The Inner Game of Poker

[GWB]

[ QUOTE ]
HOLDEM POKER by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth

[/ QUOTE ]
Do you mean:

HOLDEM POKER by David Sklansky

-or-

HOLDEM POKER FOR ADVANCED PLAYERS by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth

[steamboatin]

Holdem poker, I already have for advanced players but I think I bought the wrong one first.

[Lazymeatball]

The best way to get over the swings of the short term is to play for a really long time. After a while you will have seen it all before and getting AA cracked repeatedly just won't faze you. I have only been playing seriously for a little over a year but thanks to this internet I feel like a grizzled veteran.

[Al Schoonmaker]

I must disagree with your position that learning about yourself comes first. In TPOP I wrote that, if Freud played poker without understanding the odds and strategy, he would go broke.

Psychology is very important, but odds and strategy come first. There are lots of winners who rarely look at themselves, but there are no winners who don't understand and apply odds and strategy.

Regards,

Al

[Dan Mezick]

Al,

of course we all need the technical grounding in the game. yet, even with this many are involved for reasons they may not fully know about.

did you check out www.tradingtribe.com? many traders "get" entries, exits, position sizing, etc but they do not execute on this knowledge the way that they might to be successful.

Feeney talks about "subtle tilt" in his book Inside the Poker Mind.

Where does "subtle tilt" originate from? again this comes up with players that know correct play techniques.

I totally agree a player needs the technicals on how to play correctly. yet without the personal pre-work, i argue these tactical topics are likely not well utilized by the player.

[Last Samurai]

Right next to the Krausz chapter is the Charles Faulkner chapter. How do you think Faulkner's ideas can be used for poker, especially when it comes to winning the "inner game"?

[Al Schoonmaker]

I have no argument with your position that we must understand and control ourselves to apply technical principles properly. Mere knowledge is insufficient. In fact, I wrote an article, "Fun versus profit," which said that most people don't play as well as they know how to play. You can read that article at cardplayer.com.
Regards,
Al
Regards,
Al

[Dispatch]

I read a little out of Zen and the Art of Poker (Larry W. Phillips) every day. I find it more important to me than all my other books.

[Dan Mezick]

Bravo !!

Fun and Profit, subtitle: Why You Play BADLY

I do believe this inner stuff is largely unexplored poker territory, and wow this is a terrific article that tells it like it is !!

"Understanding our own motives is even more important. We already know much more strategy than we apply properly, but we don’t know why we keep making the same mistakes. Since our problem is not a lack of information, the best way to improve our game is not to study more strategy. It is to learn why we don’t apply the lessons we have already learned, then ensure that we do apply them. Until we understand and control our own motives — including the unconscious ones — we cannot possibly play our best. Future columns will discuss these issues."

[steamboatin]

I have his book, the psychology of Poker, it's good.