Poker Books by Alan N. Schoonmaker

This book explores the psychological pitfalls that can hinder your poker game. They discuss common mistakes like playing hands you should fold, letting emotions affect your game, and playing when you’re off your game. The book helps you identify and correct these mistakes, using your existing poker knowledge. It also covers topics like intuition vs logic, self-evaluation, unconscious and emotional factors, adapting to changes, and stress management.

Poker requires mastering various skills and strategies like hand selection, bluffing, and reading hands. Success isn’t about natural instincts, but understanding psychological factors that influence your and your opponents’ gameplay. Dr. Schoonmaker’s text explores why players adopt certain tactics and suggests adjustments for improved results and enjoyment.

Winning at poker requires mastering specific attitudes and habits, not just playing well. Dr. Schoonmaker, a poker expert, explains the key skills needed to win, including risk and information management, discipline, decision-making, focus, information control, emotional reaction control, and decisiveness. By learning these skills, you can play confidently and win more often. Dr. Schoonmaker, a Ph.D. holder in psychology from UC Berkeley, is a distinguished author and columnist with teaching and research experience at UCLA, Carnegie-Mellon, and Belgium’s Catholic University of Louvain. He resides in Las Vegas.

In “Your Worst Poker Enemy,” Schoonmaker reveals the aspects of poker that extend beyond the physical table, focusing on the psychological battle involved. “Your Best Poker Friend” elevates the discussion, moving past mere tricks and strategies. This book explores the depths of the player’s mind, emphasizing that the key ally in poker is, in fact, the player themselves. Written in a clear and engaging manner, it equips every player with the knowledge they need to achieve a royal flush.

This book is tailored for skilled, dedicated poker players who consistently outperform their opponents yet struggle to achieve satisfactory results in small stakes games like $4-$8 limit hold’em and $1/$2 no limit. Unlike other poker books that overlook the unique challenges of these seemingly soft but deceptively difficult games, such as higher relative costs, weaker players, and opponents driven by fun rather than profit, this guide provides targeted advice to help serious players adapt their strategy and finally beat these frustrating tables.