5 comments about The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Texas Hold'em, 2nd Edition (The Pocket Idiot's Guide).

1. The Idiot's Guide to Texas Hold 'Em, while thoughtfully written and chock full of very useful information is certainly NOT for the novice player. While I've been a fan of the "Idiot" series and their chief competitor, this particular pocket guide is, unfortunately, written well over the Idiot's head. Although it covers a weath of topics, it is unfortunately brief on far too many of them and tried to cover too much territory in too short a span. As a result the passages are often overly complicated, tangential and confusing. If this was the first book I had read on Texas Hold 'Em, I'd be more confused than before I started it!
   
   I would recommend this short work for anyone who is a fairly experienced amature player with a few hundred online hands under their belt and another book or two prior to this one. In that event, Randy Burgess' thoughts and strategies - although as with any single author's opinion are to be taken with a grain of salt and not gospal - are useful and insightful.



2. Before I read this I just tried to wait for good cards and hope for the best. The strategies in this book have finally made me a winning player -- and helped me understand exactly what it takes to make money in this game and move up from the low limits I currently play. As long as you aren't at my table, I recommend it!



3. After watching hold'em on TV and holding my own in games with friends, I decided to give playing online a try. I found the games alot harder and was frustrated that I not only couldn't win, but I was actually losing. I picked up this book, thinking I wouldn't learn much and found out that I knew almost nothing about how to win -- and some of what I did know was wrong.
   
   From starting hands to odds, counting pots to understanding other players this book got me to break even within a week of finishing it. Since then (in about 4 months), I've won over $750 playing .50 - $1 and have just moved up to playing $1-2 online.
   
   Strongly recommended.



4. scrivo in italiano cosi' mi capite ITALIANI.
   Onestamente posso dire che e' un OTTIMO libro,tutte le tattiche del gioco PRE FLOP,FLOP,TURN,RIVER e molto altro.
   Molto facile da capire(linguaggio semplice).
   CONSIGLIATO per i principianti e NON



5. This book showed me how to play serious hold'em -- I've still got a long way to go, but at least now I know what I don't know. Like most Idiot's guides, it's great at giving you the nuts and bolts basics on the topic. I'm sure more experienced players have the odds nailed and know what "outs" are, but I didn't before I read this book. It's also useful for learning where to play, whether on the Internet and even for types of players to look out for. I've already reread it twice, and I'm sure I'll refer back lots more times.

5 comments about Championship Hold'em Tournament Hands: A Hand By Hand Strategy Guide to Winning Hold'em Tournaments.

1. I bought this book a couple of months ago and found it to be an excellent book. Read this book first before reading a book like "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" by Sklansky. This book will teach you how to play all the different hands in different postitions. It also has some great analysis of key hands played at the World Series of Poker.



2. I really enjoyed Championship No Limit & Pot Limit Hold 'Em and was looking forward to reading this book. The book is about 1/2 limit hold'em hands and 1/2 no-limit hold'em hands. The no-limit hold'em hands are the same as the material presented in Championship No Limit & Pot Limit Hold 'Em. So if you are looking for different material on no-limit, this book is not it. It also contains actual hands played from many different WSOP championships, which are interesting. It's a good book, just not much different from Championship No Limit & Pot Limit Hold 'Em.



3. Good format. It is in an easy readable format to follow. I beleive its for the medium to advanced player. You need to have a working knowledge of the game. I have read many hold'em books and found this book to be the most sound. His approach and style are basically conservative, although he touches on the aggressive and super aggressive players. His explanations and reasoning on his methods are stellar and highly analytical. Throughout the entire book you will find buried treasures. You will not be able to put this book down.



4. Firstly, I have to say that the credentials of the authors are absolutely unquestionable. Each author has had a very illustrious career playing tournament poker. However, the effort to translate their experience and knowledge to the written page has met with limited success. There are several key issues which prevent me from giving this book a higher rating:
   
   (a) They combine limit and no limit hold 'em into a single volume - limit and no limit are completely different games and to cram them both into a single book demonstrates lack of foresight. It is possible much of the audience will only ever read half the book
   (b) Very little of the book is devoted to outlining the different strategic considerations between cash games and tournaments. In tournament poker, it is critical to consider your stack size relative to other stacks as well as your stack size relative to the blinds. Playing Ace-King in a deep stack situation is very different to playing Ace-King in a shallow stack situation.
   (c) Cloutier and McEvoy advocate a very conservative style. Whilst the book is meant to be a guide to how they play poker, I still think it is important to consider alternative styles of playing. For example, they advocate always checking Ace-King when the player has missed the flop. However suppose you play an aggressive brand of poker and you are acting behing a single, conservative opponent who has checked the flop. In this case a bet may be warranted. Subtle nuances like this are not discussed in sufficient detail.
   (d) Some of the hand discussion is outright poor. For example, the treatment of middle pairs is very shallow. The book basically says "if there is any heat, get out". It doesn't discuss important issues such as position, texture of the flop and so forth.
   
