Poker Essays

Rating:
Summary: A classic in the poker literature
Review: Also see my longer review of volume III in this series.

This book is a collection of essays from Malmuth's columns in poker magazines, including the excellent Card Player.

As the author or co-author of many of the definitive books on poker games and ideas, with advanced degrees in math and extensive study in psychology along with multiple decades of experience as a poker pro, Malmuth is eminently qualified, and almost all of his books deserve your attention if you are at all serious about improving your poker game.

I have read (and reread) just about all of his writing, and this book is no exception. Divided into several sections, this book covers important and relevant ideas in poker, in short (2-4 pages each) essays, that don't really fit well into a pigeonholed topic. The book doesn't repeat ideas from other sources, but rather expands on them, or discusses a new twist on a particular idea.

The nature of short, separate essays lends itself well to reading in small chunks or all at once - you can benefit from this book with just five minutes. And, the reading is entertaining and interesting - no small feat for a book with filled with complex ideas and accurate technical ideas.

This is one of a handful of poker books that I, and many other professionals, refer to and reread again and again. This book probably should be used to supplement the other great poker literature and not stand by itself.

Also see Volumes II and III in the series, each includes his best writings over about a five year period. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: excellent book
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Rating:
Summary: Just okay
Review: I wasn't thrilled with this book. I know it's a compilation of articles published individually, but they didn't hold together well as a whole.

I've packed my books away for a move, so i can't tell you exacty what it is, but seem to remember the same phrase in nearly EVERY piece and almost the same exact paragraph over and over. I got sick of it after a while. Perhaps my focus on hold 'em biases me, though. Overall, Mr. Malmuth knows much more than i do about playing poker in a casino and i respect his ideas for that at the very least.

Rating:
Summary: Thumbs up
Review: It was a great book and contained much informational essays.

Rating:
Summary: Relevant, direct and useful
Review: Mason Malmuth in Poker Essays I and Poker Essays II provides the most direct and relevant general information on playing poker. Having played casino poker for a decade and having read and reread most of the poker literature I feel that Malmuth provides the most credible material. The information in both of these books is general, covering all aspects of poker. If you are interested in the world of poker then these books should be part of your global reference. (These books are a reedited collection of magazine columns.)

Rating:
Summary: Great book about poker and LIFE!
Review: Poker Essays is a great collection of articles on life and poker. If you're looking to play for any serious amount of money, part-time income, or full-time playing like myself, this is great reading.

Rating:
Summary: Great work by Mason
Review: This was a very Enjoyable Book. It provided important and useful concepts about the game of Poker. I learned new concepts, which identified some leaks in my game. Leaks in your game can come from anywhere!!! Leaks can originate from lack of aggression, overcalling raises, misreading opponents and any other number of ways. So this book helps. Many people look at poker the wrong way. They think to win they need to do all of this super fancy plays and mindblowing stunts. Well folks...there are not that many options in poker...you fold, call or raise. So its really hard to do thinks that will just fool your opponents all the time. To win at poker it is mostly limiting your mistakes and getting all that you can from winning hands and minimizing losses on losing hands...that's it

Ive been playing for about 5 years now and love the game. Ive read many poker books and found this one to be very good. So I would suggest you buy this book and maybe a couple others and get to playing. There's really no excuse anymore - since anyone can access the internet.

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