Review of Poker Wizards

Title:

Poker Wizards: Wisdom from the World's Top No-Limit Hold'em Players

Author:

Warwick Dunnett

Publisher:

Cardoza Publishing

Date:

2008

ISBN:

1-5804-2227-6

Pages:

339

Price:

$19.95

Reviewed by Nick Christenson, npc@lvrevealed.com

March 23, 2009

Daniel Negreanu, Dan Harrington, Chris Ferguson, T.J. Cloutier: these players have had astounding poker tournament success. Have you ever wondered what it is that separates the way in which these players approach the game from the rest of us? This has occurred to Warwick Dunnett, so he decided to ask these people, and several others, about the subject. Their responses are chronicled in Poker Wisdom.

Besides the four poker celebrities listed above, Dunnett also speaks to Marcel Luske, Kathy Liebert, Mike Sexton, and Mel Judah, all highly successful players with something worthwhile to say on the topic of poker. After the author chronicles the thoughts of these players, the book concludes by interviewing non-verbal communication expert, Marc Salem, followed by some concluding thoughts by the author.

Through the questions Dunnett asks the book focuses on the poker game that dominates the tournament circuit, no-limit Texas hold'em, especially on tournament play. This makes sense, as it's the game that garners the most attention these days, but it's kind of a shame to not ask players such as Ferguson, Sexton, and Judah about other games, such as 7-card stud, and eight-or-better stud, especially since they've had considerable success in these games. However, since we've got only about 30 pages for each player, a restriction in the scope of each interview seems entirely reasonable.

The author is asking each player questions off of the same, or at least a very similar, script. Typically the topics include general tournament strategy, psychological issues, tells, money management, and how that particular player approaches certain specific starting hands. I have to say that I wasn't all that impressed with the depth of the questions. None of them were the sort that I would expect to evoke a truly profound answer in the subject. Moreover, by being asked the same questions, we wind up with a great deal of repetition from one professional player to the next. After all, how much variation would we expect in how they approach a hand such as AKoff pre-flop?

This doesn't mean that there isn't insight to be gained from this book, but I believe one has to look a little more carefully to find it. In my opinion the most interesting aspects to the book are where and how the various interview subject disagree with each other. This is often due to a contrast in styles. Harrington and Ferguson seem to take a highly analytical approach to poker, while Luske, Negreanu, and Cloutier seem to consider "playing the player" to be of paramount importance. Judah and Cloutier seem to favor a conservative approach, while Negreanu and Luske are willing to play more hands. These differences manifest themselves between players along numerous different axes.

Despite the differing styles, the majority of the time these successful players largely agree on how to approach poker situations, as one would expect. When it comes to the differences, the author seems to chalk that up to the ability to succeed playing poker with different styles. I have a different perspective. On occasion what some of the players say contradict each other, and occasionally one of the subject will even say something that's largely inconsistent with what they've already said. I interpret this to mean that even among very successful poker players, there isn't a widespread agreement of what optimal poker play even looks like. Of course, as long as they're playing against opponents who play even worse than they do, these players can maintain a considerable edge.

Beginning players may find some of the strategic insights to be interesting, and intermediate or advanced players may find value in comparing and contrasting the styles of different players, so the book certainly has some value to a select audience. The interview with Marc Salem is interesting, and he provides a perspective that is at least somewhat different from those we get from other books on tells. However, there isn't a lot of deep insight here, and most of what we read that would be useful to beginners is repeated by different players rather than expanded. I liked the book, but I didn't love it.

Capsule:

Poker Wizards is a set of interviews by author Warwick Dunnett with eight highly credentialed poker professionals and non-verbal communication expert Marc Salem. The basic strategy information provided might be beneficial to beginners, and there is interesting information to be gleaned by intermediate and advanced players from examining the contrasting opinions of various professionals. So, the book has some benefit to poker players with a variety of backgrounds, but I can't say that it's a "must read" for anyone.

Note: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher. I have no other interest, financial or otherwise, in the success of this book.