   At the end of the book there is a discussion of key hands from the World Series of Poker which I did enjoy. Overall, the book does provide some very solid advice but its primary drawback is that it takes a "cookie cutter" approach and doesn't discuss many of the subtleties of the game.



5. This could be a good beginners book. The layout and presentation is easy to read. The text is big and you can read through this book rather fast. It will teach you hand rankings and how to play certain hands in different situations. Unfortunately it's a big basic if you have been playing for some time and won't find too much new information here.

5 comments about Poker Flash Cards for Texas Hold 'Em.

1. these are really good if you sant to learn the odds of hitting a certain hand that you are drawing to



2. "Poker Flash Cards for Texas Hold'em" is a fabulous idea poorly executed. The idea is that each card has some factoid about odds or hand play, and you can memorize the correct odds say, of hitting your flush starting with a four flush, or flopping a set holding a pocket pair. Knowledge of the odds is important to playing one's hand properly, however this set very seldom gives a precise answer.
   
   For example: The 8 of hearts card asks: "You flop three cards to a flush...what are the odds against hitting a flush?" The answer given: "More than 20 to 1 against or less than 5% of the time."
   
   Now, the actual answer is: 23 to 1 and 4.11%. Granted, as a rough guideline "more than 20 to 1" is fine. Knowing this will keep one from chasing with improper odds. However, and maybe I'm being a nit, if I'm going to go through the trouble of buying flash cards to assist in memorizing these odds, I want to memorize the *actual correct answer*, so when someone asks me, I can answer with authority and accuracy. Most of the cards offer similarly vague approximations of the correct answers.
   
   Another example: the 2 of clubs card asks: "You hold suited cards. What are the odds against flopping a flush?" The answer given: "More than 100 to 1 against or less than 1% of the time." Again, knowing this much will prevent you from hopeless chasing, but I really would rather memorize that the actual odds against are 118 to 1.
   
   Another card lists the odds of flopping a straight with two connecting hole cards as "More than 50 to 1"--well yes, *significantly* more--try 76 to 1.
   
   One card is completely useless, asking the user to translate not very arcane shorthand like "AKo", "Axs", "T9s", etc. Almost every player I know does not need additional rote training in this area.
   
   Another strategy card says "You raise with the black Aces preflop and get four callers. 8h 9h Th flops. What's your play?" The card answers that someone probably has a straight or flush and its recommended strategic move? "Be careful." What does that mean? Does it mean I should check and fold to any aggression? Does it mean I should bet to gain information? We don't really know anything except to "be careful." Hmpf.
   
   Don't get me wrong, I love the idea very much. Most players suffer from not knowing the odds of what they are trying to accomplish. Rote memorization of the odds would go a long way toward making losers into break-even or winning players. However, I'm going to make my own flash cards with authoritative and accurate information and give this product away to someone else.



3. This very unique item has been very useful to my game. It focus is entirely on the mathematics of Hold 'Em. I helps you to practice calculating (or memorize) the odds of catching and making particular hands, as well as factoring in pot odds.
   
   What makes this product truly special is its method of delivery. The playing card sized deck of flash cards can be taken anywhere. I regularly take mine to the park with the kids, the mall with the wife, and even to games I am playing in just in case I need to brush up.
   
   This was well worth the seven bucks -- Highly recommended.



4. A small portion (around 10 out of 52) of these cards provided practical insight into the use of odds in poker--e.g., the odds you'll get the fifth card for your flush on the river. But the vast majority of cards were useless information I didn't need to know. I don't need to know the odds of flopping a straight flush with suited-connectors, or flopping quads with a pocket pair. While I would certainly like those things to happen, the odds of hitting hands that rare are really not worth bothering to calculate. These cards are not a comprehensive guide to poker odds, as I had expected, but rather are simply random bits of trivia with occasionally useful information.



5. I play 10/20 hold 'em, so these cards cost less than 1 small bet. But, once I used them, they pretty much immediately made me money. I don't have to wonder whether I have the odds right, I don't have to figure them out on the spot. I know. No guesswork. And, I realized that I was miscalculating the odds for a few situations, so using these cards fixed a pretty big leak in my game.
   
   These cards are terrific! When I use these cards to play Texas Hold'em, I learn more about the game every time.
   
