Ed Recommends: Winning Secrets of Poker

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About a year ago, someone contacted me and asked me to do an interview for a book he was writing. I said sure, and a couple of days later, we spent an hour gabbing about poker. Unlike many interviewers, this man’s questions were insightful and betrayed a solid knowledge of the subject. He wasn’t just attracted to the flavor of the month, he knew about poker and understood the intricacies of the poker universe that elude the many frustratingly ignorant poker journalists.

The book’s out now, and having read it, I highly recommend Peter Fornatale’s Winning Secrets of Poker: Interviews with the Game’s Best Players. Along with me, he’s interviewed 17 other poker personalities. Frankly, I think his interviews are several cuts above. He’s “done his homework,” and he’s found the intriguing nooks and crannies that so many miss. He interviews the usual suspects (Negreanu, Hellmuth), but he also interviews several unknown pros with various backgrounds.

Indeed, some of the most interesting interviews are the three with “Anonymous” pros. Some of these John Doe’s play live, and some play on the internet. While it may be fun to eavesdrop on the comings and goings of the TV pros, the “in the trenches” pros offer far more instructional value. I’ve always felt that the rise of the large cadre of anonymous “internet” pros was a story well worth telling, and Fornatale has begun to do just that.

Winning Secrets of Poker offers 18 in-depth interviews with TV pros, John Doe’s, and keyboard jockeys like me (and several others). I think most poker players will both enjoy and learn from this book. Winning Secrets of Poker: Interviews with the Game’s Best Players

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