[MicroBob]

[ QUOTE ]
the assumption is that you are already an excellent player!

[/ QUOTE ]


I am enjoying the book a bit more now.
But I never expected it to make me a $4k/$8k player.

I don't need a book to tell me, "Hey....if you suck at betting sports then don't blow all your money on that."
or, "If you win a lot but spend it all you won't have a lot of money left."

I also am thinking about the section near the beginning where he runs through the different people in a poker-room and mentions that you should probably be tipping them if they do something for you.


If you are already an advanced poker-player and don't already know, "Hey...you should be tipping the dealers and chip-runners" then I don't think this book is going to help you figure that out.


He has some interesting perspectives on the game and the society. And his background sheds some light as to why he seems to have had some serious money management problems (basically....he got pretty good quite quickly and had a lot of money when he was young).

But at many parts it is NOT an advanced poker-guide nor is it directed to an advanced audience.
Stuff like "Don't spend everything you win" does NOT qualify as solid money-management advice.
Stuff like "Tip the dealers because they count on your tips" does NOT give me an advanced look into the world of the poker-room that I just wasn't aware of before.
What about tipping the floor-man when I get a phone-call that there is someone fishy in the big-game? Shouldn't this be obvious to the big-game players.
I think it's interesting that Barry gets phone-calls about this....but for most of the readers it isn't like the 'advice' is very practical. It's just an interesting side-note that he gets a phone-call when a 'live' one is at his table.


Anyway, some of the book is just 'fluff' and I would rate the book more of a 7 or 8.
Not because I was expecting the book to make me into the next WSOP champ or ultra-successful 'big game' player.

I was NOT expecting anything too tactical.

I just expected it to be more interesting all the way through.
There are PARTS that are terrific. But the beginners' fluff is just a little bit silly imo.


Sorry Barry - I hope you don't hold it too much against me if ever we were to get the opportunity to meet.
I am enjoying the interesting parts of the book immensely.
I'm perhaps just being overly-critical of the stuff I think is a bit 'filler-ish'.