One of many newest poker books available on the market is Rick Gleason‘s 101+ Poker Ideas That Truly Work: What The Playing cards Taught Me After Midnight. Rick found poker in 2009 and in 2015 moved to Las Vegas to play reside poker commonly. After almost 11 years residing within the metropolis that by no means sleeps, he determined to compile his model of probably the most useful ideas for low-stakes event and money sport poker gamers.
Right here, we’ll be reviewing the e book, in addition to together with an in depth interview with the writer (who can be a Cardplayer Way of life contributor), who was sort sufficient to reply our questions in nice element. In a nutshell, it’s a fantastic e book for freshmen in addition to skilled gamers — or to present as a present to somebody simply beginning out their poker journey.
Interview with Rick Gleason
How did the thought of writing the e book come about?
The thought for the e book developed slowly through the years whereas I accrued hard-earned classes on the tables. Like a whole lot of gamers, after I first began taking poker severely, I made each mistake possible. Some had been costly. Some had been embarrassing. Just a few had been each.
Over time, particularly after transferring to Las Vegas almost 11 years in the past, I started noticing one thing necessary: most long-term successful poker isn’t constructed on flashy bluffs, genius-level performs or realizing the nuances of solvers and GTO. It’s constructed on self-discipline, persistence, statement, emotional management, and avoiding pointless errors. In some ways, these fundamentals do a lot of the heavy lifting.
As I performed hundreds of hours, studied the sport, talked with skilled gamers, and reviewed my very own successes and failures, I stored notes — little reminders, observations, quotes, ideas, and classes that proved useful in my video games. Ultimately, these notes become an organized assortment of sensible poker truths that helped me in my private sport, and in my discussions with others.
In some unspecified time in the future I noticed there may be worth in placing these classes collectively in a format different gamers may truly take pleasure in studying and will use instantly. I didn’t wish to write a sophisticated textbook about poker that we regularly see. I needed an easy-read, one thing conversational, trustworthy, sensible, and relatable. I needed it to really feel like sitting down throughout from one other participant and speaking in regards to the sport.
I needed mine to show perspective, self-discipline, and decision-making from the point of view of an on a regular basis, low-stakes participant who has lived by the swings, errors, frustrations, and occasional victories most poker gamers expertise themselves. 101+ Poker Ideas is the results of these efforts.
What sort of poker gamers is your e book geared toward?
The e book is primarily geared toward leisure and low-stakes No-Restrict Texas Maintain’em gamers — particularly those that are severe about bettering their sport. It’s written for the gamers who fill most poker rooms each day: the $1/$2, $1/$3 and $2/$5 gamers, the house sport regulars, the retirees, weekend grinders, and the women and men who genuinely love the sport and wish to get higher at it.
Quite a lot of in the present day’s poker books are written at superior ranges, usually geared towards on-line professionals and solver-driven play. There’s actually worth in that world, however many on a regular basis gamers merely need sensible recommendation they’ll truly apply the following time they sit down at a reside desk. That’s who I wrote this for.
It’s additionally geared toward gamers who perceive that poker is about way over the playing cards they’re dealt. Self-discipline, persistence, emotional management, bankroll administration, statement, and decision-making beneath strain are themes that run all through the e book as a result of these are the issues that quietly separate long-term winners from long-term losers. On the identical time, freshmen can completely profit from it as a result of the writing is deliberately conversational and accessible. In some ways, that is the form of e book I want somebody had handed me years in the past after I first began taking poker severely.
Of the 107 ideas you give within the e book, which three do you assume are crucial?
That’s a tricky query as a result of most of the ideas work collectively, but when I needed to slender it down to a few core concepts that quietly sit beneath nearly every little thing else within the e book, I’d in all probability select these:
“Begin By Enjoying Fewer Palms”: That’s Tip #1 for a motive. Most low-stakes gamers merely play too many arms and put themselves in too many tough conditions, costing themselves valuable chips. Self-discipline is the muse of successful poker. Enjoying fewer arms instantly improves decision-making, reduces expensive errors, and places gamers in stronger positions extra usually. It’s in all probability the one quickest enchancment many gamers could make.“Good Folds Deserve Respect”: Poker tradition tends to glorify hero calls and dramatic moments, however long-term successful poker is usually in regards to the arms you don’t play and the cash you don’t lose. One disciplined fold can save a complete session. Ego makes gamers name. Expertise teaches them when to let go. I feel studying to fold accurately is among the hardest and most precious expertise in poker.“Selections Matter Extra Than Outcomes”: That concept may be the emotional spine of your entire e book. Poker may be brutal as a result of good choices don’t all the time produce rapid rewards, and unhealthy choices typically convey fortunate outcomes. Gamers who develop into obsessive about short-term outcomes often wrestle emotionally and financially over time. The gamers who survive — and finally succeed — are those who keep centered on making constantly good choices no matter non permanent outcomes.