   I highly recommend this product, they are fun to play with and even fun to learn from. Poker Flash Cards have made a tremendous impact on my overall game. I can see a marked improvement in my decision-making ability and my betting strategies.

5 comments about Get the Edge At Low-Limit Texas Hold'em (Scoblete Get-the-Edge Guide).

1. This is a decent book on low limit Hold Em. Note that Low Limit is a 2/4 or 3/6 game, not the $30 blind games in Vegas or the big CA tournaments. The psychology and right moves in low limit are very different from no-limit or tournament style play, and it is important to read a book directed at where your play is.
   
   Burton gives you very little of the theory behind poker, the odds, the "whys" of the best move. Now, for a beginner low limit book, you don't want to get too bogged down in that stuff, but personally I find it easier to remember, "I should do XX because the odd of getting YY are so much better than the odds of ZZ." Figuring out the basic odds isn't too hard, but it is treated only briefly in this book, and Burton doesn't really drive the point home.
   
   Frankly, this book has a lot of info, but it doesn't boil it down into strategies that you are going to remember when you are at the table. You might get frustrated because you be paranoid about remembering everything that is laid out in a very verbose format.
   
   Personally, I didn't find this book as useful as the one by Lee Jones (Winning Low Limit Hold Em). If you only buy one book, go for Jones's, because he really breaks down the hows plus the whys of each move, and every chapter concludes with a cheat sheet for you to remember your new Hold Em "rules."



2. There are a a lot of books available to the beginning student of poker. If you are just taking up limit poker, I'd advise buying Lee Jones' book instead of this one. At best, I'd buy this one as a supplement.
   
   I absolutely agree with Uncle Trick's analysis of the book -- especially regarding its lack of depth. The problem can be highlighted by comparing Burton's treatment of Ace-Jack offsuit in early postion with that of Jones.
   
   Burton simply says "(AJo)is playable in early position, but if you're raised you may be in trouble. You have to consider who's doing the raising." In fairness, these statements are basically true, but I find them pretty superficial.
   
   In contrast, Jones devotes a lengthy and thoughtful paragraph to AJo, concluding that inexperienced players should probably fold it in early position. I took up poker about three months ago, and did not fully appreciate all of Jones's thinking when I first read his book. But I have found myself rereading paragraphs like the one in Jones on AJo and gaining understanding on second and third readings. It's a very valuable resource.
   
   Burton's book is relatively inexpensive and does provide some useful information for the beginner. The tables of starting hands are about as good as any, and there are tables of odds stating, for example, the probability of hitting a flush given two suited cards. If you find this kind of thing useful, you may want to have the book in your library. But you won't find yourself rereading this one often!



3. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a beginner and would like to learn how to play texas hold em. The author does a good job of explaining all the basic principles of the game and by utilizing this information, anyone can walk into a cardroom and play profitable poker. This book is not for advanced players.



4. This is a great poker book. I did have to return it since it was a duplicate of a book my husband already had but it is a good book to learn about Texas Hold'em.



5. i am not poor at hold'em.
   but i am a master of hold'em after i read this book.

4 comments about Limit Hold 'Em Hand by Hand: The Quick and Easy Way to Advanced Poker Play w/DVD.

1. 6-14-07 Apparently 2 of 3 readers "don't get it" so I'll try to be more explicit and succinct.
   
   You'll benefit from reading - no studying - this book if:
   (1a) You sometimes find yourself holding a hand that you have no idea how to play.
   (2a) You frequently figure out how you should have played the hand after it is over.
   (3a) You are a losing or marginal player.
   (4a) Your game would benefit from some careful analysis and thought about how to play hands.
   
   You'll hate the book if:
   (1b) You are a "hands-on" type of person and think the best way to learn is "by doing" because experience is the best teacher.
   (2b) You are looking for a formula that will magically turn you into a winner.
   (3b) You would rather be "at the table" than to spend part of your poker time thinking about and learning from your experiences.
   (4b) You think it would be a waste of time to record key hands in a journal along with notes on both how they were played and how, after careful analysis, you think they should have been played.
   
   
   My observations indicate that the majority of new players are probably doomed to forever remain weak because of 3b.
   
   
   --- Original Review ---
   I wanted to give this book 4 1/5 stars but half stars aren't allowed. My reason for wanting to give less than the maximum is that I disagree with some of the analysis. The reason I gave the maximum is that the book does for the reader what the reader should be doing for himself/herself.
   
   Under pressure at the table a player should have a ready plan for any hand that comes up. Most of us are far too lazy or too addicted to the action at the table to think through and write up our own analysis of key hands. But Myers has done it for us with 52 hands chosen from Pre-Flop, Flop, Turn, River, and Shorthanded play.
   
