1 comments about Beginners Guide to Limit Hold'em.

1. I'd like to think I left the "beginner" stage some time ago, consequently I haven't paid much attention to this book since I purchased it several months ago. However in researching the topic of dominated hands I remembered that Jacob's book had a good discussion of the topic - indeed it was reading this section in a bookstore that convinced me to buy the book though I had no intention of immediate use. Thus it was that I retrieved it from the shelf and sat down to read that section. One thing led to another and now, several hours later, I find that this book has some of the clearest explanations of important topics that I've found anywhere.
   
   If you are a new player the first half of the book introduces you to the fundamentals. If you are an experienced player you'll think you already know this stuff, and probably you do. Even then you'll find some of it, especially the chapter titled "How Hands Develop" to be worth a careful read.
   
   The second half of the book presents nothing new, nothing you can't find in Sklansky, Miller, et. al. Then why am I writing a positive review - simply because Jacobs writes so clearly and succinctly that this is a great place for a beginner to ... well, to begin. More experienced players may find themselves wondering why nobody else ever said it so well.
   
   In short readable sections Jacobs thoroughly explains concepts such as outs, hand odds, pot odds, implied odds, position, domination, aggression, playing various types of hands from various positions, etc. Many beginners clearly have trouble believing the importance of position as an excursion into poker sites on the Internet will attest. In less than two pages Jacobs' description of "The Game of 100" should convince anyone of the importance of position.
   
   If you are a beginner I'd recommend this book over just about anything else on my bookshelf (over 100 poker titles). After you've read it you'll be ready for the hardcore - and hard to read due to writing style - books by Sklansky et. al. More importantly, you'll be ready for the limit tables.

5 comments about How Good is Your Pot Limit Hold'em?.

1. How Good Is Your Pot-Limit Hold'em? is a handy and straightforward guide to Pot-limit hold'em, a poker variant characterized by big bets that can spring out of nowhere, as well as opportunities for bold bluffs and counter-bluffs, which has become wildly popular from coast to coast in recent decades. Written by an experienced pot-limit player, How Good Is Your Pot-Limit Hold'em? offers not only basic introductory and "how-to" play instructions, but also advanced concepts and strategies for various hands, and some complex math to better gauge one's odds during play. An accompanying CD-ROM rounds out this excellent primer for those interested in learning more about this exciting style of gambling.



2. Even before I started writing reviews for Amazon, I was always a customer who made use of the review section. This was particularly true in regards to poker books because I assumed that the raters had the same goal, getting better, that I did. For this book, I read the insights of the two reviewers below, and made the call. My interest in studying Pot-Limit stems from playing the $10.00 table at a popular website. I wondered if there were some tips I could absorb which would give me an advantage over the other No Limit players at the PL table.
   
   I have to say that I was taken aback when I first opened "How Good Is..." because it looked kind of like a workbook with check in boxes and little quizzes for each hand. Then I saw that the free CD actually was the download disk for Royal Vegas poker, which, in my mind, is an awful site. So, with some trepidation, I began to read this one, and must admit to being pleasantly surprised by the advice it contained. American readers should not be put off by the fact that some of the pot values are represented in English pounds because, you'll soon realize, that the exact amounts have little to do with the functionality of the instruction.
   
   Stewart Reuben is a retired professional, and he definitely knows what he is talking about. He has a engaging personality and is an enjoyable narrator. Inside, he offers up 58 hands for analysis. Over the course of them, many mentions are made of his old poker pals and famous players like Jack Keller or Devilfish Ulliot. Personally, I did not take the quizzes as I went along but I read a couple of the hands twice after recognizing the way in which I mishandled similar scenarios at the table. Lastly, there's a chart on page 9 that shows hand rankings which was so good I forever marred my copy by tearing it out and placing it alongside my computer monitor as a guide.



3. The main thing this book has going for it is its format. Reuben describes a hand and a situation and then quizzes you on each part of playing that hand. He tells you what he or the player he is following, did. Then, at the end, he tells you what mathematically correct strategy would be. Reuben does not always max out the score with his own actions and when he errs, it tends to be toward the more aggressive play.
   
   The correct answer has nothing to do with whether or not you win the hand.
   
   Reuben's writing is humorous and entertaining. Comments such as "A perfect score. You are not welcome at our table." He does use "gay" as an adjective far too often and that is irritating, but I can live with it. Most Americans think most Brits are gay, anyway, except for tough guys like Sean Connery and Margaret Thatcher. It is a sophmoric term for an adult of a reasonable age. I have never met a raise that wanted a civil union.
   
   The drawbacks of this technique occur when the correct strategy is to fold, yet the quiz goes on. If I folded before the flop, I don't have much of a decision on the river.
   
   Still, the few nit picking things aside, a truly enjoyable book. And the Royal Vegas cds on the back inside cover make nice frisbees.



4. In the introduction, it is stated: "no-limit cash games are seen relatively rarely these days". Really? Why are so many of the book's examples from actual no limit games?
   
   The format is making decisions step by step playing 58 hands. Then you compare your choices against the answers.
   
   The first example hand is played without looking at your pocket cards. In the answer it is stated that you must make sure no one knows you are raising blind. Can you use this advice?
   
   Most of the answers are not explained sufficiently. Usually, when I got a "wrong" answer, the book answer did not help me understand.
   
   If you are learning, advoid this book; it will frustrate you.



5. This is a review of "How Good is Your Pot-Limit Hold'Em" by Stewart Reuben.
   
   In the introduction on page 6 the author states: "Except where I have dabbled on the internet and now one tournament, I have not played any hold'em for some years." Uh-oh.
   
