Inside the Poker Mind by Feeney

[Stosh]

Hello all, my roommate at college picked this up the other day. I was wondering if I should give this a read through or just skip this and start on the next book on my list, which is SSH. I play both limit and NL holdem on the internet. If it matters, the books I've read so far are, in order...
Ken Warren Teaches Texas Holdem (hold the laughter)
Super System
HPFAP
Championship No Limit and Pot Limt by Cloutier
TOP

... Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 'Stosh

[amulet]

i think inside the poker mind is a great book.

for NL i would read harrington on hold em - the best NL book i have read.

for limit here is a copy of a list i posted earlier.
Below find several books that will help your limit game.

SMALL STAKES HOLD 'EM by Ed Miller, David Sklansky & Mason Malmuth.
A great book on small stakes Hold 'em. Not for the beginner. It incorporates a lot of the principles of the two below books ('Hold 'em for Advanced Players" and "Theory of Poker"). A must read for all players.

HOLD'EM POKER FOR ADVANCED PLAYERS by David Sklansky & Mason Malmuth
Considered the most important advanced work on the game today. Full of strategic concepts. Another must read for all players. However, it is not simple to a new player, and might take time to digest much of what is written. As most here know David Sklansky is considered the foremost poker author in the world. You will learn an incredible amount from this book.

THEORY OF POKER by David Sklansky
This is the best poker book I have ever read. Poker concepts that all serious players must know. A great book. Somewhat complex the first time you read it.

WINNING LOW LIMIT HOLD `EM 2nd Edition by Lee Jones
A good book for the player who knows a little and now wants to learn strategy. Very straight forward, very clear. The book is not always correct. It also makes things too simple, and does not advocate aggressive play. However, there is currently a gap in the poker literature, no complete beginners book exists. Therefore, I think this is a must for all new players.

MIDDLE LIMIT HOLDEM by Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier
A terrific book filled with problems and answers. I see many posts at this site that if said poster had read this book they would not be asking the question.

INSIDE THE POKER MIND by John Feeney
A wonderful book that will help all players and make them more money. It helps players find the tools to think on a higher level as they play. For most players the first 30 pages alone will dramacticly improve their game, and correct very common mistakes.

POKER ESSAY'S Volume I, II, & III
I find as my poker improves I get more and more out of these terrific books.

I want to reiterate a point that I have made in other posts. I reread all these books often. I find the more I understand about the game, the more I get out of each book

[istewart]

Yep, you should read it. Great book.

[k8as8ey]

Don't be so hard on Ken Warren's book. The first time I went to a B & M poker room, I just walked up to a table and sat down. I didn't know you were suppose to see the brush and get your name on the board. I didn't know what that little plastic chip was that had dealer spelled out on it. His book outlines some of the very basic etiquette we take for granted. Everyone needs to start somewhere.

[fnord_too]

Inside the Poker Mind is a great book, you should read it. I don't think it matters if you read SSH or ItPM first, they are both excellent. ItPM is essay based, so you can read it in small pieces. SSH may require longer sittings, since the chapters are considerably longer. Either way you can't go wrong.

[rmr1976]

I have to laugh at all these posts that ask for a specific order in which to read all of these 2+2 books.

When it comes to poker, 2+2 books are the best, period. Any poker books by 2+2 are worth reading, in any order.

You have two mathematicians and professional gamblers giving strategy advice, which is entirely different from a typical poker author, who may know how to hustle his totally clueless opponents at the table, but little else.

I have to chuckle at the absolutely ridiculous, clearly false advice that pervates the gambling literature. When a book is published by 2+2, you know that the basic ideas are mathematically sound. Differences arise in the application of the ideas.

Having said that, I'd vote for Miller's Small Stakes Hold 'em first. That will be more directly applicable to online play. Then move on to Feeney's book.

[deacsoft]

Forget the order. Just read them, understand them, and apply the concepts properly. ITPM is an informative book, and I believe you'll enjoy it.

[Rah]

Learn the concepts of SSH and TOP really good first. ITPM is great for sharpening a player which already knows how to play good poker.

[SinCityGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
I play both limit and NL holdem on the internet.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't help you with NL, but for limit, SSH is the best for the modern, loose games. You've already got that, which is good. I would also recommend Internet Texas Hold'em: Winning Strategies from an Internet Pro by Matthew Hilger.

[pastabatman]

ITPM has been in my 'buy' queue for quite sometime, but other books seem to keep bumping it down. Since I'm now focused 100% on NL hold 'em tournament, I'm wondering if it's applicable. I seem to recall someone here saying it was focused on limit ring hold 'em (kind of like 'HPFAP Pt 2') - is that accurate? I just looked at the table of contents at Amazon. I'm pretty curious about the following chapters:
<ul type="square">
Why I Don't Play Tournaments
Are Tournaments Poker?
Are Tournaments Bad For Poker?
[/list]
Pasta

[fnord_too]

[ QUOTE ]
ITP has been in my 'buy' queue for quite sometime, but other books seem to keep bumping it down. Since I'm now focused 100% on NL hold 'em tournament, I'm wondering if it's applicable. I seem to recall someone here saying it was focused on limit ring hold 'em (kind of like 'HPFAP Pt 2') - is that accurate? I just looked at the table of contents at Amazon. I'm pretty curious about the following chapters:
<ul type="square">
Why I Don't Play Tournaments
Are Tournaments Poker?
Are Tournaments Bad For Poker?
[/list]
Pasta

[/ QUOTE ]

If you are focusing on tournies, this is probably not the best book for you atm. He is pretty anti mid level tournies. IMO, his reasons are pretty self centered (if memory serves, one is that when some one wins say 25K at a $200 buy in tourney, they are more apt to take the money away from the game by buying something nice for themselves rather than keeping it in play. OTOH if a bad player books a nice win at the limit session, they have the courtesy of playing more sessions and losing it and more back. He doesn't seem to mind winning limit players taking money out of play though...)

At any rate, the book is very good, though some of the essays are IMO weak. Though I will probably re-read many of the essays again, I don't think I will be re-reading any of the ones you mentioned /images/graemlins/smile.gif .

[John Feeney]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm pretty curious about the following chapters:



Why I Don't Play Tournaments

Are Tournaments Poker?
Are Tournaments Bad For Poker?


[/ QUOTE ]

Those are just one essay. The second two are subsections of that essay.

I wrote that before the current tournament boom. If I were to address the topic now I'd probably have a somewhat different take on it. While a number of my objections to tournaments would still stand, there are so many tournaments now and, I presume, so many weak players populating them, that there would probably be more incentive to play some.

There's nothing in the book specifically about NL or tournament play, though there are many ideas that would be useful to players in those venues.

[ZeeBee]

Read 'em both

Read 'em quick

Read 'em again

ZB

[onegymrat]

Hi Stosh,

This book does not have a lot of things:

~It does not contain the hundreds of real life hand examples like Middle Limit Holdem Poker.
~It does not have the analytical content based on loose games as Small Stakes Hold'em.
~It does not have content guest written by a WPT TV whore.

But all that doesn't matter. What it does have, though, is the best advice a hold'em player on the brink of advance status can get. The various essays touch on the many things that goes through the mind of such a player. His essays definitely can help an intermediate player make leaps to advance thinking by using clear examples from his own experiences.

I purchased this book a year ago, and often reread sections to brush up on my play. As I have gained experience, I relate to Feeney's advice and analysis more and more. It is very well written also, so it is an enjoyable read. This is a fine book to add to your collection, just make sure you read it more than once.