   The reader who approaches each of these 52 example hands thoughtfully and analytically cannot help but emerge a better player.
   
   Today it is often said that Internet players learn more quickly than the old pros because they can see so many hands in such a short time. I think this thinking is horribly wrong. In the "good old days" players such as the trio of Doyle Brunson, Sailor Roberts, and Amarillo Slim saw many fewer hands. But they THOUGHT about those hands, and on the long drive from one game to the next they discussed how hands should be played. One can hardly imagine the benefit of those discussions on Brunson's career. The thing missing in too many players today is precisely that thought and discussion. Myers does some of that for us.
   
   It is apparent that too many players - primarily young players who "learned" on the Internet - have spent far too little time THINKING about how/why to play a particular hand. If this book were required reading before setting down at the table poker might again become a game of knowledge and strategy rather than the game of luck it so often becomes.
   
   A reader who desires to improve his/her play will certainly benefit from reading Myers' analysis of these hands. Players who aspire to greatness might use Myers' work as a takeoff point for thinking through hand play themselves and actually writing up their own analysis.
   
   Myers also has planned books featuring hand analysis from No-Limit and Tournament Hold'em.



2. If you're a beginning to intermediate limit hold'em limit hold'em player, then this book will get you thinking about the poker playing process. It'll teach you how to think through a hand of limit hold'em, and it stresses the importance of taking time to think about the game intelligently away from the table.
   
   Some might complain because this book doesn't contain a lot of theory, but a few great theory books already exist. The poker literature has needed a book that strips the hand playing process in limit hold'em down to its fundamentals, and this book does just that. During the process, some important theoretical concepts do come out from under the woodworks, like evaluating when to raise draws for value or free cards versus calling with draws. By using lots of example hands and talking through each of them, Neil Myers shows readers how to think when they're at the tables. Others might raise concerns about some of the analysis. I don't wholeheartedly agree with 100% of the analysis that Myers does. However, the differences in opinion I have regarding some of the analysis is the result of Myers's attempt to keep things simple. The decisions in poker can be extremely complicated, but the audience Myers addresses isn't ready for overwhelmingly complicated analysis. The level of analysis is quite appropriate for the target audience, and this book will be a huge help for that audience.
   
   As an example of Myers's attempts to keep things simple, on p. 56, Myers talks about a hand in which you have 78 on the button in an unraised pot against four opponents and the pot comes 467. Action checks to you, you bet, and an early position opponent raises you. Myers strongly advocates folding, but depending on the check-raiser, calling might be the correct play given the 8:1 pot odds you're getting and the possibilities of either being ahead or having a 6-outer (gutshot straight draw and 2 sevens). The decision to be made here is borderline and highly opponent-dependent. I disagree with Myers for strongly advocating folding, but I would also disagree with anyone who would strongly advocate calling.
   
   This book isn't targeting advanced players, but as a poker coach and the author of a few poker books, I found it really interesting because it's quite educational to consider such points of analytical departure. Though this book is targeted at beginning-intermediate players, it's really a rewarding read for anyone who is an active, inquisitive reader. The point of reading is to achieve mental growth; therefore, I give Limit Hold'em Hand By Hand five stars.
   
   May Your EV Always Be Positive!
   
   Tony Guerrera
   Author of Killer Poker By The Numbers



3. I consider myself an upper-intermediate or low-advanced limit player, and I found myself constantly disagreeing with this book. While particular hands may be debatable, the author's explanations did not strike me as authoritative, and usually did not change my mind.
   
   But some of the suggestions are clearly, expensively, wrong. On page 56, the author recommends folding top pair 77 on the flop after being reraised, because we are probably behind. But pot odds are 8:1, with 9 strong outs (to a high inside straight, trips, or two pair) and in position to boot! That's a call even if they are ahead with a low set, and we could still be ahead with top pair -- they may be stealing with overcards, second pair, or a draw. I've shared the hand with others, who agree this is clearly a large mistake, especially in a big pot, last to act.
   
   The author strikes me as a winning, intermediate level player, who understands important concepts, but applies them inexpertly, and wanted to write a book anyway.
   
   For advanced players, the book could serve as useful practice in thinking hands through and deciding where and why to agree or disagree. The less advanced will get a lot of exposure to the thinking that goes into playing a hand, but may get misled.
   
   Superb alternatives include _Middle Limit Hold'em_ by Ciaffone, _Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy_ by Tanenbaum, _Small Stakes Hold'em_ by Miller et al, and _Winning in Tough Hold'em Games_ by Grudzien and Herzog.



