Steven Crist's New Book

[SCUDSBROTHER]

LOL..Let the war begin.

[whorstman]

I just ordered the book yesterday, I'll reserve judgement on it till I read it of course. After reading the bio and exerpt from the book, I got the impression that it would be for me personally. Now a 20 year vet like yourself, I would think that maybe you wouldn't get as much out of it.

[Scav]

I personally don't think a book teaches you how to gamble or handicap. it is ALL EXPERIENCE...Poker is the same way

Personally, all the poker on TV and all the information on the net should be used as tool and you should just soak it in, and play the way you play.

Poker-wise, I don't care about pot odds or 5 people in the pot, I play the player.....Three weeks ago in a live tourney at my buddies house. I raised, got re-raised, and RE-raised the guy back, all pre-flop....THE GUY laid down AK into my K4. he showed me he was laying down AK, said "THIS IS A GREAT FOLD" I showed him what I had, the rest of his chips lasted an hour.....pissed away 25% of his stake thinking I would fold

I personally love how much this crap is on TV and these online players. NONE of them have had a horse rushing on the outside or a horse dying on the lead, or thrown $100 on a 20/1 and have the lead to the end and get nipped..They stare at a computer....You got to go through the RANGE of emotions that happen while gambling before you earn the respect of the gambling gods.

The only way to succced at this crap is to be gambling tested and to me that means the following

1) Multiple heart attacks through out the day
2) Inquiried out of a $2500 pick four
3) 3 hours of BAD cards
4) Betting Shane Laviolette
5) Betting Lori Keith
6) Missing credit card payment
7) Going to the ATM multiple times trying to withdrawal $500 because you SWEAR it is in there
8) Getting bullied and taunted at a card table
9) Multiple 'tilt' episodes throughout the years

Experience is everything is gambling. To me, betting the horses is knowing when not to bet. Knowing your stregths and finding a race that plays into your strengths is the most important part of playing the ponies.

[whorstman]

Originally Posted by eurobounce

Experience is everything is gambling. To me, betting the horses is knowing when not to bet. Knowing your stregths and finding a race that plays into your strengths is the most important part of playing the ponies.

MY GOD, IS SOMEBODY GOING TO BUST OUT THE KENNY ROGERS ALREADY!!

Fine.... I'll do it.......

"You got to know when to holdem, know when to fold em. Know when to walk away, know when to run".........

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by eurobounce

Experience is everything is gambling. To me, betting the horses is knowing when not to bet. Knowing your stregths and finding a race that plays into your strengths is the most important part of playing the ponies.

Disagree pretty strongly with both you and Scavs (who I hope is at least partly joking). Experience is very important, but it is not "everything in gambling". You are very unlikely to learn how to beat any game by experience alone.

I very seriously doubt there is a current successful blackjack player in the entire world who is self-taught. You have to either have read a good book or have the benefit of a good mentor, or both.

I'm confident that the vast majority of successful poker players have read good books.

There is no substitute for experience, but trying to be successful from the ground up with experience alone in any area of gambling is a foolish undertaking, IMO.

--Dunbar

[JJP]

Experience is only good if you've learned the right way. There's plenty of 30-40 year veterans who are still worried about Horse A carrying 2 extra pounds, won't bet 3YOs against older because "they never beat them", and believe that many speed horses are "quitters".

[Five Star Derek]

Experience is very important. I think the learning curve can be cut a lot by learning from other peoples mistakes. Find somebody who has achieved the level you want to achieve and find out what worked for them and what didn't work for them. Maybe they can be a mentor. It can save a lot of time and headache of making mistakes that other people have already made for you. I've learned a lot from other peoples experiences and continue to do so including from some of the postings on this website. Anything to shorten the learning curve is a good thing.

[whorstman]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

Disagree pretty strongly with both you and Scavs (who I hope is at least partly joking). Experience is very important, but it is not "everything in gambling". You are very unlikely to learn how to beat any game by experience alone.

I very seriously doubt there is a current successful blackjack player in the entire world who is self-taught. You have to either have read a good book or have the benefit of a good mentor, or both.

I'm confident that the vast majority of successful poker players have read good books.

There is no substitute for experience, but trying to be successful from the ground up with experience alone in any area of gambling is a foolish undertaking, IMO.

--Dunbar

I think the successful gambler should take from all angles. Research, watching others, and their own experience. I think you may get caught in a rut if you don't learn from your mistakes. I know I have studied quite a bit over the last several weeks and have been cashing a lot more often b/c of it.

[DerbyCat]

I respect the experience factor that all of you veteran folks have since I'm still new to this (two years in) but I think the most important factor is being willing to admit that you don't know everything and that you're still learning...

I've been going through a HUGE learning curve lately reading books and all of your postings and I'm greatly impressed by the willingness of everyone to share their knowledge and experience... will I read Crist's book? Probably, but I'm getting just as much from the posters on this board as I will from a book.

My thanks to all of you!

[Scav]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

Disagree pretty strongly with both you and Scavs (who I hope is at least partly joking). Experience is very important, but it is not "everything in gambling". You are very unlikely to learn how to beat any game by experience alone.

I very seriously doubt there is a current successful blackjack player in the entire world who is self-taught. You have to either have read a good book or have the benefit of a good mentor, or both.

I'm confident that the vast majority of successful poker players have read good books.

There is no substitute for experience, but trying to be successful from the ground up with experience alone in any area of gambling is a foolish undertaking, IMO.

--Dunbar

Come on Dunbar, ESPECIALLY in poker, books don't tell you the guy is holding the nuts or is full of crap, gut feeling and experience tells you that. Combine that experience with some math skills and people skills and you can make alot of money in poker.

I agree with horse racing though to an extent. My handicapping has improved twenty fold over the years because I have soaked in everything and I anaylze my wagers/handicapping angles.

I take my tickets and when I get home I look them over with the program and see if it was a worthwhile wager.

The thing about this is that this self taught...I figured if I anaylze these patterns, these instances, I could only get better.

[Thunder Gulch]

I disagree pretty strongly regarding horses and books. I read a ton and believe I am much more capable than I ever would have been without that information. Sure experience is critical, but why not learn from others who are knowledgeable in the game and try some things out for yourself that can greatly shorten the learning curve. I'm not saying all the books can alone produce results, but if you can get just one good idea from a book, that makes it a winner.