kchowell's Full Review: Phil Gordon and Jonathan Grotenstein - Poker: The ...
There’s nothing quite like a dissenting opinion to bring a lapsed Epinionator out of the woodwork. Although I haven’t posted a new review in nearly a year, I still make it a habit to check the out the Epinions of others whenever I finish a book of the non-toddler-oriented, non-board-book variety. Most of the time, I find that the book I’ve just finished has plenty of good reviews already, so there isn’t anything more for me to add. Or a book may have few or no reviews, but I’m just not motivated to write about it.
But last weekend, I finished Poker: The Real Deal by Phil Gordon and Jonathan Grotenstein. And when I wandered over to Epinions to read the reviews, there was only one. While that review is well-written, carefully considered and quite thorough, the author enjoyed the book much more than I did. And I just kept thinking about the review, and the book, and the perspective that I would add if I had the motivation to get off my lazy bum and write my own review. While Poker: The Real Deal didn’t provoke the emotional extremes that the best book I’ve read lately inspired (Andrew Sean Greer’s The Confessions of Max Tivoli), or the incredible annoyance that the worst book I’ve read lately churned up (for the record, Tawni O’Dell’s Back Roads - hampered by plot twists that were foreshadowed with anvil-like subtlety), still… I just kept thinking that I had something to add, so here I am.
Poker: The Real Deal is unique among poker books. With a little bit of history, a touch of etiquette, some basic strategy, and a lot of Phil Gordon’s personal stories and poker anecdotes, it’s a book about the poker lifestyle. Which is exactly what it’s advertised to be. So I should be pleased, right? However, it’s still not entirely satisfying, for several reasons.
Most people who purchase Poker: The Real Deal will likely do so because they’ve seen Phil Gordon on television. Though he’s made appearances on World Poker Tour, The World Series of Poker and various other televised tournaments, the program that provides him the most exposure is Celebrity Poker Showdown, which he co-hosts. Amongst the hosts of the most-watched poker programs, Phil Gordon is nearly tied with Mike Sexton as my favorite poker announcer, with the advantage going to Sexton in large part because I find Celebrity Poker Showdown too tedious, due mostly to the fact that many of the celebrities are painfully lousy poker players. The show is made watchable due almost entirely to Gordon’s intelligent, insightful, thoughtful and amusing presence. Unfortunately, only the intelligent and insightful parts of his television presence translate well into his written style. Too often in the book, the bits meant to be funny come off as self-indulgent and in-jokey. Where he means to be funny and informative, he often comes off as arrogant and petulant. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost think that some of those passages were authored by that other Phil; poker überwhiner Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Although I didn’t lower my rating as a result, the book is aimed at poker beginners and is overall quite basic. Most seasoned poker players will find the strategy tips too entry-level to be of much use (and any seasoned player who does pick up a lot of new strategy from this book is welcome at my table), and even individuals who rarely play but do watch televised poker won’t pick up a lot of new information. However, the pointers given would be excellent for someone just learning the game. The poker etiquette section is similarly at the introductory level; it’s great information for a first-time casino visitor, but anyone who has been to card room won’t take away much. The only sections that I felt really gave me new information were the section about online poker (which I don’t play and have no plans to start playing), and Phil’s insights on what reasonable bankrolls are for entering different limit games.
The book doesn't really flow well, as it has lots of sidebars and digressions and totally unfunny pointless bits, like one involving Phil and his buddies getting into drag and crashing a women's tournament. As a result, the book has an overall disjointed feel, and I found myself easily distracted and not as compelled as I'd hoped I'd be.
Another peeve of mine is the book’s overwhelming focus on Texas Hold’em. I didn’t lower my rating much as a result, as Hold’em is by far the most popular and most televised of the card room offerings and it’s natural that Gordon would want to focus on the game that put poker in the mainstream consciousness. However, Hold’em is my least favorite of the major games, and I was interested in hearing more of Gordon’s insights into those other less popular games. If the book had been titled Hold’em: The Real Deal, I’d cut him more slack. But it’s Poker: The Real Deal, so I did expect more than what was delivered.
As a final, nitpicky criticism, I hated the book’s format. It’s long, but narrow, and though I’m too irritated to get a ruler and tear into its exact dimensions, I will say that it’s too long, too narrow and too thick to read comfortably in its current hardcover incarnation. According to Amazon.com, the dimensions are 9.1 x 5.3 x 1.0 inches, which seems close to correct. These may be the worst book dimensions EVER. In any case, I spent so much time trying to find a way to hold it easily that I nearly grew too frustrated to finish it. I could have helped myself out and broken the spine, but I refuse to inflict that kind of harm on hardcovers. I hope that the book undergoes a formatting redesign if it ever makes it to a paperback. That being said, the typeface is very pretty.
Poker: The Real Deal would be an interesting introduction to poker for someone who is just starting out and would like a general, easy to understand Hold’em overview written from the perspective of poker professional, peppered with lots of personal anecdotes of various levels of annoying self-indulgence. However, I honestly couldn’t recommend it to any of my card playing friends.
Like a secret society, poker has its own language & customs, its own governing logic and rules of etiquette that the uninitiated may find intimidating...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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