Zen Poker

Crispin was kind enough to send me a book to help me improve my game. I got it today. I've read it once already, but I suspect I will go through it many more times. It is Zen and the Art of Poker.

There's virtually no actual poker related content in it - stuff like starting hands or stuff like that. In fact, because there is nothing in it about the mechanics of play, it's suited equally all poker games, be it Texas Hold 'Em or Omaha Hi/Lo or HORSE or 7 Stud. No, this book is, as you could guess from the title, about readying your mind for the game.

After I made it through the book, I spent a few minutes thinking about some of the things it said. And then I sat down to a $10 6 handed SNG. 3 times I got crushed by big drawing hands that connected. Once I was down to $200 in chips with the blinds at 40/80 (and let me tell you, those blinds come around fast when you're 4 handed). But I tried to take the lessons in the book to heart and to make a long story short(er), I wound up taking 2nd place. I started the heads-up battle with a 5:1 deficit and managed to work that down to 2:1 before running into a wall. But 2nd is better than a kick in the head. Anytime you get paid, that's a victory in my book.