Inside the Poker Mind vs. The Psychology of Poker

I hear people mention "Inside the Poker Mind" quite a bit for a "must read". Can anyone give me their take on this book? How about the "Psychology of Poker"? I can't afford both at the moment.


Thanks.

Both books are really excellent, to say the least.


The title Inside the Poker Mind could be somewhat misleading if you want to compare it to the Psychology of Poker.


Inside the Poker Mind is a series of essays on various subjects, mostly on medium limit Hold'em and Stud. You will learn a lot from this book, but you need a strong base to really profit from it. You need to understand many concepts. It takes you inside the head of a solid player and what he thinks during a hand, a game, etc...


The Psychology of Poker is more a complete analysis of the basic types of poker players, loose-passive, loose-agressive, tight-passive and tight-agressive. It makes you understand what type of person naturally plays a certain way and how you should adapt your strategy to beat them. It won't give you charts or specific hands to discuss, it gives a better understanding of the human nature and its applications to poker.


Nicolas Fradet (The Prince)

go for inside. it has more info than the other. much more immediate usable stuff..


b

Forget both of those and go for Poker, Gaming, and Life by Sklansky. I felt like a much more mature player after going through that and I got a lot more out of it than those other two books. Yeah, whoever said the title "Inside the Poker Mind" is misleading is right on as it talks in a wierd way about hold'em psychology the whole way and it jumps around aimlessly from topic to topic. Schoonmacher's book is ok but it doesn't even come close to teaching you psychology the way real life play does.

Nicolas captures the comparison pretty accurately, I think. (except that my book has no material on stud) I suspect Jan may not have read the introduction to Inside the Poker Mind. Or maybe someone misled her by telling her it was about some specific topic, when it’s really not. It’s a collection of assorted essays. Note the subtitle. It does not talk about hold’em psychology the whole way through at all. It only does so in some essays. As a collection of assorted essays it does jump around, as one might expect, right? But since there is at least a bit of emphasis in many of the essays on the very broad idea of certain of the thought processes involved in poker, I chose a title which expressed it, while leaving room for nearly any poker-related topic. It could have been called Poker Essays, but someone said that was taken. /images/wink.gif


I notice some folks talk about it like it’s a psychology book. Maybe that’s because I have a psychology background, or because they got the most out of the section on “poker and emotion.” Others get the most out of the tactical/poker-thinking essays and seem to describe the book differently. Still others see its emphasis as on plugging leaks in your play. It’s gotten mostly great reviews from everyone from near beginners to excellent 80-160 players. But occasionally someone seems to get nothing out of it. Maybe it’s best described as a Rorschach. /images/ohwell.gif


Double Play -- If you’re fairly early in your poker career, I think the Schoonmaker book might be the way to go. If you’re a little farther along, then perhaps go with my book. Jan’s recommendation of the Sklansky book is good too, though he’s got other books that could be just as good for you. You might look at the book reviews in the back of Mason’s Gambling Theory and Other Topics to decide what’s right for you.

Jan, as in a German male.

John's book is for advanced players. Mine is a textbook for "Poker Psychology 101." If you are an advanced player I would recommend John's book over mine. If you want the basics, I'd recommend mine.


Two Plus Two deliberately published both on the same day to fit into two gaps in the literature.


Al Schoonmaker.

i think there is a lot there in each book for players of all levels...both are must buy books for every serious player..jmho..gl