Writing a book?

[This Fish Chums]

So, I've been collecting my CardsChat posts in a Word document as a start towards writing a book on Poker. I'm up to 250 pages now, so I think that's a good starting point and was thinking about giving it a go. Now, I am NOT a professional and my win/loss stats are actually horrible. However (most of) my poker tips are based on how you should play and not how I actually play. So, I have three thoughts. First, I could post under another name like a lot of authors do. However, I feel this would be deceptive with a book on poker tips and don't like the idea. Second, I could just write it and not tell people I'm a rank amateur. Finally, I could post a disclaimer at the very beginning of the book where I come clean about my lack of success, but why I think people may find the book useful anyway.

My question is, which of those 3 options would you be most inclined to buy the book (without knowing anything else about the book)? Or, would you completely ignore any book not written by a pro?

And for bonus points, if you have any strong opinions on whether or not my posts are good enough in general to be the starting point of a book, let me know. All feedback is welcome here.

 

[thatgreekdude]

I genuinely wouldn't listen to tips off someone who isn't a winning player no offense, it's like paying a fat personal trainer to whip you into shape. Practice what you preach and all that.

 

[LarsLucidor]

The problem here is credibility. If you don't have a winning record as a poker player, what do you have that would make anybody interested in reading your book? I don't think many people, (if any) would choose a book written by a losing amateur rather than a profitable seasoned pro if that is his only merit. I mean my nan could write a book that would sell better… and she is dead.

 

[FoxMS]

I never spent money on books. All I needed I searched and found on the Internet for free. But if you have enough material, you can really write a book. Why not ?

 

[sibird]

So, I've been collecting my CardsChat posts in a Word document as a start towards writing a book on Poker. I'm up to 250 pages now, so I think that's a good starting point and was thinking about giving it a go. Now, I am NOT a professional and my win/loss stats are actually horrible. However (most of) my poker tips are based on how you should play and not how I actually play. So, I have three thoughts. First, I could post under another name like a lot of authors do. However, I feel this would be deceptive with a book on poker tips and don't like the idea. Second, I could just write it and not tell people I'm a rank amateur. Finally, I could post a disclaimer at the very beginning of the book where I come clean about my lack of success, but why I think people may find the book useful anyway.

My question is, which of those 3 options would you be most inclined to buy the book (without knowing anything else about the book)? Or, would you completely ignore any book not written by a pro?

And for bonus points, if you have any strong opinions on whether or not my posts are good enough in general to be the starting point of a book, let me know. All feedback is welcome here.

Books written by pros are well accepted. The reason is obvious.They have earned the reputation of being a successful players and book contains their knowledge and experience of the game and how they achieve the success.

If i wish to buy your book what would i think about the book before purchasing it. If writer himself is not successful then how i can be successful by following his tips?

I don't mean to disappoint you but as you mentioned, your win/loss stat is horrible, i am inclined to make such statement. And it is my honest opinion.

However, if the book contains something new on the subject or something which was overlooked or some new approach to the game then i think you can sell your book. You need to send some books free of cost to some pros and request them for their opinion. If you can get that then you may post those opinions on you book (with permission) which definitely will help you in marketing your book.

At the end, good luck.

 

[pentazepam]

Even if you have the pathos (and maybe logos) you don't have any ethos.

Plus the poker market is one of the most saturated markets then it comes to information.

Not only are they a lot of good books written by professional players, there are also forums, video instruction sites and courses, YouTube material, Twitch streams, blogs, articles, live coaching, solvers and other software etc.

I have hundreds of books about all kinds of poker in PDF files. I doubt I could sell them even if I wanted to.

If you want to sell anything in a big market that is full of material (some for free) . You have to find some sub-niche like maybe:
The bad players guide to losing as little money as possible, and have a good time at the poker table.
Or: I'm loosing but I also laugh a lot at the poker table - here are some of my craziest hands.

