Why You Lose at Poker

by Scott T. Harker and Russell Fox

Book Overview

Why do you lose at poker? Before you answer that question, think about this. There is no magic key that unlocks the door to poker. You might be able to pinpoint a leak or two in your game, but you may be surprised to find that there are many more lurking under the surface. This book shows you the sixteen most common errors in poker, and how to avoid them. You will learn the keys to finding the leaks in your game and plugging them for good. Stepping...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1886070261
• ISBN13: 9781886070264
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Conjelco
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.0" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Possibly the best experienced player book available

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.

One tip is worth the purchase price many times over

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.

Can one improve without knowing the causes of failure?

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.

You can only get better by reading this book

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!

Great and Practical Book

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.