Book Review, Zen and the Art of Poker

I kept alluding to it, and talking about, but finally I've put fingers to keys and this is what I've come up with as a book review of Larry W. Phillips' Zen and the Art of Poker:

As many of you know, I've been reading Larry W. Phillips' book Zen and the Art of Poker, if you're a regular to this blog, it would have been tough to miss the fact. However only a very few of my closest friends know just how intriguing that I've found the book to be. This review should fill in the gap for the rest of you. As soon as I finished the book, I immediately turned back to page 1 and I've started it over again... but even more slowly than before. I'm a horrifically slow reader in the first place, but I'll confess this pace borders on catatonia. There is an immense amount of wisdom in Mr. Phillips book, and I know there's a great deal that I missed on the first reading. I found myself a number of times pausing to ponder an individual thought expressed by the author and even the innumerable quotations from great Zen masters throughout the book. There were times I was reading a poker book which included some references to Zen, and then at other times I was reading a Zen book which included some references to poker! To say that it was well-crafted is an understatement, it's flow was superb. But enough with opening praise...to borrow from the classic '80's commercial tag line: "Where's the beef?!?"

Well first, this is the first poker book that I've ever picked up that didn't try to tell me how the game is played, or define the terms of poker like "flop" or list out all of the cutesy names for every hole-card hand that you could possibly see in the game. What a beautiful thing! Sold... I'll take two!

Second, the transitions between Zen elements and poker elements was seamless. After a short explanation to the uninitiated to "What is Zen?" Mr. Phillips got right to the business of the topic at hand. A series of 100 Poker Rules begins to unfold on page 14 and doesn't let up until page 151. After each is a discussion of the rule of the game, how Zen fundamentals play into it, a game anecdote or circumstance, and more often than not a direct quotation from a number of the Zen masters. The parallels were very thought-provoking and the provided situational examples frequently made me say out loud, "I never thought about it that way before, but he's right."

Third, how can you go wrong with a book of wisdom that quotes with equal and respectful intensity the works of Zhuge Liang, the movie Caddyshack, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Kevin Canty's Rounders, and even a smattering of Chuck Norris. If nothing else you have to admit, the author's got flair!


Fourth, the book teaches, it really does. It teaches that there is truly an ebb and flow to the game of poker. One of which at all times we are at its mercy. We must learn to exist within this movement within the game, and not try to struggle against it, but accept it and even more so become a part of it. We must also as a player incorporate failure into our overall system. Many times in poker, we may find ourselves playing our best, and for all intents and purposes being the best player at a given table and still nonetheless...LOSING! I think Mr. Phillips put it best when he compared poker to a game of football, in which the play of two opposing teams was further influenced for good or bad by a sniper/spectator who can directly impact the play on the field. In no other game is luck such an influencing factor, but you cannot rely solely upon it to be successful in the game of poker. You must accept it, just to realize that despite your best efforts, sometimes you will absolutely fail, through no fault of your own. The trick is to minimize the losses associated with this fact and occurrence.

Fifth, the author shook me up beginning at Chapter 16! Up to this point, I'd been lulling myself in to this Zen-like awareness of the world turning under my feet, inner peace and harmony, thinking of chanting some ancient mantra or other, and then he hit me with the Chapter on "Betting." He followed it up with "Aggression," "Warrior Zen," and then even "Playing on Instinct." He did this with "Rule # 62: Good poker is not a gentleman's game, it is a war." I was quickly brought away from the thought that Zen Poker was merely preaching passivity. Instead, Zen's "calming influence to center...before battle...[allows] the perfection of the mechanics of aggression." Make no mistake Zen cannot change events, but it directly impacts a mastery of self. It has been said before, poker is a game of well timed aggression. The instinct to know when the time is right is a skill to be honed over time.

Sixth, some of the rules present were common sense, but I didn't feel cheated but rather felt a kinship with the thoughts the author was expressing. Expressions like "Don't steam" and "Don't be mean-spirited" in particular have always been a part of my approach to the game. Some of you have heard me say before, "make it easy for them to lose to you. Your opponent just lost a chunk of his stack to you, he doesn't need it to sting any more than it already does." I think I now need to include though the thought, "did I take as much of his stack as I possibly could in each situation?" This has been one element of my game that has been lacking and has held me closer to the "breaking even" side than the "truly profitable" side of the scales.

Lastly, and finishing you up with a lucky seventh... Zen and the Art of Poker asks the very probing question of each of us, "Why do we play poker?" The answer may surprise you. The answer that others you routinely play with may provide, might shock and confuse you. But knowing the answers should influence how we play against others.

I want to thank the author, Larry W. Phillips, again for his book, and for the thoughts that it has evoked in me. I also want to thank him for the impact that this has all had on my game, and will continue to have in the future. I encourage each of you to read the book, but I won't do so too loudly though, there's wisdom contained within that I'd just assume have all on my side the next time you're at the table against me.