 

[BoyNamedSude]

1. I will not be buying any books. Its bad for the environment.
2. Being deceptive is the best way to sell anything... Including a weak hand or pharmaceuticals. Its called bluffing.
3. The better option is to use YouTube, or some other venue, and develop a completely misleading and sensational title, like "How I Won a Million Dollars by Internet Poker in a Week."
It does not matter that people won't like your vid... once they click, u will be paid.

 

[BoyNamedSude]

You could increase the quality of your content by using my posts instead... And also include a section on "Using Mantra and meditation for poker success."
I have a special Mantra I use when I want to get AA... would you like to know what it is? Send me 5 bucks!

 

[AKQ]

So, I've been collecting my CardsChat posts in a Word document as a start towards writing a book on Poker. I'm up to 250 pages now, so I think that's a good starting point and was thinking about giving it a go. Now, I am NOT a professional and my win/loss stats are actually horrible. However (most of) my poker tips are based on how you should play and not how I actually play. So, I have three thoughts. First, I could post under another name like a lot of authors do. However, I feel this would be deceptive with a book on poker tips and don't like the idea. Second, I could just write it and not tell people I'm a rank amateur. Finally, I could post a disclaimer at the very beginning of the book where I come clean about my lack of success, but why I think people may find the book useful anyway.

My question is, which of those 3 options would you be most inclined to buy the book (without knowing anything else about the book)? Or, would you completely ignore any book not written by a pro?

And for bonus points, if you have any strong opinions on whether or not my posts are good enough in general to be the starting point of a book, let me know. All feedback is welcome here.

Make a new view on poker and it might sell.
Remake a poker book that has already been published, not so hot of an idea.
Hope to see great things from you chum lol

 

[LarsLucidor]

1. I will not be buying any books. Its bad for the environment.
2. Being deceptive is the best way to sell anything... Including a weak hand or pharmaceuticals. Its called bluffing.
3. The better option is to use YouTube, or some other venue, and develop a completely misleading and sensational title, like "How I Won a Million Dollars by Internet Poker in a Week."
It does not matter that people won't like your vid... once they click, u will be paid.

Thanks for letting us know we can't even read books anymore. You're sure making the world a better place.

 

[Rahatis]

I genuinely wouldn't listen to tips off someone who isn't a winning player no offense, it's like paying a fat personal trainer to whip you into shape. Practice what you preach and all that.

You can always learn something from anyone. It doesn't have to be winning poker in this case.

 

[VivicvrMga]

Why not start with a blog?

 

[BoyNamedSude]

the best Killer

Thanks for letting us know we can't even read books anymore. You're sure making the world a better place.

I had thought, being smart and all...after reading books, that you would have understood that books come from trees, and trees are required to make oxygen...it's pretty str8 forward.
Books are a past form of information dissemination and storage.
Like poker, things have become electronic, to accommodate both volume, and timeliness... you don't have to drive or fly to a casino and hope for the best... you can do that better online...
You also can get the most timely and in depth information on any topic...online, as compared a library, and you don't have to cut down a million trees to print a million books... that alone should put the issue to rest...
Best sellers... are best killers.:damnmate:

 

[pentazepam]

I had thought, being smart and all...after reading books, that you would have understood that books come from trees, and trees are required to make oxygen...it's pretty str8 forward.
Books are a past form of information dissemination and storage.
Like poker, things have become electronic, to accommodate both volume, and timeliness... you don't have to drive or fly to a casino and hope for the best... you can do that better online...
You also can get the most timely and in depth information on any topic...online, as compared a library, and you don't have to cut down a million trees to print a million books... that alone should put the issue to rest...
Best sellers... are best killers.:damnmate:

A digital book is still a book. I only have PDF-files nowadays.

 

[PLAYFUL1]

I could not ever write a book , I have too much material lol

 

[NWPatriot]

...My question is, which of those 3 options would you be most inclined to buy the book (without knowing anything else about the book)? Or, would you completely ignore any book not written by a pro?...

Very interesting 'Chums'.

