Phil Ivey "I`ve never read a Poker Book in my life"

[DrMarcelo55]

Well i believe. Some people are predestinade and have more facility to make thinks then others. He's a phenomenon.

 

[StormRaven]

It's possible, some peeps are successful with just actual application vs reading about theory & than applying. I read somewhere (CardPlayer, Bluff...?) that Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Allan Cunningham, & Daniel Negreneau formed an alliance group (calling themselves 'The Crew') in the 90s, when they were up & coming together, to discuss strategies & hands.

You bring up an interesting point here--there is reading and there is reading. Judging from your number of posts, you've done quite a bit of reading about poker, right here at CC. The format is different, is all, because the wealth of information in the forum could comprise more than several books.

Then there are people who just plain aren't into reading at all, including joining a forum for that very reason--my guy Mike is one. He learns by playing and discussing the game. Everyone thinks that's ironic, btw, because I am the total opposite.

Moving right along, I agree that some day a book will come out purported to be "by Phil Ivey". Will he actually do the writing? My money would be on a ghostwriter or a "co-author".

^^^I agree with both these posts, plus I want to add in 2 more points:

1. Some men refuse to read a road map - or an instruction manual - so I do believe it when Phil says he never read a poker book.

2. My grandfather was a pro. He did read some books when they became available, but before then, he practiced. My grandfather literally spent 20+ hrs a week sitting on the floor in his living room or in the motel room he was staying at, watching tv and dealing out practice hands on the floor to calculate odds. That's some serious dedication and it's not completely unfathomable that others would self-study as well without the use of a book.

*As a side note, if you are struggling with your game and not improving in this day and age, then it would be silly to not take advantage of all the material that is now available to players.

 

[wetyeti]

Does it matter? Hes just plain good. Lets say he has read a few books and he he reveals what books they were. Lets see what would happen.
1. Those book sales take off. I would buy them.
2. After reading them I think I have the same info as Ivey
3. I blow my roll.
4. I think Phil Ivey is crazy and doesn't know how to read.

 

[the lab man]

I've never read a poker book ever, either... I'm no Phil Ivey, though.

I like this post.................. I have read poker books...I'm no Phil Ivey though.

 

[postflopper]

he might not have read poker books but he sure as hell must've discussed strategy with his friends and fellow pros. the crew, interesting, i have to check out that bit of trivia.

 

[Xavier]

I've got to agree with those who say hes lying.
Why the heck would he purposefully shut himself off from such a big source of information about the game?

 

[Xavier]

SP naild this one.Why read a book by ppl that your better than makes no sence to me.

Two obvious reasons

1. He wasn't born the best poker player in the world. When he first started playing and was completely inexperienced there would have been loads of people better than him, so why not speed up his learning process by reading some books by them.

2. People who aern't as good as you can occasionally come up with the some good ideas to improve your play that you can't. Just because you're a better player than someone overall doesn't mean there can't be a couple of aspects of their game which are better than yours.
Top players in sports are often coached by people who were never as good players as them.

All in all I reckon Ivey's too intelligent to have never read a book.

 

[Liveone1]

Personally, I think what he says is true. The guy has been gambling since he was a kid and I think experience is the best teacher. Also, he had to sleep on the streets a couple times at a young age when he went bust. I think that had to sharpen his instincts 'cause his back was against the wall and he needed to win. I don't think Doyle Bronson, Moss or Stu had any books to rely on. If they did, then I stand corrected. Poker is second nature for guys like Stu and Phil who grew up in the game, and through experience developed "card sense". I do think he had a few mentors along the way though.

 

[kolynet]

He problably read some. No way that he have never checked any in his life.

 

[Pothole]

Strategy books are the only books worth reading. I received a Danny N book for Christmas and one of the main thing it tries to get in your head is when to get out of a hand, not much use online when your playing a tool who plays aggressive ATC and doesn't know how to fold a blanket.

 

[blackmax]

whats so hard to belive?

 

[blackmax]

hell i have never read 1 before either! i learned from watching espn years ago.Started playing online about 3years ago and learned enough to compete ....so yes i belive him 100%

 

[peacebrother]

I believe him. I have read only one book years ago Doyles.
Playing live really makes you remember when you loose an 800.00 bet in 1/2. You learn quick

 

[Sumun]

So he says ?? anyone believe him? i mean its nearly impossible to not get into poker and not read up on it, i know he wants to keep his strategy private or whatever ?? back when he was playing before the internet boom there was only mayby a hand full of books Super system etc

do you really reckon he honed his skills playing live casino or?? ive never seen many tips or essays on poker by the Tiger Woods Of poker

i dont believe him

its obv he says that because he dont want anyone to know his strategy, or things like that

maybe he just read a few books, and hes good just because of practice and discussing, but he surely has read some

 

[MrPokerVerse]

A profeesional is always looking to get better. Any sport you continue to improve, create and grow. I can't believe with all travel and down time he doesn't crack a book. How many of his competitors has written books? So he has no interest on how they play or think. Something tells me he is seriously down playing that question.

 

[adsthepro123]

lol

he probably paid someone to read it to him lol then he could say he has never read a book himself, but i do believe him when he says he has never read a book, he probably just has enough experience and knowledge to learn from the pros around him and if you take in a certain amount of knowledge from each pro you are going to be one of the best in the world as he is arguably the best.
adsthepro

 

[liamkg]

I'd believe him, just look at the veterans like Doyle, Amarillo Slim these guy learned by going from town to town looking for a game. They learned through experiences. Ivey has no reason to lie so while it helps I don't believe that poker books are a necessity

 

[OzExorcist]

I think I said most of this a while back... but a few things for people in the "OMG he's obviously lying" camp to think about:

- He's been among the best players in the world for a lot of years now. If he said he hadn't read a poker book in, say, the past 10 years would you believe him?

- If you believe that (and I'd say it's not unreasonable) then the most likely time for him to have read any books was when he was starting out.

- Ivey started out playing live stud games. He didn't start out in NLHE. Think about how few books there are that cover stud now, let alone how few there were back then.

I'd say Super System and Sklansky's Theory of Poker would be the major contenders. Maybe there's a handful of other titles that would be applicable too.

Anywho, my point is that sure, it sounds unlikely that a guy who plays poker for a living has never read a single one of the tousands of poker books that are available. But when you consider that only a very small number of them were in contention for him to read anyway I think it becomes a lot more plausible.