Review of How to Think Like a Poker Pro

Title:

How to Think Like a Poker Pro

Author:

Roy Cooke and John Bond

Publisher:

ConJelCo

Date:

2008

ISBN:

978-1-886070-29-5

Pages:

282

Price:

$19.95

Reviewed by Nick Christenson, npc@jetcafe.org

September 23, 2010

Roy Cooke has been a winning poker player for more than 20 years. As far as I know, he also has the longest running poker strategy column in history, having authored hundreds of articles over the course of 18 years. This sort of longevity isn't common in poker circles, and it gives his opinions special weight in my eyes. Cooke is a player who wins and has stood the test of time. How to Think Like a Poker Pro is the third book he has written aggregating some of his many poker columns.

There has been some overlap over the years between the columns that have made it into his several books, so the specifics are worth a mention. The columns that appear in How to Think Like a Poker Pro are assembled from columns written from 1992 to 2005. Some of these have previously appeared in his first book, Real Poker: The Cooke Collection, the 1999 book published by Mike Caro University. So, if you own a copy of the MCU book, you have already read some of what appears in this book. By my unofficial count, though, over half of these articles haven't appeared in book form before.

Cooke is probably most known for his tactical columns where he discusses the play of specific hands. The theme of How to Think Like a Poker Pro, however, is on "bigger picture" topics. This book contains advice on strategic issues, philosophical musings, and advice on the mental aspects of playing long-term winning poker. In fact, I'd classify this book under the sub-heading of "poker psychology", the only one of Cooke's books I'd place in this genre.

I feel that many of today's younger generation of professional players weaned on online poker take a very different approach to poker as a profession than many of the old school cash game players. Consequently, there are probably those out there who find Cooke's approach to poker a little antiquated. However, it's my opinion that even if his methods might seem a little out of favor in spots, the aspiring pro would do well to at least consider any advice coming from someone who has been this successful at what he does for as long as he has.

My favorite essays come from Section III, "So You Wanna Be a Poker Pro". In my experience, the difference between a professional and a recreational gambler is less about skill level than it is about approach to the game. Recreational gamblers play when they want and play the games that they want to play under circumstances they enjoy. Real professionals discard these considerations in favor of what's most profitable. Cooke does an excellent job describing the sacrifices required of a professional gambler, and anyone who isn't prepared to make them should pursue another vocation.

The articles that comprise How to Think Like a Poker Pro span thirteen years of poker columns. The poker world changed a great deal over this time. While most of the columns are fairly timeless, some include Cooke's thoughts on online poker discussion groups before the ascendence of web-based boards, discussions about the dawn of online poker with both a world view where the online experience is part of the poker mainstream as well as a time when it hasn't occurred, and presents other views that feel out of date. I really wish that either Cooke and Bond had edited these anachronisms out of their columns when assembling them for this book, or they included the initial publication date with each article. I believe that such a context would have made it easier to adjust to the vantage point of any particular essay.

Read back-to-back-to-back, the essays Cooke and Bond have written can sometimes blur together, and the merit of the individual arguments can become indistinct. I recommend that prospective readers make their way through this book in small doses, maybe by reading an article a day. Because How to Think Like a Poker Pro is a collection of columns, there's no loss in continuity by absorbing what the authors have to say a bit at a time. In fact, I believe the wisdom of what it is Roy Cooke is preaching is more likely to stick in the minds of readers this way.

Honestly, I tend to prefer Cooke's hand analysis columns more than the sorts of material he has aggregated here. However, as a person who has been at this game for a long time, his overarching approach to poker shouldn't be dismissed lightly. There are a lot of serious poker players who I think could learn a great deal from Cooke's experience, even if this book isn't something that seems immediately attractive to them. I don't think this book is Cooke's best work, but it's certainly worth reading.

Capsule:

How to Think Like a Poker Pro is a collection of the Roy Cooke poker columns written between 1992 and 2000 that cover the high level, philosophical, and psychological aspects of being a true poker professional. While Cooke is better known for his hand analysis columns, anyone who has been as successful as he has for as long as he has definitely possesses valuable insights into turning poker into a career. Serious players should take a close look at what Cooke says concerning these issues.