If a participant actually understands these three ideas — self-discipline, folding extra usually, and making good choices — a whole lot of the opposite classes within the e book start falling into place naturally.
You moved to Las Vegas a number of years in the past to play poker. What had been the most effective and worst elements of that have?
The perfect half about transferring to Las Vegas was immersion within the sport. Las Vegas is poker’s grand stage. The sport by no means sleeps right here. Each poker site has its personal persona, rhythm, characters, and unwritten guidelines. You may sit in any of the attractive poker rooms on this metropolis and end up taking part in towards vacationers, retirees, professionals, locals, worldwide guests, and sometimes somebody who in all probability shouldn’t nonetheless be awake at 3 a.m. It’s endlessly fascinating.
Las Vegas additionally pressured me to develop into trustworthy about my sport. Again after I lived elsewhere, it was simple to assume I understood poker fairly effectively. Then I arrived right here and shortly found there are ranges to this sport — and a few gamers function on ranges you haven’t even thought-about but. Vegas humbled me quick. Looking back, that was a present.
One other nice half was the folks. Poker launched me to buddies and personalities I by no means would have met in any other case. Among the smartest, funniest, kindest, and most attention-grabbing folks I do know in the present day got here from sitting round poker tables late at evening speaking in regards to the sport, our different pursuits, life, and human nature.
The worst half? Variance and emotional wear-and-tear develop into very actual when poker is consistently round you. Dropping streaks don’t really feel theoretical anymore. Lengthy downswings check your confidence, persistence, self-discipline, and ego. There have been nights driving dwelling down Las Vegas Boulevard after I puzzled whether or not I used to be bettering or just paying costly life-long tuition simply to play the sport.
Las Vegas can even quietly devour folks in the event that they aren’t cautious. The town is constructed round motion, stimulation, and temptation. Poker itself can develop into emotionally exhausting when you lose steadiness. You must discover ways to step away, reset, discover different pursuits, and preserve perspective. However in the end, I’m grateful I did it. Las Vegas made me a much better pupil of poker — and truthfully, in all probability a greater pupil of individuals as effectively.
What was probably the most weird or unimaginable factor you noticed at a Vegas poker desk?
Las Vegas poker rooms are stuffed with weird moments. The sport attracts each persona sort possible, particularly after midnight. Over time you see a whole lot of weird, even unimaginable issues occur round you. However one second stands out as a result of it completely captured the unusual humanity of poker.
I used to be taking part in in a late-night money sport when a participant on the desk misplaced a really giant pot in brutal style — a kind of arms the place he obtained all the cash in as an enormous favourite and nonetheless in some way misplaced to that miracle card on the river. The form of beat the place your entire desk collectively exhales.
Some gamers would curse, storm off, or on the very least complain. As a substitute, this man simply sat there silently staring on the board for a number of seconds. Then he calmly reached into his backpack, pulled out a harmonica, and began taking part in it proper there on the desk. Not joking. All the desk froze. Sellers had been laughing. Gamers had been confused. One man thought he was having a breakdown. One other participant tossed him a $5 chip like he was acting on Fremont Avenue. The unusual factor was… the harmonica taking part in was truly fairly good. After about 30 seconds, he quietly put it away, stacked what little chips he had left, seemed across the desk and mentioned, “Properly of us… typically the blues simply arrive early.” Then he laughed, rebought and stored taking part in like nothing occurred.
That’s Las Vegas poker in a nutshell. The town is stuffed with gamblers, dreamers, heartbreak, eccentric personalities, and moments you truthfully couldn’t invent when you tried. Poker rooms develop into this unusual crossroads the place folks from utterly completely different lives all collide for just a few hours beneath shiny lights chasing the identical factor. And each as soon as in a fantastic whereas, anyone pulls out a harmonica after getting rivered.
The WSOP is simply across the nook. The place in Las Vegas do you suggest taking part in money video games and tournaments?
