A Review of The Book of Bluffs

A Review of The Book of Bluffs
By David Apostolico

Despite the abundance of new poker books to hit the shelves in the last few years, there has been a lack of literature on one extremely important subject – bluffs. When the uninitiated think of poker, they have are often mistaken in believing that poker is all about bluffing. While there is certainly a lot more to poker than bluffing, bluffing remains a critical part of the game. In fact, if you are going to play no limit hold ‘em tournaments, learning to bluff is a necessity if you are going to win them.

Well, I am happy to say that the long wait is over. The Book of Bluffs by Matt Lessinger is a top notch book on the subject. The book is smart, informative, entertaining and easy to read. In fact, it is one of the best poker strategy books I have ever read – on any subject. Written in a friendly conversational style, this book reads effortlessly while still packing a powerful substantive punch. Matt has done superb job of spelling out the importance of bluffing without overemphasizing the value. This is a well researched book that provides examples throughout. The sample hands are real hands but not necessarily based on Matt’s play.

Matt has chosen a great number of hands to provide insight into various situations. The bluffs highlighted range from the simple to the sublime and each is graded on a number of factors including degree of difficulty. I’ve always thought of bluffing as an art form but Matt had done a terrific job of breaking it down into a science. He analyzes the types of opponents and situations you are likely to face. Learning to identify these opponents and situations will help you decide who to bluff, when to bluff and how long to continue the bluff.

Of course, bluffing is not an exact science. Matt does not ignore the art form or psychological aspect of bluffing. There is plenty of useful information to help you get into the right frame of mind as well as getting into your opponent’s head. The last chapter is exceptional. Here, Matt provides critical analysis of some of the greatest bluffs in World Series of Poker history. (My favorite is a critical one made by Chris Moneymaker on the way to his 2003 championship – and it’s not the one that you think!) That analysis is followed up in most cases with interviews of the participants. These interviews are candid, revealing and insightful.

A thorough understanding of bluffs is a critical part of any poker player’s education – for both offensive and defensive purposes. Not only will you become more successful at implementing bluffs, you will be much more attuned to detecting them. The Book of Bluffs is destined to be the definitive work on the subject.