I recently completed reading The Book of Bluffs by Matt Lessinger. Having already read all of the major poker books, in most cases several times each, I have long since moved to some of the more fringe, less well known poker texts out there in my never ending search for poker wisdom. This quest to absorb the poker knowledge of "the greats" has led me recently to books like Online Ace by Scott Fischman, and even some of David Sklansky's later works, that despite promising myself after The Theory of Poker and Sklansky's section in the original Super System that I would never again subject myself to his consistent talking-down to his readers and his thankless attitude towards others' poker abilities. The Book of Bluffs fits neatly into this category of lesser-known poker books, but I got a recommendation on the book from someone I trust from among my fake internet poker friends, and I am happy to report that I'm very glad to have followed this recommendation.

In the end, The Book of Bluffs did not change my poker life in the way that some other books clearly have. I did not emerge from reading this book an entirely new aggro-minded machine like I did after the first time(s) I pored through Super System. I was not a no-limit tournament specialist, talking about Ms and Qs and the like, like I was after I finished Harrington on Holdem - Volume 2. However, what Lessinger does manage to do in The Book of Bluffs is, quite simply, to review a whole array of different types of bluffs that arise during typical no-limit holdem situations. The author has developed a very helpful rating system for each type of bluff, that describes how likely it is to be successful, how frequently one can expect this bluff to work, and the degree of difficulty in pulling off each specific type of bluff. Lessinger also goes on to describe exactly how and when is optimal to try each kind of bluff, and exactly how to run each bluff from start to finish.

The Book of Bluffs starts off by highlighting some basic bluffs most of us know about and have run on other players from time to time in the past, in particular the aggro types who tend to populate the weekly blogger tournaments by and large. This includes obvious moves like open-raising from the button in an attempt to steal the blinds before the flop, and similar moves. But the book goes on to cover more advanced kinds of bluffs that may not have even been conceived of by many of the less aggressive, less experienced poker players out there, moves that require a specific set of circumstances and a good solid read of weakness in your opponent, etc. After reviewing and rating 40-50 different kinds of bluffs in the ways described above, the last part of The Book of Bluffs describes in detail some of the biggest bluffs, on the largest scale, ever run in big situations, the context and reasoning behind the players who made such moves, and some of the other elements of these bluffs in a way that is very interesting and enlightening to the reader.

The thing I like most about The Book of Bluffs is that it can be very useful to many poker players, regardless of one's particular style of play or level of experience in poker. For example, for players who have the basics down but are looking for ways to become more aggressive, Lessinger has provided in this book the pathway for such players to learn to do just that, including the How, the When and the Why of running a whole gamut of bluffs that such a player might not have considered previously. Similarly, for players who are already well-versed in the advantages of aggressive poker play, some of the more advanced bluffs profiled in the book are sure to be much-appreciated tools added to such players' arsenal of weapons at the poker table. There is even a section dedicated solely to bluffs that work best in online play, if that's your kind of thing.

Overall, Matt Lessinger's writing style is light, free of the pomp and circumstance of mnay noted poker authors like Sklansky and Hellmuth. And his book is written in a very readable, organized and useful way, one that can be useful for both new and experienced, aggressive and passive type of players. Regardless of most players' personal styles and poker experience, for people looking to learn and practice the How, When and Why to bluff, The Book of Bluffs can help readers to reach that goal.