Poker Without Cards

by Ben Mack

As a result of this book, Ben will never work in advertising again. If you read it, neither will you. May this clever virus infect the mediaspace before it's too late. -Douglas Rushkoff Author of Coercion; Cyberia; Media Virus

Genres: Fiction, Philosophy, Psychology, Thriller

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

A recovering advertising executive, a sales and marketing expert and a career ad-man-former Senior Vice President BBDO, J. Walter Thompson Planning Director and Memeticist for WONGDOODY.

"Bill Hicks, please forgive me."
~Ben

Although author of progressive literary art like Poker Without Cards & FreeBookWorthReading.com, Ben is not widely discussed for his Cyber Punk writing.

Instead, Ben Mack is best known for his huge accomplishments in marketing and advertising. He won an American Marketing Association Effie Award for taking Yomega Yo-Yos from $8 million a year to over $120 million dollars a year!

How? Ben has uncovered an underlying structure of branding that has never before been revealed until his best selling book Think two Products Ahead.

What you are about to learn will reinforce and leverage your inner game of success.

Ladies & Gentlemen, please help me welcome a Magic Castle award winning magician, a student of Buckminster Fuller, a former Senior Vice President of BBDO, Brand Strategy Director on Cingular…

Ben Mack!

Reviews

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have made numerous attempts to write a review of Poker Without Cards and have come to the conclusion that it is a task much harder than I first anticipated. I will, however, make another attempt in the hope that this will do it justice as I feel that anyone who reads it will benefit greatly! But please don’t take my word for it!

A Joseph Matheny (Is he real?) has written the intro to Poker Without Cards and is of a different opinion to quote the final line of the introduction: “Since you have gotten this far I suppose you are going to read the transcript. Far be it from me to try and stop you.”

I failed to follow his advice and did read it. In fact, I have so far read it 4 times and always found it difficult to let go of it. Have I been infected?

The first time I read it I was somewhat bewildered and baffled at what this particular transcript was all about and yet I found it difficult not to carry on!

The format of Poker Without Cards is a transcript of the recording of a conversation beteween a Dr William Fink and a Howard Campbell, which takes place during 7 sessions in which Dr Fink is trying to understand what led his patient, Richard Wilson (Bucky) to be admitted to his mental hospital!

Well, that is the very basic of it and is really nothing more than the sceleton. It is the content of the conversation that takes you on what I can only describe as a “Mind Journey” and if you manage to read the whole book without giving in to the urge of googling certain stuff then you have done far better than me, who failed that part miserably. To take that a step further, I have compiled a reading list based on the stuff referenced in Poker Without Cards (Call me insane!)………..

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book the first time on suggestion from an old boyfriend who was really into neuroliguistic programming and everything-New-Falcon-Publications. I picked it up a second time after I started collaborating (or really just Facebook message hang outing) on a project with Ben Mack this summer. I reread it to get a better understanding of one of Mack's "transmedia avatars". Ben Mack himself is a fantastically interesting person and I experienced PWC as a peak into his mind. If you're knowledgeable about the way advertising works, some of the information won't be new to you, but memes and ideas are always cool to think about anyway. The references themselves make the book worth reading. If you want to really enjoy it, think of it as a review of that whole section of fiction/philosophy relevant to the world of Robert Anton Wilson, Buckminster Fuller, weaved into a story/interview about the mind of a mad man. If you're into that world or literature, you'll probably enjoy this book. If you're not as interested in the outgrowth of 1960's utopian psychedelic mindf*ck countercultural philosophy, it might not be your thing.

[Adil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a strange book. I didn't find it mindblowing as others have, but I feel like this is because I'm more knowledgeable about the effects of mass media and other forms of influence (due to my profession). I can see that the book would be more exciting for some other people who don't think about these issues as often. The nice thing about it is there are a lot of references to interesting books and movies. However, I still think one would do better to read one of those books, than this book itself. For instance, pick up Robert Cialdini's Influence. Or a good book on memes.

[Molly wemder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting parallel to my own experience. I have since spoken to others who have had similar experiences. It's interesting to see where we've been how far we have come.

[Edward Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brain wracking use of memetic science to rewrite history, proving that ideas are mutatable and control our society.

[Traummachine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's a compendium about this book: http://FreeBookWorthReading.com

I'd honestly be amazed to meet anyone who was totally ignorant of the idea of media manipulation in this country, of the need large corporations have to convince us that we can't live without them, of the close ties Big Business has with politics, of the way John Carpenter's They Live was a heavy-handed statement about today's world. Still, Poker Without Cards presented several specific points that had never occurred to me (like the Niche Markets), and the multiple examples and connected issues raised still made this an eye-opener for me. Ben Mack/Howard Campbell does a very good job of writing convincing, rational points. If only Michael Moore could be this eloquent instead of using juvenile mockery, he might be embraced by more people (and, as a result, he might do more good in the world).

Some animals are more equal than others.

[Janne Järvinen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not really a book, it's an essay disguised as a dialog. It's supposed to be one character talking to another, but really feels like the author lecturing you.

The ideas themselves are smart, but the tone is offputting. I gave up a third into the book.

If the ideas presented are new to you, this book might really be somewhat mind blowing, but otherwise, it's just really boring.

[Justin Hager · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection if semi-annotated thought-expanding memeforms.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Ben Mack for providing a PDF to me so I could read this. I'm still processing, but I would recommend this to anyone who likes to think outside the box.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book twice, even though there's basically no plot (that's why it's in my "nonfiction" shelf). This book is philosophical and full of things to think about.

[Mugwump Jism · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curation of various disruptive innovations, which absolutely radiates cuteness. In some sense, PWC is a pan-seared reading list of schizoid fringe-enuity with a spice-rub of disbelief-suspending tilt shift and cream-of-LSD coulis. I would have savoured this serving even more if I hadn't had the luck of studying nearly all of PWC's countless allusions, summaries, and recommendations already, but for those without such diamond handed bookshelves, PWC will lighten the burden on a shortcut towards transcendence.

I did not learn to play Poker from this book. And it stole my cards. 4/5

[Andy Anaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've already read a lot of Robert Anton Wilson, this might seem to have little for you. If you stick it through to the end, you might pick up some great highlightable quotes to reinforce your literary repertoire though.

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