Written by a qualified psychologist and self confessed poker nut Alan N. Schoonmaker, this book tries to discover what goes on in players' heads and how to use it to your advantage.

The Psychology Of Poker is not a poker strategy book as such.  It concentrates on why you and others play the game, the different types of players you may meet at a poker table and how they act and react to different situations.  New players to poker, or players with very limited experience of poker, should probably choose other reading material to start out with before purchasing this book, or at least buy some basic strategy guides alongside this one.

Schoonmaker, after a brief introduction, covers a series of subjects which ask the reader to examine their own game.  What motivates you to play poker?  Of course, you should answer honestly to gain the most from the rest of the book.  More motives and trade-offs are also discussed in "The Right Stuff", although perhaps a little briefly. The twelve characteristics of a winning player according to Schoonmaker are nothing short of intriguing reading though.

Next, Schoonmaker introduces us to his grid rating system.  Through this, players can rate themselves and others to discover what type of player they are.  Tightness vs. looseness and passiveness vs. aggressiveness are covered and the reader is then guided through the process of rating him/herself and other players through the grid.  A more in-depth look at different players and why they play and act in the way they do is then discussed through the majority of the remainder of the book.  This makes for very interesting reading if you've been honest enough to give yourself a rating. Schoonmaker assesses different types of players with frightening accuracy, even down to the seat they choose.  You may find yourself rating your opponents during a game after you put this book down, infact, it'll be difficult not to.

The book concludes with an excellent summary on how studying and planning should help you develop your game, how to continue to enjoy poker and how to avoid falling into a routine which turns poker into a chore.

If you are not a seasoned poker player with 25 years playing experience behind you, then this book will almost certainly improve your game.  If you find yourself asking "Why the heck did he/she call my raise pre-flop?"  then this book will help you discover the answer.  Overall you are likely to find out more about why you and others play poker and why you play it in the style you do from this book than anything else around right now.

Paul Sandells