Review of Your Worst Poker Enemy

Title:

Your Worst Poker Enemy

Author:

Alan N. Schoonmaker, PhD

Publisher:

Lyle Stuart Books

Date:

2007

ISBN:

0-8184-0720-4

Pages:

336

Price:

$15.95

Reviewed by Nick Christenson, npc@lvrevealed.com

October 31, 2007

The title of the book, Your Worst Poker Enemy comes from a Stu Ungar quote, and it means that our own internal shortcomings are the biggest obstacle we face to improving as poker players. In Ungar's case, this is undeniable, but I believe it's true for every other poker player as well. In this book, Schoonmaker explores the road blocks that we set up for ourselves that prevent us from being the best poker players that we possibly can be.

Schoonmaker divides his book into five parts, each addressing a flaw that we all possess to some extent. These flaws are a reliance on instinct over logic, self delusion, being driven by our unconscious, our inability to make adjustments, and susceptibility to stress. All of these manifest themselves in poker situations, and all of them can prevent us from playing our best.

The author takes a pull-no-punches approach in his book. He doesn't sugar-coat his message when he says that all players suffer from these self-imposed obstacles to some degree. I couldn't agree more with his statement, and his approach really works for me. My only complaint with the way he presents his message is that even though I believe we all experience all of the shortcomings that he lists in his book, we don't all experience all of them to such a degree that they interfere with our ability to play quality poker. I believe that Schoonmaker doesn't always make this clear.

Fortunately for the reader, Schoonmaker does not merely catalog the shortcomings of poker players. At each turn he provides suggestions on how to recognize the barriers we face and how we may overcome them. His advice for dealing with the aspects of human nature that inhibit our poker playing aptitude is strong. I believe that there are few poker players who are so emotionally grounded that they cannot recognize in themselves some places where they might be able to improve.

I have some quibbles with the way Schoonmaker structures some of his arguments. For example, he is critical of authors of strategic books for ignoring the psychological issues that permeate every poker decision. I believe this is unfair. The strategic books tell us how to play well and how to take advantage of others' mistakes. They don't specifically say that a player's state-of-mind isn't important, they just don't cover why it is that a player makes these mistakes, probably because the authors of these books aren't authorities on the subject. In my opinion, complaining that a strategic poker book doesn't specifically deal with psychology is tantamount to complaining that Your Worst Poker Enemy doesn't make starting hand recommendations. It's not that kind of book, and as long as it doesn't claim to be, that's not a fault.

Despite some criticisms I have with the structure of a few of Schoonmaker's arguments, I believe that Your Worst Poker Enemy is a very strong book on the psychology of poker players. I believe that it can both help players to understand how others approach the game as well as help players to come to terms with their own limitations about poker.

To varying degrees, everyone experiences the impediments described in this book. Therefore, I think nearly any poker player would derive some benefit from reading Your Worst Poker Enemy. As with all books of this type, one problem is that the people who need to read it most are the least likely to do so, but the author can't be faulted for that. In any case, for those who are looking for a good book on poker psychology, I would enthusiastically recommend this one.

Capsule:

In Your Worst Poker Enemy, Alan Schoonmaker has written a commendable book about the limitations poker players impose on themselves and how we can adapt to them. I don't always like the construction of the author's arguments, but there are profound truths behind his statements, and I appreciate the author's aggressive delivery. To various extents, every poker player will see themselves in Schoonmaker's book, and many would benefit significantly from his advice. This is one of the better books on the psychology of poker players that I've read.

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.