I am on a similar journey. I have read books, watched videos, and have checked out many of the training and coaching sites. I also have a poker book, but I am calling it "A Poker Players Notebook". It started as a collection of ideas, thoughts, learnings, tips, whatever you want to call them. I quickly realized that it needed to be organized in some fashion or it was even useless to me. I am up to 350 pages. I made a real effort to make it cohesive back when it was about 180 pages, and now it is getting out of control and is probably just a bunch of rambling.

Along the way, I believe I have come up with some useful and novel tricks that are not published anywhere else (that I know of). But similar to your story, as long as I am only a local hack, I have no hope of getting anyone interested in this thing I have created. I win my share, but I have no big feature game to hang my hat on, yet....

I do have to agree with most of the responses in that I would not purchase something from someone that does not have the wins to back it up. Heck, even some folks with wins, I won't pay to buy a book they wrote.

Good luck to you.

 

[Deedgee]

I don't believe that anyone can learn to play poker well from a book, versus real experience, anymore that a book on writing can teach someone how to be a writer. You have to write. I'm a writer, an author, and if you stop writing for a long period of time, your skills get flabby. So I would recommend writing a poker book of fiction. Think of a flop and way to incorporate poker into the plot. It's very difficult to describe poker in a book.

 

[This Fish Chums]

So I would recommend writing a poker book of fiction. Think of a flop and way to incorporate poker into the plot. It's very difficult to describe poker in a book.

Hm. That might actually work.

 

[HaroldHouse]

I think the idea of starting a blog first is the best. You can see how many reader followers you get. That would give you an idea of how many people would interested and how they like your info

 

[Matt_Burns88]

A lot of very sensible opinions here.

I for one would not buy, or even consider buying a book written by a losing player.

Using another name or not mentioning your win/loss is not an option in this day and age. You publish a book and the first thing people are going to do, is look you up to see who you are and what you've done and soon find out your real name and that you're a losing player. Bang - credibility gone - zero sales.

Here's a question - if you think your book can help improve peoples play, why not implement this into your game? Then you would have a book. "How a rank amateur became a top pro" would be a title I would look into more. There are a lot of half decent losing players out there that with a few tweaks to their game, could go from a slight losing player to a regular winner.

 

[MishkaZL]

In my opinion, it is not necessary to be a professional player to write a good poker book. I think that in order to do this, first of all, you need to have quality content and, according to it, be able to create a good structure.

 

[LarsLucidor]

I had thought, being smart and all...after reading books, that you would have understood that books come from trees, and trees are required to make oxygen...it's pretty str8 forward.
Books are a past form of information dissemination and storage.
Like poker, things have become electronic, to accommodate both volume, and timeliness... you don't have to drive or fly to a casino and hope for the best... you can do that better online...
You also can get the most timely and in depth information on any topic...online, as compared a library, and you don't have to cut down a million trees to print a million books... that alone should put the issue to rest...
Best sellers... are best killers.:damnmate:

I also know from reading books that I enjoy reading them and that there are problems in this world that are bigger than me buying said books. I have also come to a point were i don't listen to neurotic people trying to moralize over everything to calm their conscience and try to look good in the process. Don't you see it's counterproductive being a spoilsport?

 

[Zvezda kz]

Hey.
I don’t think this book will be very successful among poker players. They certainly would not have bought it.
Firstly, only advanced players read poker books, and amateurs are not interested in any books at all. Experienced players are mostly familiar with all the principles of playing poker correctly and are interested in nuances that are difficult to catch for themselves, or it takes a long time to learn them.
If you publish your book for free and just write the basic rules of a positive poker game, publish it in a simple form, it may be interesting for beginners. In this book, various tables and formulas will not interfere with everything in a simplified form.

 

[williamsc99]

Write the book and let it go when you get a wcoop kkkk. Just kidding I think you should make the most of your life, this includes writing a book when you feel like it, so go ahead.

 

[zinzir]

A good disclaimer for your book would be your own cardschat motto:​

​

"Hey, since I'm gonna hit the rail anyway, I'll go out with a bang; crash and burn all the way.​

​

I do what the good players should never ever do."​

​