4. I'm glad to have had it and read it, but if I were picking an initial book on limit poker, I would look elsewhere. There are a few sloppy mistakes, and the level of sophistication is fairly simple. However, it is an excellent choice for someone who wants to play limit at a casino or at certain on-line sites, that wants a fairly quick easy read.

5 comments about Winning Texas Hold'em: Cash Game Poker Strategies for Players of All Skill Levels.

1. An aweful book from an arrogant, obnoxious 'professional' poker player. Expect to see it at the buck a book store soon. Personally, mine works well to balance my coffee table.



2. While alot of this book is about the basics it still have alot of good information. The Short-Handed section is worth the $10 all by itself.



3. I have only gotten to page 26 and like the other reviews have noticed many errors in the hand rankings. The hands are in order but the cards shown as an example are completely off and do not even match the text. A quick visit to mattmaroon.com will clear up the problem as the first thing you will see on the website is a link to "Book Errata" where he adresses all the errors mentioned by myself and the other posters. He cites publisher's errors as the reason and it is understandable as the pictures (put in by the publisher) do not correspond to what Matt actually wrote. He corrects the errors including the lack of formatting in the odds chart on page 245. You would expect thigns like this to be noticed prior to printing, but mistakes do happen. Other than that, everything has been excellent. His introdcutions have been clear and his examples completely illustrate what he is talking about.
   One thing I have particularly liked thus far is the table of contents. He is appropriately divided up the book into Poker Conepts, Limit Hold'Em Concepts and Advanced Concepts. He also touches on aspects which I have found underrepresented in other books such as psychology, deception, slowplaying and even things such as guidlines to play poker for a living. Furthermore, it is not dry reading. Some books of this genre tend to be really hard to get into/not count cracks in the wall while you are reading it, this book is holding my impatient attention well. (Aesthetically, the book looks great. It's sleek, modern and just nice to look at.)
   I will post final review when I finish the book, I just wanted to comment on some of the errors.



4. This author is an arrogant, cocky, jackass who runs one of the best, most informative poker websites out there - yes, he is a dick, but his site is good! He is an above-average player and fairly knowledgable about the game. However his book is really nothing more than regurgitated material that can be found in every other poker book out on the market. Don't waste your money (unless you feel that it is a reasonable donation for the material that you get from his site). Some, including the author, have boasted about the section on shorthanded play being the "most advanced section ever written on the subject". This is ludicrous. It is indeed "short" (in length, that is), but not of good qualilty. It does NOT provide examples. It is general and watered-down.
   
   There you have it: The "good" (the website), the "bad" (the book), and the "ugly" (the author).



5. This is an extremely underrated book. I concede there may have been some errors in the hand ranking chart, odds charts and some pretty bad typos throughout the earlier printings of this book but in the edition I purchased these errors have been corrected. Anyway, if you can get past those (I know I don't need to be re-taught the hand rankings etc) then you will discover that this really is a gem of a book.
   
   Maroon is a very articulate thinker and covers a lot of ground in this book. He explains some complex and subtle ideas in very clear, simple language. The section on short handed play is EXCELLENT and is worth the price of the book alone- especially for someone like me who only plays 6 max tables on the internet. His sections on expectation, pot odds, standard deviation, bankroll requirements, playing after the flop, moving up in limits, playing for a living, plugging leaks etc are all excellent as well and all this information is communicated in a very conversational, easily understandable way. The book is also presented in a unique way with colored diagrams and an aesthetically pleasant layout.
   
   There are very few hand examples in this book but I think that's a good thing. I find sample hands really boring to read and would much rather get to work on understanding the conceptual ideas and considerations behind a given play than read hand examples. Maroon seems to me to be a great poker strategist and his recommendations seem well thought out and I imagine they would be very effective. I'm not surprised he has enjoyed the level of success that he has given that he obviously possesses such a deep understanding of the game of limit hold 'em.
   
   This is probably not the ideal choice for a beginning poker player (although they would be far better off reading something like this than say, Phil Hellmuth's lunacy), I would say intermediate and advanced players will benefit more from this book. I highly recommend it and consider it a shame that the publishers were so careless in the printing of this book because in doing so they have really tarnished a great piece of work.
   
   If this book didn't contain the mistakes it does I suspect it would be on the "must read" list of most players.

1 comments about Hold 'Em Hostage (A Poker Mystery).

1. This is the third book the series that began with Death On the Flop, a terrible book. The second entry Cashed In was a distinct improvement, not good, but an improvement. Hold'em Hostage has all the bad features of the first book, and adds some new ones.
   
