Two New Poker Books

Zen and the Art of Poker by Larry Phillips.
Plume Books. 175p. Paper.   ISBN-0-452-28126-1. $12.95.

This is an interesting book. When I first started to read it I thought that it was "lightweight". As I read on, I realized that there was a lot of meat to it.

You won't find specifics on any particular poker game here. It won't tell you the best starting hands for Texas Hold'em or Omaha High/Low Split. It won't tell you what cards to raise with in what situation. It will tell you how to apply the philosophies of Zen to help you play your best game.

The book is divided into five sections. 1) Fundamentals, 2) Calmness and Rhythm, 3) Nuts and Bolts, 4) Warrior Zen, and 5) Emotions and Opponents. There is an appendix on tournament play and another covering Zen and computer software.

There are 100 rules for applying Zen to poker...each one illustrated by examples. The rules have to do with such things as patience (but not too much), the long run (which is longer than you think), being your own worst enemy, aggressiveness when facing resistance, dealing with failure, tells, fear, instinct, overconfidence, tilt, etc. Sprinkled throughout are brief aphorisms from various Zen masters, philosophers, and warriors.

There is little in this book that good players don't already know. However, this book will go a long way to teaching you how important these concepts can be to your day-to-day play.

The Official Dictionary of Poker by Michael Wiesenberg.
MCU Publishing. 277p. Paper. ISBN-1-880069-52-8. $14.95.

Have you ever wondered what the game Chicago was? How about a Chicago bankroll? How about a dry pot? These terms and 100's more are thoroughly defined, with clear examples in this book. Here is an example of that thoroughness: draw poker. (n phrase) 1. A form of poker in which players are dealt five cards face down, bet or fold based on those cards, those remaining (the active players; see ACTIVE PLAYER) replace one or more cards (DRAW) or elect not to replace any (STAND PAT), and then participate in a second round of betting, after which the best of the remaining active hands (see ACTIVE HAND) wins all the money in the pot (or, in the case of a SPLIT-POT GAME, two hands each win half), which money is usualy in the form of chips (see CHIP); the forms of draw poker popular in California cardrooms are HIGH DRAW POKER, LOWBALL, HIGH-LOW SPLIT, and rarely, DEUCES WILD. In Nevada and some southern states, DEUCE-TO-SEVEN is also played. Draw poker is not found often in the US outside of California, but is more common in a few European countries. In home or private games, many other variations exist. Also called five-card-draw. 2. HIGH DRAW POKER, often called just DRAW.

This volume was original published several years ago as Poker Talk. It has been revised and expanded for this version. It contains detailed definitions with examples of virtually every term in the world of poker. It is fascinating reading...even if you don't normally spend time reading dictionaries.