Book Review: Treat Your Poker Like A Business

We continue our look at classic poker books to see if they have stood the test of time with this interesting offering from Dusty Schmidt.

He may not be a household name now but before Black Friday Dusty 'Leatherass' Schmidt was a legendary grinder of the game. An at times controversial figure who was one of the first players to make a substantial amount grinding medium stakes games. 

His first book Treat Your Poker Like a Business was quite pioneering at the time. Very few people even worked on their game, let alone took care of the aspects away from the table. 

The book is divided into two parts - the business part (around 150 pages - 3/4 of the book) and the tactical part (around 50 pages). Most of the business part is written by Dusty, but the author of five chapters and debuting as poker writer we also had Jared Tendler. Tendler went on to write the Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2. 

In the first part of the book Schmidt touches upon important topics for a poker player who is thinking about the professional career, including:

• pressure
• treating a poker bankroll as an initial investment
• dealing with variance and emotions
• effective learning
• effectiveness of small advantages
• being your own (demanding) boss

The aspect to which Dusty devotes most of his attention is the "volume parameter". From the very beginning, Schmidt emphasises that poker is business. And just like any effective business, it needs a parameter that allows you to correctly assess the development of your business - month after month, year after year. As such, the main parameter, thanks to which you can evaluate your progress, according to Dusty is volume. 

According to his philosophy, this is what measures the effectiveness of your company. Let's explain this with an example: if you played 100,000 cash tables hands last year with 15BB/100 hands or 10,000 Spins with 120chips/tournament - you are amazing, maybe the best player at your stakes, but you shouldn't be proud. On the contrary - you are wasting your potential and don't care about your company!

Why? Your volume was minimal. In a year when you could really make great money, you didn't do it. It may be banal, but many beginners (but not only beginners) have developed everything - strategies, mindsets. But they don't think about what's most important - volume.

Now it's probably easier to waste time than in the years before the book was published - there are even more distractors - Discord, Netflix, Internet forums, online games, Twitch. That's why this book, despite the fact that it is outdated in some aspects, in terms of its core has not lost its relevance. On the contrary, it is more important than ever. You don't know if a golden egg-laying hen will be bitten by a fox - what will happen to your source of income in the coming years. If you have the skills to earn money, use your time to the maximum.

Don't take Leatherass' advice literally!

The tactical part of the book (which, however, is not too long) can be given up with a clear conscience. The way we think about poker has changed radically since the book was published.

Reading this book is a kind of return to the past - you can see how much the poker ecosystem has changed. Some aspects of the book have become obsolete and some theories have simply been overturned.

When reading this book, it is important to keep this in mind to not blindly duplicate the advice and adapt it to current conditions. In 2009, when 90% of opponents had no idea (literally!) what they were doing, the thoughtless grind could work. It was enough to play "solid", eliminate your biggest leaks and you were ready to play. Nowadays, the "play first and foremost, because you lose money while learning" approach does not have the right to exist in its radical form.

Schmidt's advice should be modified and learning should be prioritised more than before.

The last things we need to mention when reviewing this book is family and balance in life. Despite the fact that the author of the book devotes a large part of it to family relations, his prioritisation of work on family is highly unbalanced.

The author is an extreme example of an A-type personality, i.e. one focused on success. At the age of 23, Dusty had a heart attack, in three years of grind he smashed two laptops, 15 computer mice and threw a chair against a wall, risking his relationships along the way.

To get the most out of this book - learn work ethic from Dusty, but the balance of work and personal life from the modern poker players.

Who is this book for?

The book will the best choice for beginners and intermediate players who don't know how to turn a hobby into a job. However, if you are an advanced player who suffers from a lack of motivation to work (grinding and learning), this book is also for you.

If, however, you have already developed a solid work routine - work, study, free time/self-development, you can give up "Treat Your Poker Like a Business" with a clear conscience.

Information about the book

Title: Treat Your Poker Like A Business

Author: Dusty Schmidt

Year of publication: 2009 (first edition)

Price: $10.66 (Kindle), $17.88 (paper edition)

Reader's skill level

Novice: definitely

Beginner: definitely

Intermediate: worthwhile, but not a priority

Advanced/pro: worthwhile, but not a priority

Game formats

NLHE cash: yes

NLHE MTT/SNG/Spin&Go: yes

PLO cash: yes

PLO MTT: yes

Mixed games: yes

Live: yes

Online: yes

Topics

Mindset: yes

Game technique and mathematics: no

Slice of life: yes

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