[The Absurdist]

"It is horribly written. It seems like every fifth or sixth word is "I," and probably 20 percent of the words could be eliminated. I find it amazing that these major publishers don't do basic editing, and Phil Gordon, who I believe is a good guy, should be very upset about this."

--Not to pile on, but this observation is quite absurd. As others have mentioned, this is Phil's attempt to have a conversation with the reader about how he plays. His book is subtitled _Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Texas Hold'em_, meaning the style will be informal and conversational, an attempt to simulate a personal lesson. Whether or not this trope is successful, is up for debate, but his method is in keeping with his stated intention. If a famous chef were to write a cookbook attempting to take you into his kitchen for a personal lesson on how he prepares meals for his family, wouldn't you expect him to use "I, me and my" far more often than a scientist writing in a scholarly journal? I actually like the direct, informal approach. Instead of saying "the application of game theory, hand reading and the science of interpreting physical mannerisms were insufficient to yield any well founded conclusions about my opponent's possible holding," Phil says "I couldn't figure out what the guy had," more clear and less pretentious.

As for the absence of professional editing, in his acknowledgements Phil thanks Howard's father Richard Lederer for spending so much time reviewing the manuscript. I doubt he was working on the strategy sections. By my count, Richard Lederer has published 17 books on English usage and grammar, and is as close a thing America has to a Dean of modern American Usage. I am certain he approved of the manuscript. We should all be so lucky as to have his help with our writing.