Review – “Treat Your Poker Like a Business” by Dusty Schmidt
- by admin
Down the years as a professional online poker player, writer, coach and author then I have read and reviewed more poker books than I can care to remember. But out of all of the modern poker books that I have read then few have had a lasting impact on me greater than Treat your poker like a business by the online poker legend that is Dusty Schmidt. This is a book that is different to nearly any other book that is on the market at this time and that for me makes a refreshing change.
Introducing Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt
If you only ever watch poker on television then there is a very good chance that you will never have even heard of the name Dusty Schmidt. That is simply because Dusty not only does not frequent live poker tournaments or cash games but simply has no desire to do so and plays online poker only. Also because he is a cash game specialist then he doesn’t even get the recognition in that area.
However Dusty Schmidt soon got the attention of the poker world when it became clear that he had won several million dollars playing online poker and the poker world were soon aware of his screen name of “Leatherass” due to the high volume of discussion about him on numerous poker forums. In some ways Dusty Schmidt shares some similarities with Doyle Brunson as he too was shaping up for a very successful career in sport.
He was one of the top amateur golfers in the USA when injury forced him to quit and he began grinding online poker for a living originally just for sign up bonuses. The career of Dusty Schmidt is highlighted in Treat your poker like a business and it reveals a story that shows what can be achieved from adversity.
Book overview
Any reader who purchases this book looking for hand examples and other types of data of that nature are in for a big disappointment. This book is simply not about that and that for me is what makes this book so great. There are only two reasons why this book has yet to reach the legendary status that has been afforded to books like Supersystem. They are that Dusty Schmidt does not play live tournaments and so simply does not get to win big titles that the poker press so covets and so he has never been on television as a result of that. The second reason is that the book is relatively new only being published in 2009.
The book not only takes the reader into a fascinating trip inside the mind of a professional poker player but it clearly highlights everything that a successful player needs to do to make it in the world of professional online poker. To help him in that cause he availed himself of the help of other professionals like Jared Tendler who was instrumental in helping Dusty Schmidt overcome problems with his own psychology.
In short then Treat your poker like a business helps the reader to view poker not as a game but as a business just like any other and how important it is to stop treating poker as a game and to assume a whole new serious level of approach. The book covers all of the main aspects of professional poker including looking at rake and the effect of it, proper bankroll management, time management, strategy selection, psychology, managing your time effectively to name but a few.
Conclusion:
There are very few poker books that really get my juices flowing these days or books that I read that really have something different to say that hasn’t already been said. However Treat your poker like a business is not that book and it is an absolute must read for any player either novice, intermediate or even advanced who wants to aspire to the life of playing online poker for profit or even as a profession.
In fact that one statement really does encompass this book because I literally defy any poker player at whatever level not to be able to take valuable insights from this book. Whether it is to do with poker strategy, learning from the wisdom of Dusty Schmidt or matters regarding your own personal psychology then this book has much to teach you irrespective of your level.
I was an eight year industry pro when I read this book but yet this is one of the few books that I take the time to read and re-read every single month. When played properly by the best online players then poker is really far more of a business than a game. The winners treat their poker like a business while the losers treat it more like a game and this book helps you to move from one area firmly into the other.
Written By: Carl “The Dean” Sampson – Poker author, writer and pro online poker player