   I have to qualify the review that I do not normally read romance books, so perhaps I fail to see some good qualities that would appeal to a fan of the genre. I read this book only to write a review article of the current crop of poker mysteries. The main reason I'm posting here is to warn people against the non-fiction poker advice at the end of the book. The author does not know the rules of poker, neither the hand rankings nor the betting mechanics. While there are other bad poker advice books, I suspect the authors actually had played the game, and sincerely believed their advice was sound. I don't know why someone would write, and even less why Penguin Group would publish, advice from someone who hasn't even read the rules of the game.
   
   The heroine managed to get through the second book without crying once, a major improvement over the first book. In the third book tears are back, and she has also taken to vomiting and swearing at unpleasant news. The plot is make-it-up-as-you-go-along. Random events happen for 216 pages, then a minor character overhears the bad guys' entire plot, which he explains to the heroine. Then we hear the plot was defeated, although not how. The heroine wins $2 million, which she gets in cash in a small envelope that fits in her purse (in hundreds, the highest denomination US currency, it fills two medium suitcases and weighs 40 pounds). There is no withholding, because she promises to pay her taxes (ha!). Then the book is over. There is no detection, no resolution. The plot explains about 10% of the events in the book, and even those not very convincingly. We're left with 90% loose ends.
   
   As in the previous books, a good many pages are spent describing what the heroine eats and wears. For the first time, there are no food contradictions, but she still has magic clothes. She puts on a folk print midthigh dress with ballet flats that turns into a miniskirt with stilletto heels after she leaves the room. You get the idea the author is just filling pages, neither she nor you care what the heroine has on.
   
   There is some good news on the author's poker education. She has learned that a full house beats straights and flushes, and that if you go all in and win, you don't necessarily win the other person's entire stack (you win the smaller of the two stacks). None of the hands use more than five cards, and none has the same card appearing more than once. The wisest decision is to put in much less detail about the poker hands, so it's harder to contradict herself.
   
   The author still doesn't have all the hands down, on page 160, three fours beats three tens. On page 180, she claims A2345 is the second highest straight flush after a royal flush (it matters in the hand, too, because a 45678 straight flush is possible after the flop). Oddly, she knows that A2345 unsuited is the lowest straight.
   
   Her biggest remaining misconception is she thinks you can continue to raise after you have been called. This occurs several times in the book. For example, heads up after the river has been dealt we get, "He raised. I called. He reraised. I called again." There's a similar problem with "check raise." The author thinks she can do it as one betting action, and that it will lull the other players into thinking she has a weak hand. There's lots of other incorrect stuff, and even more that is wildly implausible. Poker terms are misused throughout, "nuts," "couterfeit," "blank," "pocket," "outs" and "counting cards." In fairness, the author also doesn't know the meaning of non-poker terms like "innuendo" and "angst."
   
   Writing poker fiction without knowing how to play the game is lazy, but no more. Adding a non-fiction chapter of poker advice that you know you are not qualified to give is a disservice to readers. Both author and publisher should be ashamed.

5 comments about Hold'em Excellence (2nd Edition).

1. I hated this book. I had read Lee Jones's "Winning Low Limit Hold'Em", and loved it. I've been winning consistantly in the online casinos since (just [money] tables), but wanted to read another "for beginners" book before I continued moving up the poker text ladder.

   I absolutely despised this book. My poker friends alternated between annoyance at my constant complaining about awful passages, and absolute laughter when they agreed with my mockery.

   The book is filled with paragraphs telling you to "Understand The Following Truths". It's never incorrect, but it's never useful, either. It's such general garbage that all I can do is laugh.

   I picked up Sklansky & Malmuth's "Hold'Em For Advanced Players" and loved it. I suggest you do what I SHOULD have done, and first read Lee Jones's book, and then read the Sklansky&Malmuth Advanced. Leave Krieger's garbage alone.




2. I found this book to be useful, very clear and very well written and is as much about why as what. I would ignore the previous reviewer. He cites Lee Jones as though Mr. Jones were the last word in Poker advice. Apparently, he's unaware of the fact that some of the starting hand recommendations promulgated by Mr. Jones are highly questionable from a probabilistic standpoint. So many poker books are poorly written and are mechanical in nature discouraging the reader to think for himself. A very nice poker book.



3. This was a very Enjoyable Book. It provided important and useful concepts about the game of Poker. I learned new concepts, which identified some leaks in my game. Leaks in your game can come from anywhere!!! Leaks can originate from lack of aggression, overcalling raises, misreading opponents and any other number of ways. So this book helps. Many people look at poker the wrong way. They think to win they need to do all of this super fancy plays and mindblowing stunts. Well folks...there are not that many options in poker...you fold, call or raise. So its really hard to do thinks that will just fool your opponents all the time. To win at poker it is mostly limiting your mistakes and getting all that you can from winning hands and minimizing losses on losing hands...that's it

   Ive been playing for about 5 years now and love the game. Ive read many poker books and found this one to be very good. So I would suggest you buy this book and maybe a couple others and get to playing. There's really no excuse anymore - since anyone can access the internet.