Regards,
cheer_dad

Back to the grind

Back to the daily grind. Yes, I've returned to work. I managed to get to the bottom of my email Inbox, after sorting sifting and reading 1,001 email messages and meeting invitations. I'm scheduled for 3 meetings already today. Gee thanks guys! I was greeted this morning by cold weather, brisk winds, and about an inch of snow was beginning to fall. Roads were no issue, but I was the first set of tire tracks to touch the road in my development and on over to Martown Road.

It feels a little strange being back to work, or at least feels different not being in Shepherdstown. I miss the comraderie... I miss the interaction... I miss a number of the people with whom I shared a 2 week chunk of life. Those strangers who became valued friends aren't there to chat with over lunch, or run on the treadmill next to, in the fitness room, or to belt out a fractured karaoke song in the hotel bar. I have already placed our class picture here at my desk, so I can at the very least see the smiling faces. I hope all is well with each of them. Would that life causes our paths to cross again.

JR has sent out the next poker tournament seating assignments. I've played twice already since getting back home. Once at the Yanok's where I just broke even and also got qualified for the year end game. Then the following night (Saturday) at JR's house, I officially finished 2nd, to Vince, although we chopped the remaining prize pool. It was a good choice since it could have gone on and on for quite a while. Our styles are very similar. Neither of us is gonna get flustered and do something rash. We would have continued to grind for quite a while unless something crazy happened. Let's see if this weekend I can continue the winning way. I'll confess I've been reading "Zen and the Art of Poker," and I actually think it has helped my game. Not for any element of strategy, but in the calm peaceful approach to the game. Remaining at ease while those around you are on edge and playing with emotion, using the concepts from this book, you will have a decided advantage.

I made it out to Borders yesterday with my 40% coupon. I picked up a couple of titles that I'll share later. I want to start "reviewing" things that I think are worthwhile reading or watching in the case of movies/tv... I'm working on doing just that for the Zen Poker book. I encourage you to pick up a copy of that one right now, but if you must, wait for the review. I'll get something crafted and posted soon.

Everyone try to stay warm out there. I'll continue to struggle with staying awake.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Friday uber-posting

At one point last evening, Big Red turned to me and asked, "...so are you winning?" My answer, "...uh no." Short and to the point. Those best laid plans, just ain't gonna pan out there people. Ah but it was fun to pretend. I'd like to be able to say that I've been distracted and too interested in winning and getting the $$$'s to head to Vegas with but I can't say that's been the problem. No really. I honestly can't blame it on... well... anything at all. It is what it is. I can't even particularly say that those others at the tables have been donks or sharks. I can't say that I've been playing badly or well either. In hindsight, I can't even pinpoint anything that I might or might not have done. Most of my reads have been very good, but unfortunately they've been reads which tell me that I'm beat! The reads which are most disturbing are those hands, when I start with an AK or AQ, and big PP, and I get a caller or so, just calling my bets, pre and post flop. All-too-often I've found these guys are "just" calling or "smooth" calling and they got or get the goods. I've had sense and the presence of mind to get away from it, but not without giving away good money on good cards all for naught. Also, lately it's been my experience that when I opt NOT to fire the third bullet on after the Turn card, and the guy to act after me, tosses out a pot or larger than life bet...he really does have it. I've been fortunate in the fact that I've normally had at least one other guy in the hand that invariably makes the call so I've been able to witness the slaughter, and have proof positive that I was in fact beat! Yes, it provides comfort to know that I'm not winning but I'm losing the RIGHT way. (interpret thick layer of sarcasm) I did contribute a bit of extra loss to the affair last night with another $10-spot to the evils of blackjack. Okay, I get it...it's a guilty pleasure. The ring games last night didn't do me any good. I did however hit 3rd in an el cheapo SNG. It was a miracle. I am mystified by how some people severely over value hands. I've watched bets and reraises out there by guys who you can just feel actually believe they have a great hand, and I get to watch from the sidelines as they get butchered. In most cases the hand that I already dropped was superior to the one they are out there gunnin' with...but I had the presence of mind to step away from it knowing that the NUTS hand is there just itchin' to felt me. I've avoided those traps. I've seen guys slow playin' their pocket aces, with 4 and 5 people in the pot. This just floors me. I've had my all-ins called down by J-8s type hands, and I sit in awe. Don't confuse awe for admiration!

I'd like to start shadowing some players at the tables. But picking the players is a bit of a mystery. I've wandered YouTube and found postings of extended virtual table cams, where a player is recording his own session to show how and what they are doing. One I thought was very interesting to say the least was Annette Obrestad's video of her playing a SNG with a post-it note covering her holecards from her own view (in the video you the viewer could see her holecards of course.) I watched her early on fold pocket Kings, unbeknownst to her at the time. She was playing primarily by position...to an extreme, regardless of her cards or stack. I had heard some on the forums attest to how well she played position and that this video was a testament to how important that is, and how truly great annette_15 really is. And while I admire Annette's accomplishments and continued success and repeatability, what I saw in the video was some monstrous good luck. I recall several KEY hands in which she used her position to raise big but should have been clobbered when pushed, but she sucked out! BAD! I'm not saying that we all don't do it from time to time, but man she was runnin' hot at the right times. Not all the time, but just at the right time.

