of the game. This a great addition to anyones poker library and will help adjust your own game.

The main quality of this book is that is divided in clear categories the most important causes of being a loser in poker. The examples are easy to follow and pertinently analyzed.

I know it has helped me improve my game.

Straight to the point with short chapters which for many readers is the format they need. No glizz or glitter, just direct reasons why so many poker players, especially undiscipled people lose at this game. Learning why you should not get caught in chasing; do you understand money management; the need for lots and lots of study, just not reading if you want to be successful; the importance for reading the cards on the table and knowing what other players could hold and additional materials suggested.
This book may not be at the level of Dan Harringtons classic two book series but a book of strong value each person who enjoys the game and wants to greatly improve their success rate should read.

The best book on poker I've read so far. My game improved since I read it. Each chapter is devoted to one of the 16 major mistakes that you make, that cost you money. The author's approach is to observe the players(from really bad to really good), and see what kind of mistakes they make. Then catogorize them with characters. The theory goes if you play correctly, you will win more and lose less. You will most likely find a character in the book that is a lot(or exactly) like you. And the authors will slice and dice your style and show you why the way you play is costing you money.
Just the like the authors promised, you probably won't find any new information that you haven't seen somewhere else. But this books is different. Different and much better because of the emphasis on mistakes and not on winning like most other books. This books is unique in its approach to a problem, that was borrowed from the very old bestseller "Why you lose at Bridge". That book is still considered to be one of the best ever written on Bridge.
At the end of the book authors describe real scenarios of each play made, analyze those plays, and recommend how it would(should) be played by a better player.
This book was great buy for me. A book to be read over and over.
The only drawback is a casual style with which the authors write, and I am pretty sure that the book was published by some homegrown publishing company, and you can tell. But don't let that distract you from the lessons that you will learn from it.

This book is simple and clear. It helped me take an objective look at my style of play and identify some lapses in discipline and logic that have been causing some serious leaks in my bankroll. Horse sense and discipline, is my short summary of this book.