   (...)




4. I read this after Lee Jones' excellent "Winning Low-Limit Hold'em". Krieger's book was not nearly as useful. And although it's a short book, it's not concise.
   
   I'm not sure what the target audience is for this book:
   - It's not for beginners, because it skips a lot of basic stuff.
   - Not for intermediates, because it doesn't offer anything beyond Jones' book.
   
   While the writing style is decent and the organization is promising, the content is rambling with a bunch of dead-end special cases.
   
   And the publisher really needs to hire an editor. I've never read a book with so many typos.
   
   If you haven't read Jones yet, that's the one to get for starting out in hold'em. You could probably do worse with this book, but Jones is a lot better (and shorter to boot).



5. Let me start with what this book isn't. This isn't a good first book for beginnning hold'em players. A more appropriate book for a newbie would be Lee Jones' excellent "Winning Low Limit Hold'em" (especially with the new 3rd edition that I haven't had a chance to read yet, but it's almost twice the thickness of my 2nd edition). This isn't a book that gives the reader a fleshed-out system on how to play limit hold'em. It's subtitle, "From Beginner to Winner" really isn't true. I don't think this book would take a complete newcomer and turn them into a winner.
   
   All that being said, now let me say what this book is. This is a book that will help a new to intermediate player to start to think actively about low-to-mid limit hold'em. The above-mentioned Lee Jones book gives a new player a system that helps him or her to play "good" poker. That is the "how" for a beginner. "Hold'em Excellence" gives the reader ideas to think about, and actively debate. This is the "why" and the "what if" for a beginnner.
   
   To put it another way, this is a beginner course in poker theory. Many of the more experienced players have probably read (or should read) Phil Gordon's "Little Green Book". Gordon's book helps an advanced player creatively and actively think about no-limit hold'em. Hold-em Excellence helps a beginnner-to-intermediate player creatively think about low-to-mid limit hold'em. This book helps a player to start to think about questions such as when should I raise? How do I start to analyze the other players? How do I change my play based on table conditions? How strong is my hand, really? It helps players to understand why to do what they are supposed to.
   
   I should list a few caveats. The writing isn't stellar, and the grammar is at times bad. The book could have used a better editing job, as sometimes the summaries are full of info that wasn't in the preceding chapter. But this is a book about poker from a poker player, so please forgive the nitpicks. Also, this book is by no means complete, but it shouldn't be. A more advanced player could complain that the chapters aren't nearly as complete as they could be, but a new player would be overwhelmed by something more than this. This book isn't trying to be Sklansky's "Theory of Poker." Theory of Poker is post-doc work, and this is undergraduate level.
   
   So, what is this book? This book is a great supplemental book. Don't get it as your first book, but once you have a basic idea as to how to play poker, read this so you can start to think about the whys, the maybes, and the what ifs. In this way, I think this book is excellent for both the beginner and the more advanced player. This is a book for any poker player who needs to move beyond the sheer basics of poker and begin to think about the game from a higher point of view.

No comments about More Hold'em Wisdom for all Players.

5 comments about Killer Poker Hold'em Handbook: A Workbook for Winners.

1. This is a great book for the beginner and intermediate player looking to inspect their game. Rather than just give the usual strategy recommendations, this book takes an introspective approach teaching the player how to ask the RIGHT questions to improve his/her game. This is more a mini-lesson in poker improvement than it is a strategy guide. If you've put in a few hundred hours of poker and are ready to look at your game in a more serious and structured fashion, buy this book!



