whats a great book for psych for poker

[scorer]

so many books out there..what is best for online play and control tilt and variance.

[govman6767]

The poker mindset and schoonmakers new one

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

"Zen and the Art of Poker" by Larry Phillips. It won't teach you how to play the game, but it will teach you how to gain insight into yourself.

[thehun69]

Both Dr. Al's book and Zen of Poker are must haves. I would suggest getting the Zen book first. That really changed my game psychologically wise keeping control, not getting upset and playing with Phil Ivey enthusiasm.

THE HUN.

[Lepoppet]

The Poker Mindset by Ian Hunter
The Pyschology of Poker by Alan Schoonmaker
Your Worst Enemy by Alan Schoonmaker
Inside the Poker Mind by John Feeney

[Xylem]

I have to say alan schoonmakers book was absolute tosh.

Its a laymans insight into obvious concepts padded out with a load of crap.

DONT BUY -THE PSYCHOLOGY OF POKER .

[Bonk]

I've read Alan's Psychology of Poker and have to disagree. While I would not rank it #1 poker book on my library, it does contain insights, which may or may not appear obvious to everyone.

Alan basically discusses the 4 extreme major player types (LP/LAG/TAG/TP), their weaknesses and motivations. It does a very good job IMO explaining to the reader how to exploit each personality type and also - explains why they play the way they do.

There is nothing there on tilt/anger control or other facets of Poker psychology (if I remember correctly) but this book carries good value, especially for games with relatively low skill level, where players are less technical and more emotional.

Cheers.

[johnnyknish]

another thing about POP is that it makes you take a look at your self and not just others to evalutate where your game is at

[Xylem]

Well it supplied a chart in which u could plot ure own tightness and aggression, to rate ureself.

As far as insights u may find it interesting, but i bought the psychology of poker book for practical reasons.

When coupled with his implying Brunson the Greek and Ungar were fish, because of their gamble, i just found the book annoyingly bad.

[Milo]

Books are aimed at different audiences. When I taught psych at the university level, there were intro books that were aimed at community college students, regular university students and top tier university/honors students.

Schoonmaker has made it clear that his book is aimed at the relatively new player, and introduces basic concepts. Inside the Poker Mind is a higher-level book, dealing with more advanced concepts. There was a time when Al's book was vital to developing an understanding of the game. Had I never heard of it, and just wandered into Borders and bought it today I would find it only a little bit helpful.