The gorgeous factor about Las Vegas throughout the WSOP is that your entire metropolis turns into one large poker ecosystem. Even when you by no means enter a bracelet occasion, it’s arguably the most effective time of the yr to play poker anyplace on the planet as a result of the video games develop into bigger, softer, and way more action-oriented.
With the WSOP on the town, I like taking part in money video games on the Paris, held in one in all their large ballrooms, alongside numerous occasions of the WSOP. Whereas the Paris doesn’t usually have their very own poker site, they do have their very own chips and I’ve discovered these video games to be a few of the most worthwhile video games throughout your entire yr.
As for tournaments, clearly the WSOP itself on the Horseshoe and Paris is the middle of the poker universe throughout the summer season. Even decrease buy-in occasions can create unforgettable experiences. Strolling by these event areas throughout the Sequence looks like getting into poker’s model of the Olympics.
That mentioned, not each participant wants to fireplace large buy-ins chasing bracelets. The Wynn, Venetian, Orleans, and different poker rooms all run excellent each day and summer season event sequence which can be smaller, friendlier, and typically provide higher worth for common, leisure gamers.
READ MORE: The 2026 Seniors Vegas Poker Summer time Schedule
Truthfully, for a lot of guests, the most effective expertise is mixing each worlds: play just a few tournaments for the expertise and spend the remainder of your time in money video games the place you’ll be able to management your hours, handle variance somewhat higher, and easily benefit from the ambiance, and the folks.
One remaining thought: throughout the WSOP, desk choice issues greater than ever. The town fills with dreamers, vacationers, qualifiers, bucket-list gamers, and folks chasing poker glory. Someplace in each room there’s a improbable sport operating — and someplace close by there’s a lineup stuffed with killers defending each chip prefer it’s oxygen. Studying the distinction is a part of the ability of surviving Las Vegas in the summertime months of the World Sequence of Poker.
What are the most typical errors you see at money sport tables?
The commonest errors I see in reside money video games are not often sophisticated strategic errors. Most are emotional, discipline-related, or rooted in impatience. If I needed to slender it down, listed here are the largest leaks I see over and over:
Enjoying Too Many Palms: That is in all probability the grand champion of poker errors. Gamers get bored, curious, impatient, or just need motion. Weak beginning arms create tough conditions later, particularly out of place. Quite a lot of shedding poker begins lengthy earlier than the flop ever arrives.Calling Too A lot: Dwell low-stakes gamers like to name. They name as a result of they’re curious. They name as a result of “it wasn’t that rather more.” They name as a result of folding feels emotionally unsatisfying. Calling with out a clear motive quietly drains stacks over time. In lots of poker rooms, folding — particularly to a min-raise — is as uncommon as a quiet Friday evening on The Strip.Ignoring Place: Place quietly prints cash in poker, however many leisure gamers underestimate how highly effective it truly is. They enter pots too loosely from early place, then spend complete arms reacting as a substitute of controlling the motion.Bluffing The Improper Individuals: A shocking variety of gamers (and me amongst them) make the error of making an attempt to bluff opponents who clearly hate folding. Some folks come to Las Vegas to gamble, socialize, and to see playing cards — to not fold high pair — even with a rag kicker — as a result of the board texture says they need to.
Mockingly, successful poker often feels fairly boring. The strongest gamers aren’t continually pulling off miracles. They’re merely making fewer costly errors than everybody else, hour after hour, session after session.
What has poker taught you over all these years?
Poker has taught me way more about life than I ever anticipated after I first began taking part in the sport years in the past. First, it taught me humility. Poker has a means of exposing ego. The sport doesn’t care who you’re, what you do for a residing, how clever you assume you’re, or how effectively issues went yesterday. If you happen to cease studying, cease adapting, or cease being trustworthy with your self, poker finally returns to accumulating tuition.
It taught me persistence. In life, similar to in poker, forcing issues often creates issues. Good alternatives arrive in their very own due time. The self-discipline to attend for these higher conditions — as a substitute of chasing mediocre ones out of frustration or boredom — is effective each on the desk and away from it.
Poker additionally taught me emotional management. You can also make all the suitable choices and nonetheless lose for lengthy stretches. That’s a tough lesson. Studying tips on how to keep calm, assume clearly beneath strain, and keep away from emotional reactions has in all probability helped me as a lot in life because it has in poker.
It taught me accountability too. Poker removes excuses over time. Ultimately you understand blaming luck, the playing cards, the seller, or variance solely delays progress. Lengthy-term outcomes often replicate long-term decision-making. That’s true in poker and in life.
