Wander through your local bookstore and you're likely to find an entire section set aside for poker books.  Whereas just a year or so ago you'd likely only find Super System,  Mike Caro's Book of Tells,  and a few volumes authored by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth,   today there are dozens of books on the market that promise to make you a better poker player.  Some of these books will teach you how best to play online,  others on playing against live opponents.  They contain lessons about which starting hands to play,  the power of position,  the mathematics of pot odds and the art of the bluff.  Read these books and you should become a better player.  Maybe even a winning player.

But what if you ARE a good player,  a winning player?  What more can you pick up from a book?  Even poker authors agree that you can only learn so much from reading  --  you have to get out there and mix it up.  You have to go out there and win the money.  And let’s say you’re skilled enough to become a pro,  is there anything else you can learn from a book?  Perhaps  --  if the book you select is barry Greenstein's Ace on the River.

It only takes a casual flip-through to see that it's not your typical poker guide.  This 316-page book is graced with 284 photographs,  many of them dazzling,  color-drenched shots of glamorous Vegas landmarks spread across two pages.  The book is printed on glossy paper and feels heavy as a paving stone when you pull it off the shelf.

You often see cookbooks written by celebrity chefs printed with this level of luxury,  and the phrase  "food porn"  was coined to describe these vanity projects.

The fact that Greenstein himself paid for part of the publishing costs might lead you to think that this was just such a project.  And no doubt Greenstein put his own money into the book because he wanted it exactly as he imagined it,  with no bean counter complaining about all those gorgeous photographs.  But you only need to read the dedication to understand that this is something quite different.

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If any player has the bona fides to write such a book it's Greenstein,  who has enjoyed as much success as any player during the last 30 years.  But Greenstein is better known to the public because of the money he’s given AWAY rather than the money he’s won.  He’s been given the title  “The Robin Hood of Poker”  because he donates the money he wins in tournaments to various charities,  primarily Children Incorporated,  which provides food,  clothing,  medical supplies,  and other assistance to children in 21 countries.  Just this past week Greenstein donated the money he won playing in a WCOOP event to help Hurricane Katrina survivors,  and after winning another World Series bracelet Greenstein dedicated his victory to a young poker fan and writer who was about to pass away from cancer.  It stands to reason that such an unusual man would write an unusual poker book,  and Ace on the River gives enthusiasts a glimpse into a world that isn’t always as glamorous as it appears on the surface.  It is also a portrait of a card shark with a conscience,  a pragmatic gambler with a heart.

The chapters are short,  each focusing on a specific aspect of the professional’s life.  There is a brief assessment test in the section titled  “Attitude of a Poker Player”  and a list of 25  “Traits of Winning Poker Players.”  If after reading those parts you believe you have the Right Stuff  (I failed,  miserably)  then chapters about Making Money and,  more importantly,  Holding on to Money,  are logical next steps.  On his website Greenstein says that  “the primary subject of the book is how to make money playing poker,”  and that goes far beyond mere technical poker knowledge.  Greenstein’s instructions on how to deal with the people you meet in the poker world show how difficult it can be to walk the line between integrity and self-interest,  between profitability and the poorhouse.

If the  “Philosophy”  section instructs you how to survive while you’re away from the poker table,  “Advanced Play”  will teach you who to thrive when you take your seat.  Many of the chapters are stand-alone little essays:  “Integrity,”  “Protecting Yourself,”  “Hazards of Sports Betting,”  and  “The Mathematics of Poker.”  For the numerically challenged among us it may come as some comfort that Greenstein discounts the importance of raw computational ability,  but the fact that this comes from a man who worked on a Ph.D. in mathematics for 10 years while killing poker games at the same time might put that in some unfortunate perspective.

After flipping through the Table of Contents I headed for the section titled  “The Best Player in the World.”  Since Greenstein is an obvious candidate for that top spot I was curious to see if he would take the same tack as Phil Hellmuth and demurely point to himself while softly clearing his throat.  But no,  Greenstein deftly dodges the question by arguing,  quite cogently,  that it’s impossible to definitively anoint any one player as the best,  since there are so many different games,  different situations,  different scenarios where Player A might have an edge on Player B but not the even more inferior Player C.  But you can get some insight into who is on Greenstein’s shortlist by looking at the photographs he chose for this chapter  --  Doyle Brunson,  Chip Reese,  Phil Ivey,  Ted Forrest,  Chau Giang,  and Jennifer Harman.

Some of the advice Greenstein gives is applicable in situations that have nothing to do with poker.  For example,  when he talks about the importance of sex as a means of relaxation and for focusing your attention when you’re on the road,  he says,  “A sex partner who travels with you can be a big asset.”  Which seems a sensible and extremely civilized position to take.

The largest chapter is the one where Greenstein examines in detail some no-limit tournament hands he’s played over the years.  It's interesting to see how he played the hands and what he was thinking before making those plays  (some of which he admits were mistakes).  But after reading so much material written from a broad perspective,  it’s almost a comedown to read about him grappling over individual pots,  especially when you think about the thousands and thousands of remarkable hands that have made up Greenstein’s career.