Rating: 
Summary: This Is the Book for Any Player Looking for Something Deeper
Review: Feeney has produced an extraordinarily deep work. The sections discussing the thought processes of an expert poker player are truly eye opening, and offer an insight into the complexities of the game that most books fail to capture. The book is exceptionally well-written -- exceptional in the sense that most great poker players are not great writers and most great poker books are, well, written by great poker players. (Slansky & Malmuth essentially open their "Texas Hold Em for Advanced Players" with an apology for their poor writing). This is not a book for beginning poker players, but I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone who has become familiar with basic poker theory. I had read about a dozen books on poker and hold 'em before I came to this one. No book before or since has made me feel so excited about the game.
Rating:
Summary: This Is the Book for Any Player Looking for Something Deeper
Review: I am one of a growing number of serious card club poker players who learned to play poker competitively and for profit by reading books in addition to time spent at the tables. Seldom does a new book provide the unique perspective on this wonderful and complex game as this great book of essays by Dr. Feeney.This book is not for beginners. Dr. Feeney assumes that the reader understands the advanced works of other great poker writers such as David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth, Bob Ciaffone, and Mike Caro. It also concentrates on Texas Holdem rather than other popular games such as seven card stud. But its advanced analysis of the psychology of poker will help all players who want to beat the biggest and toughest games.
Rating:
Summary: Great Essays For Advanced Players!
Review: I am one of a growing number of serious card club poker players who learned to play poker competitively and for profit by reading books in addition to time spent at the tables. Seldom does a new book provide the unique perspective on this wonderful and complex game as this great book of essays by Dr. Feeney. This book is not for beginners. Dr. Feeney assumes that the reader understands the advanced works of other great poker writers such as David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth, Bob Ciaffone, and Mike Caro. It also concentrates on Texas Holdem rather than other popular games such as seven card stud. But its advanced analysis of the psychology of poker will help all players who want to beat the biggest and toughest games.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read For Serious Players
Review: I have read every top poker book ever published and have been a successful middle limit player for fifteen years. John Feeney's first poker book is a terrific collection of poker essays geared toward the mid to upper limit holdem player. However, anyone who plays poker seriously should find this book to be a tremendous value. He "pushes the envelope" of advanced thinking on familiar poker topics and brings a fresh and accurate perspective to every chapter. His essays concerning "Playing Against A Maniac" cover ideas I have never before seen in print and soon hope to employ at the tables. But my favorite chapter is "The Strategic Moment in Holdem", which literally puts you "Inside the Mind" of a top-level professional player as he thinks at the table.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read For Serious Players
Review: I have read every top poker book ever published and have been a successful middle limit player for fifteen years. John Feeney's first poker book is a terrific collection of poker essays geared toward the mid to upper limit holdem player. However, anyone who plays poker seriously should find this book to be a tremendous value. He "pushes the envelope" of advanced thinking on familiar poker topics and brings a fresh and accurate perspective to every chapter. His essays concerning "Playing Against A Maniac" cover ideas I have never before seen in print and soon hope to employ at the tables. But my favorite chapter is "The Strategic Moment in Holdem", which literally puts you "Inside the Mind" of a top-level professional player as he thinks at the table.
Rating: 
Summary: More for a Newbie
Review: I heard great things about this book and was disappointed. It did not reveal anything I didn't already know and some of the material is dated. It is a preinternet type tight style that you see at higher limits and if you are playing higher limits, you already know this stuff.
Rating:
Summary: More for a Newbie
Review: I heard great things about this book and was disappointed. It did not reveal anything I didn't already know and some of the material is dated. It is a preinternet type tight style that you see at higher limits and if you are playing higher limits, you already know this stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Absoluely Top Notch!
Review: I own and have read almost every poker book ever published and have been a successful mid limit player for fifteen years. Feeney's book is a near masterpiece collection of poker essays geared toward the mid to upper limit holdem player. However, all who play poker seriously should find this book to be a gem. He pushes the envelope of advanced thinking on some conventional topics (such as the ridiculous tendency of some players to "Hit and Run") and brings a fresh perspective to many other areas. His essays concerning "Playing Against A Maniac" cover ideas I have never before seen in print. But my favorite chapter is "The Strategic Moment in Holdem". It puts you "Inside the Mind" of a top-level professional player. If you have any doubts, you can sample two of John's essays from the home page of [his website]. While you are there, check out the forums (especially the holdem forum). There you can read some of the finest poker thinking in the world, including posts by noted authors David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth and champion tournament players such as Steve Badger. But you might have to search the archives for John Feeney's best posts. He is too busy beating up on some of the biggest and toughest holdem games in the world these days. BTW, there are two other fine collections of poker essays (other than the Sklansky, Malmuth and Caro material) that are available on Amazon but hardly noted (however, they are widely recognized by top pros as must reads). These are "Improve Your Poker" by Bob Ciaffone and "Real Poker: The Cooke Collection" by Roy Cooke.
Rating:
Summary: Dull, unoriginal, misleading
Review: I was looking forward to this book when I ordered it from Amazon and I have to say I was quite disappointed.
First, there is very little here about the poker mind. A few obvious bits of advice about not going on tilt but no real analysis of what goes on inside a poker player's brain during a game. For this reason, I feel the book's title is misleadinng, to say the least.
Second, the book has little original to say. It echoes ideas that can be found (but said more clearly) in books by Sklansky and Malmouth. If you have books by those authors, you don't need this one.
Third, the book makes comments which strike me as completely wrong. Namely, that tournament victories are largely achieved by luck and that pot limit is bad for the game of poker. This leaves those of us who think tournaments are won by skill, or who like pot limit, out in the cold.
Finally, the book is quite dry. The lively annecdotes which can make other poker books fun to read are not here. This is dry stuff. If it were better stuff, that wouldn't matter so much, but it's not.
Clearly, given the rave reviews this book is getting, I'm in the minority here. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so. Still, if you're a limit player who likes to grind away, maybe this book is for you (although even then there are other authors I'd prefer) but if you like pot or no limit, don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: Great psychological perspective on your poker play
Review: Inside the Poker Mind is a good overall book that discusses many of the concepts in all of the above books but from a psychological perspective. Not a good first book or for the amateur, but a great read once you've got some experience under your belt. This book addresses some of the psychological discipline issues that impede our ability to play at our best at all times. We are all humans and poker is an emotional game. Learn to control your emotions and exploit the behavior of others (and perception of your behavior).
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