War and Tournament Poker Close Cousins

More than 2,000 years ago a Chinese general named Sun-tzu authored a book about warfare. The text has inspired military experts, businessmen and athletes to find an edge ever since.

Can the same principlesHoward Schwartz, the "librarian for gamblers," is the marketing director for Gambler's Book Club in Las Vegas, a position he has held since 1979. Author of hundreds of articles on gambling, his weekly book reviews appear in numerous publications throughout the gaming industry.  Howard's website is www.gamblersbook.com  be applied to the game of poker--particularly tournament poker?

Author David Apostolico says yes, and in his Tournament Poker and the Art of War (151 pages, paperbound, $12.95) he teaches players how to "adopt a warrior's mindset in order to gain a psychological edge" and succeed in tournament poker.

This is a book about understanding yourself as a player while understanding who you have to face in battle and learning to survive--a key element in no-limit poker tournament play.

Risk, deception, exploiting a situation to your own benefit, waiting for the right time to eliminate an opponent, and adjusting your play accordingly are all factors to understand and master.

Sun-tzu courtesy of Apostolico's interpretation and application to the game of poker makes sense. Often it's common sense, other times like learning to eliminate mistakes through self-evaluation.

"There is no better situation in all of poker than to be all-in with at least one caller when you have the nuts," the author says. But learning how to get your opponent to bet all-in to you when you have the nuts requires that you project weakness.

Smartly offering a specific example like the time Johnny Chan flopped a nut straight against Erik Seidel in the 1988 World Series of Poker, the author re-creates the hand, explaining how Chan maximized his profit by lulling his opponent into a false expectation of exploitation.

The book examines position, the chip stack, gaining control of the table, and providing your opponent an opportunity to make a mistake.

Testing you opponents, the power of keen observation, project a strong table image--these areas have been discussed in other books, but rarely with such keen examples, in short powerful bursts of advice.

This is a sharp, smart, right-to-the-bone book for every level player. Priced right and written with a feeling for the game, it's a helpful tutorial to shore up weak points and to bolster the confidence of those who need a helping hand to improve their game.