However maybe most surprisingly, poker taught me about folks. Sit at sufficient poker tables and also you’ll meet each form of persona possible — rich and broke, sort and smug, sensible and reckless, lonely and outgoing. Underneath strain, folks reveal themselves. Poker strips away a whole lot of pretense.
And at last, poker taught me perspective. After sufficient years within the sport, you understand, as simple as it’s to lose monitor… the cash issues. Nonetheless, the reminiscences matter too. A few of my favourite moments had nothing to do with successful pots. They got here from the conversations, friendships, laughter, unusual late-night moments, and the shared expertise of individuals sitting round a desk making an attempt to navigate uncertainty collectively.
That’s actually what poker is beneath all of it: decision-making beneath uncertainty. Life works the identical means. We not often have all the knowledge we wish. We do our greatest, hopefully studying to reside with the outcomes, studying from our errors, and preserve transferring ahead one resolution at a time.
What causes would you give our readers to learn your e book?
I feel readers will take pleasure in this e book as a result of it’s sensible, trustworthy, and written from the angle of somebody who’s truly lived the grind of low-stakes poker for years — not from the point of view of a high-stakes poker movie star, however from the on a regular basis realities most gamers truly expertise on the desk.
This isn’t a theory-heavy e book crammed with charts, sophisticated math, or solver jargon. It’s a conversational area guide constructed round real-world conditions most poker gamers truly face in casinos, cardrooms, and residential video games each week.
The e book focuses on the issues that actually decide long-term success: self-discipline, emotional management, persistence, bankroll administration, studying folks, avoiding expensive errors, and making higher choices beneath strain. These are the teachings poker retains instructing all of us — often the laborious means.
I additionally assume readers will respect that the guidelines are quick, direct, and straightforward to soak up. You may learn just a few pages earlier than a session, revisit sure sections after a tricky evening, or just open the e book at random and discover one thing helpful. It was deliberately designed that means.
Most significantly, I wrote it in my very own voice. Hopefully one which feels approachable and relatable. It’s me, speaking to my poker buddies. I’m not pretending to have conquered poker. I’m nonetheless a pupil of the sport myself. These classes had been realized by years of expertise, errors, conversations with different gamers, and hundreds of hours on the tables in Las Vegas and past.
If the e book helps somebody keep away from just a few costly errors, assume extra clearly throughout tough moments, or just benefit from the sport extra, then it’s performed its job, and has simply greater than paid for itself.
E book Data: By The Numbers
Title: “101+ Poker Ideas That Truly Work: What The Playing cards Taught Me After Midnight”Writer: Rick GleasonYear of publication: 2026Pages: 110Prices: $5.95 Kindle / $12.95 PaperbackWhere to purchase it? AmazonYou can learn an excerpt of the e book right here
Poker E book Assessment: 101+ Poker Ideas That Truly Work
The very first thing to make clear is that this e book will not be meant for skilled or semi-professional gamers. It’s written for gamers who take part in tournaments and low-stakes money video games, and likewise for individuals who are simply beginning out and starting to be taught the sport. For that motive, you gained’t discover sophisticated calculations, hand vary charts, or solver options on this e book. What you can find are over 100 ideas that can make it easier to make higher choices on the tables.
The e book is split into 9 elements:
The Foundations: self-discipline, place & intentHand power, pot management & valueBluffing, strain & storytellingReading gamers, patterns & tablesMath, ranges & structuresMindset tilt & emotional controlBankroll, stake & long-tern thinkingImprovement research & longevityThe core truths of successful poker
Gamers simply beginning out of their first video games or tournaments will discover glorious recommendation on this e book, offering a strong basis and serving to them win chips in favorable conditions whereas avoiding pointless losses. For money sport gamers, the e book’s ideas will assist maximize income and reduce losses.
The recommendation is offered in a direct and easy means, and features a few arms to bolster the ideas. The writer additionally provides private anecdotes and touches of humor that make the studying way more entertaining. The e book is rarely boring and might simply be learn in a single night.
It’s a really perfect reward for somebody beginning out in poker, dwelling sport gamers, and likewise for normal event and low-stakes money sport gamers. Extra skilled gamers can even use it to refresh their information of the basics which can be important for fulfillment on the poker desk.
Ed. notice: Rick Gleason will probably be doing a e book signing at Blended Recreation Pageant XIV, Wednesday June 3, at 12pm at Bellagio Las Vegas.
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