Book Review: ‘Yoga Of Poker’

Books about poker get published regularly, but often they fly under the radar thanks to their unoriginal and often regurgitated content. Typically, they fall into two categories; the first is books about the mechanics of the game. Namely, the rules of poker and different strategies for beating your opponents. The second category is biographical, either autobiographies or those written by third parties, that chronicle the stories of famous poker players through their journey into the game and their rise to success.

Occasionally though, a book that breaks these rules gets published. It may touch on parts of each; after all, a book about poker that doesn’t talk about players or rules is going to be quite thin. However, these mold-breaking poker books add a new way of looking at the players and their game. ‘Yoga of Poker‘ is one of these books.

Focus of the Book

Although the title is “Yoga of Poker,” the book is not strictly about poker itself. It is definitely not a book that discusses poker strategies or the rules of the game, such as the value of different hands. It is, in a way, biographical but it takes the reader on poker legend Lucky Chewy’s journey of realization, discussing several spiritual topics. In an interview about the book, he explicitly said that he wrote about “what wanted to come out”: expanding his awareness and cultivating his consciousness.

Separating Material Things from Happiness

Lucky Chewy discusses how he connected the collection of material objects to happiness. He described how he got a “cool feeling” when buying new objects, but that these objects failed to make any difference in his life, and the positive feelings quickly went away, meaning something else must be purchased to get the same feeling. Over time, Chewy began to realize that this negative feedback loop was not having positive effects on him or his mental health, so he decided to make some changes.

Not Following Societal Norms

Although he doesn’t credit his changed mindset to a single event, yoga and meditation took Chewy from being like everyone else to being a free spirit that doesn’t follow societal norms. He compares society to poker players, saying that most players are on similar levels, doing similar things. But some manage to break free and get ahead of the herd, reaching levels that others can’t.

When comparing poker players and “humanness,” Chewy says that the top-level poker players are those that have a strong level of mastery. Meanwhile, the top level of “humanness” is when people understand where the sources of true happiness lie.

Structure

‘Yoga of Poker’ is a short book, with 11 chapters split over just 55 pages, making it a simple and quick read that can be finished in a single sitting. Despite the short length, Chewy has managed to pack in a lot of content, discussing topics like freedom, health, love, and joy.

To Sum Up

Overall, ‘Yoga of Poker’ is an interesting journey into Chewy’s spiritual journey which has led him to reevaluate some of his central beliefs. It has a similar feel to business people who have spent decades chasing the dream of always wanting more, only to finally realize they had been looking for happiness in the wrong place. In the case of these business people and Chewy, it may seem easy to say material objects don’t bring happiness when you have experienced the extreme highs of success like winning major poker tournaments. Regardless, these are lessons we can all consider and apply to our own lives.