2. This was a good book if it's the first book you read on improving your poker game. There is no instruction on computing pot odds, implied odds, or any math for that matter, it doesn't dig deep into theory, and it doesn't really give any tips on what to do in certain situations, because, as the author puts it, "it depends," and he's right. Since this was the first book I've read on poker; I'm not sure what I was expecting, maybe more of "when you have this and this and the flop comes that, this is what you do." After reading this book, I discovered, that's impossible to tell, due to the infanite amount of factors that need to be considered (alot of which are discussed.) Rather, it focuses on playing valuable hands, and playing them aggressively. The "Killer" way. He stresses to "pay attention what's going on, not only while your in the hand, but even when you fold before the flop" (keep watching your opponents to see what they do/how they react to certain situations that arise.) The "workbook" aspect of this book is kind of lame; the author will tell you a story or a situation in which this or that happend, and then asks you to write in the space provided 5 times (or however many) this sort of situation happened to you and your reaction to them (what did you do). I didn't do any of the "workbook" questions that pop up in the process of reading the book, and I don't think I lost anything by not doing them...I felt them to be a distraction. In my opinion, I don't think it would hurt to skip the "workbook" part of the book, and keep reading the meaty part, where you get most (all) the information.
   I am planning on reading the first book in the series next (I didn't know there was a first book till after I bought this one). As far as a helpful tool to online play, I'm not sure. This book focuses on and is written for live limit hold-em play, so I'm not sure how much info you can get out of it that would help you with the internet game...though I imagine that it couldn't hurt. Hope this was somewhat helpful. It's a quick and easy read too, not boring at all, and held my attention throughout, which I must say, is tough to do...



3. Poker player and author John Vorhaus takes the reader through a series of discussions and exercises designed to jump-start their approach (or improvement) of the game of limit holdem, the most popular card game in the world today.
   One of my good friends in college once told me that the purpose of undergraduate studies in any discipline is to get the student to learn how to think. By this measure, Vorhaus gives us a very good undergraduate education in poker. While he doesn't ignore the specific nuts and bolts strategy that we would expect, of much greater value are the lessons that he gives us throughout. They could be summed up briefly as "keep your head in the game", and "always think about what the other guy is thinking about;" of course, they run much deeper than that. To call this a workbook may be overstating the case; however, Vorhaus frequently invites us to take a break and generate our own ideas on the topic that he is currently instructing us on, with the goal of teaching us critical thinking skills that will translate into dollars at the poker table.
   By the end of the book, we've been exposed to some amusing anecdotes, some common situations in poker, and a look into the minds of some of the opponents that we will face, with lots of admonitions against becoming one of the less desirable stereotypes of poker players.
   The Good and the Bad:
   The writing in this book is very strong; while it may not win any awards for literature, it is miles ahead of the pack of poker books in terms of reader accessibility. Despite a frequent return to a couple of major themes (Don't tilt! Don't tilt! Don't tilt!), the book manages to move through most topics with a fair amount of clarity and entertainment. Vorhaus is not afraid to present himself as the horse's ass in his anecdotes, as long as it is in the service of showing us how to play. The approach of teaching critical thinking skills is also very much appreciated.
   On the down side, I wish that Vorhaus had spent a little more time on presenting situations that the player is likely to find him or herself in, and I would have liked a mention of how an online poker player might apply some of the lessons that he is teaching differently.
   Another criticism has to do with the exercises. If Vorhaus expects us to do the exercises in the various sections, he should have put a little more into them (rather than just saying "when do you go on tilt"?). Also, the "diaries" of some of the players we're likely to meet (a clever approach to getting us inside the head of our opponents) are a little long; the space could have been better spent by giving us more practical advice on how to beat the player-types presented, or by giving us more player-types.



4. If you read and benefited from "Killer Poker" you definitely should continue with this book. It is, unlike many sequels, a genuine extension of the original, not just the same thing repeated with a new cover. This books discussions and examples are of hold'em only.
   Two of the many subjects were especially valuable to me (other subjects will no doubt turn out to be the favorites of different readers, such is the quality of the whole book).
   One: "Hold'em Diaries" is a hypothetical diary of several specific poker players revealing the mindset they bring to the game. Some are good mindsets and some pretty bad. After each diary entry (three or four pages) is Vorhaus discussion of that player's view of the game.
   Two: "Hard-Core Hold'em" covers six valuable points and one of them is "The Seven Habits" (of highly effective hold'em players) that I keep re-reading.



5. If you are looking for an instructional book or a reference book that will show you "what-to-do with Ace-King in middle position"...this is not it. But, if you are looking to ADD to your intermediate level knowledge of the game and to catch some additional insight into personalities, situations, and perspectives...this will fit the bill very nicely. There is a wealth of information in Vorhaus' little book. It touches on personalities at the table, tips, hints, and perspective to provoke thought...not a tome of how-to-do-what-when. It is also a good read, very well written, witty, and hilarious on many occasions. It can also help you to look at your own play (and the holes therein)..and give knowledge, backed with experience, to help in your quest of refining your "craft". There are many books that can easily tell you what hands to play, how to bluff and when, and other essentials of the game. However, Vorhaus successfully steers clear of that cliche' and offers some insight that you can follow, or not follow...agree with, or not agree with. It is, again, a book to stimulate your thought deeper within the game..not tell you what hands to play or not to play. Except for his adamant advice not to slow play pocket Aces....of which I agree.