I'm also struck by the fact that my play does typically allow me to win "a little." But NEVER "a lot." I know that's subjective, but here's what I mean. Sure I'm down a few bucks on PokerRewards, but I can drop back and hunker down and over time I'll rebuild back to where I was before. But I'll approach and reach a glass ceiling. And then it'll begin to drop off again. My online and offline sessions are typically punctuated by SLOW starts. No cards, early on, blinding off and giving away 1/4 to 1/2 of my stack in blinds and bets on my good cards, but not connecting. Then I'll hit something...that'll JUST get me back up, just shy of where I started out and I'll just kind of tread water at the table. I never hit big. I never weight my end of the table down with a copious amount of chips. Baby Steps...lotsa baby steps, but never a big or medium profitable run. Reading some guys out there routinely 8-12 tabling at $.50/$1.00 or $1/$2 NLHE tables and turning up profitable sessions nearly all of the time. Now you KNOW 8-12 tabling they're not paying an enormous amount of attention to any one table or any specific players, or taking meaningful notes. They're playing "by the numbers" poker. And I think many of you would classify MY GAME as such. Not a lot of bluffs, very few hands, played, usually no more that 30-35% played preflop, which I don't think anyone would argue that is too many or few, but is probably about right. As of late however, my showdown wins have been under 60%. I would think that number needs to be A LOT higher. Getting rivered, sucked out on, blahblahblah, accounts for some of it, but I would think I need to be closer to around 80+% win rate at showdown. So there's a hole in there somewhere, I just gotta find it. I don't think I'm taking mediocre holdings too far, but it is possible and I'll have to admit it. I need to be tracking progress better. I really do need to get Poker Tracker or some equivalent up and cranking in a useful fashion. Rather than speculation, I need some cold hard facts to point to. So that'll be my next goal on the road to Pokerdom. I need better notes and session tracking information to look back to. I need to pick a style and stick to it exclusively! No mish mash of my method, as it usually just frustrates no one but me.

I also need to pick my poison. Ring Games and levels, SNG's or MTT's.
I need to get some money out on Full Tilt Poker, because I'd really like to try my hand at the Mookie tourneys and some of the other blogger goodness tournements that I keep reading about. Some of my favorite bloggers that I read daily are playing there, and I think I should give that room a shot again. : ) I didn't do so well there once upon a time, but then again it was a very long time ago AND I risked more than a fair share with a really good hand that encountered the nuts and sent me to the rail. At the time I had money on a lot of different sites and I just opted to slink away to one of them instead of redepositing. It made more sense, and it seemed to me that if I'd deposited again, I'd feel like I was playing from behind and I'd be trying too hard and ultimately I'd give way to the forces of TILT! So there was a thought process...and maybe I'm not as all ZEN as all that, but I was at least trying to control my heart beat and rate of breathing, so at least give me the "A" for effort people. Speaking of Zen, I'm currently reading "Zen and the Art of Poker" by Larry Phillips. I know...weirdo, geek, card playerey type shtuff. I'll probably finish it and something else while I'm in Shepherdstown, WV for the next couple of weeks for training. Incidentally, I'm STILL mad at you voters in Jefferson County for not approving "table gaming" at Charles Town Races and Slots, which I'll be within 15 minutes of for this trip. You know where I'd have been every night after class don't you! My prediction in like 3-ish years that you'll be reversing this decision and rolling in the tables and chips. But you know you'll have to wait the full 4 years before putting it back on the ballot now, don't cha! : ) That wasn't a very Zen thing to say now was it! : P

But enough about poker... (pant, pant)

The other topic I wanted to at least give "some" attention to is the SEASON FOUR PREMIERE of LOST!!! Wahoo!!! At least the next 8 episode installments that the writers have decided to grace us with in this mid season/year time to be releasing a series on tv. Whatever it is, I for one am EXTREMEMLY grateful! As always there were more questions than answers in this episode. So much to continue wondering (obsessing about.) The Oceanic 6, Jacob, Charlie, Daniel Faraday, Christian, and a new mystery Matthew Abbadon! I loved the intermingled Oceanic Airlines commercials! THIS is what TV should be! I won't try to cover it for anyone in depth. If you haven't watched it, that's your own fault, go rent it starting from Season 1 and get caught up. For those of you who are avid fans, you know I could spend days out here writing and theorizing about what all is going on on the show. Instead, I'll point you to http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/ or the homepage proper for it http://darkufo.blogspot.com/. This is a blog/site that I thoroughly enjoy. Visitor participation is great and the Hi Rez screencaptures are fantastic. These guys are workin' hard. Thanks for feeding the addiction and keep up the good work!

And oh there's JR's email announcing NDPT Tourney #2 of the year! February 16th at 6:00pm, this time at his house. I've responded...how about YOU!!!

I've got to wrap this up now...got a few loose ends to deal with before leaving!

Regards,

cheer_dad