   On page 9 is given the ranking of starting hands. Q-8 suited is listed twice: in position #47 and again in position #53 (which is still in group eight but the odds of occurrence are given as different). Also, 10-7 offsuit is listed in position #70 whereas 10-7 suited is not on the list at all.
   
   Here are two questions and their scores from HGIYPLHE:
   
   From page 66:
   The board at the river is: 9d 8s 4d 3c 3h
   You have: Ah Jh
   The pot contains: $6250
   Your only opponent bets: $6000
   Do you (a) pass, (b) call, or (c) raise $4000 all-in?
   The answer on page 67 is: four points for (a), ten points for (b), and one point for (c). Yes, you read that right: the highest score is awarded to calling a pot-size bet with only Ace-high.
   
   From page 58:
   The board at the turn is: Kh 10d 7h 4h
   You have: Ah Ks
   The pot contains: $9075
   You check (!) and your only opponent goes all-in for $8500.
   Do you (a) pass, or (b) call?
   The answer on page 59 is: ten points for (a) and zero points for (b). I guess the pot odds of over 2 to 1 just aren't good enough for Mr. Reuben here, since he is only (!) holding top-pair top-kicker with the nut flush draw (and quite possibly aces and kings are outs ... and also if the board pairs with a 10 or a 7 or a 4 it may counterfeit our opponents hand of two pair rather than giving him a full house).
   
   Now it is true that further details behind these two hands are given, but those details just highlight the inability of Mr. Reuben to adapt to changing conditions and instead point out his stubbornness in sticking to his opinion of what his opponents must be holding, while disregarding the information contained in the actual bets that lead up to the situations upon which these two questions are based.
   
   Having read these and a couple of other examples in the book, I decided that taking any advice from Mr. Reuben on pot-limit hold'em would be a bad idea. And as others here have noted, the "bonus" CD-ROM attached in the rear of the book is worthless.

5 comments about Texas Hold'em On The Net: How to Maximize Your Winnings.

1. I am new to the game and found "Maximum Dave" to be insightful and funny. His approach to the game made me confortable and confident. I would recommend this book to all new players even GIRLS!!!!!!! My computer is in my bedroom and he taught me things that even my husband could not.



2. If you just getting started this book will be very helpful. Very basic. Has some good points/insights related to on-line play.



3. I found this book to be a waste of time and money. If you have ANY OTHER book on Holdem, everything here will be repetition. My personal thoughts were that this was a waste of time and money, but perhaps I am too harsh. If you are giving someone their very first book, and they are a beginner, well, perhaps this is the book. Otherwise, not. But this is just basic stuff. Very basic stuff.



4. Why is a noted gambling expert buying a book for beginners? Anyway, I thought the book was great for beginners.It gives you the basics and some good common sense logic. Also,has some clever ideas for managing your money when you start winning. I'm not a high limit player so this book was good for getting started. I made 50 bucks the day I read it. So I guess it paid for itself.



5. I have been playing off and on for a year with no tangable results.
   
   I read this book and followed it exactly and in the 1st 4 days I went from $1000 to $4280 (Play Money). In 17 single table(9 seats) games I have 2 Firsts 4 Seconds and 6 Thirds. I play very tight until there are only 6 players which allows me to follow the strategy that is discussed in this book.
   
   I have been in the money 70% of the time.
   
   This book works......

4 comments about Learn How to Win at Texas Hold 'Em Poker for 5 Bucks (Learn for 5 Bucks).

1. This is a 60-page overview of Texas Hold'em that surveys all aspects of the game from starting hands to postflop play and when to bluff. It discusses pot odds, bet odds and implied odds. There's a table in the back with the odds for your hand improving based on the outs you need. There's even a few pages about tournament play.
   
   It's standard stuff, but distilled down to essentials and graphically well-presented.
   
   So why only 3 stars?
   
   The book is filled with typos. Cards are described in the same sentence as spade [the symbol] and "s" -- but both things refer to the spade suit. (And "s" could well mean two starting cards of any one suit.)
   
   On page 32, he explains that you _should_ call when you do not make your queen-high flush. Huh? I've been folding my missed flushes.
   
   As Straham proclaims on the cover, the book is only "5 bucks." Maybe he should price the book higher and employ a proofreader.
   
   P.S. After seeing that the glossary --incredibly -- is not alphabetized, I wish I had given the book only two stars.



2. I agree with the previous reviewer, and pricing this book a few bucks higher to get a proof-reader would have been well worth the money.
   
   This book is littered with typos.
   
   Every few pages, I have to stop and try to figure out what the author meant to say. An example would be:
   
   Page 24
   "...Say you have J and 10 facing one opponent on the turn. You have an outside straight draw with a board of 2 5 8 Q and only the river card left to make it. Any 8 or king will finish this straight for you..."
   
   I may be new at poker, but even I know you'll need a 9 to finish that straight, and a king will be worthless. Of course, he had typo'ed the board cards with an "8" instead of a "9", but this is just one of the many examples of the confusing and annoying mistakes you're sure to discover in this book. I would encourage you to search further throughout amazon, and deeper into your pocket book, for -- simply put -- a better book.



3. Ditto the other two reviews on this book. I thank my lucky stars that I kept my $5 in my wallet and borrowed this from the library. I give my co-reviewers A LOT of credit for sticking with this book - I quit reading after about page 15. I found no less than FOUR typos/incorrect statements on ONE page. My favorite botched advice is, early in the book, that: when holding a low pair [3's] and hitting a set [trip 3's] on the flop, one should be very wary of a pair of overcards on the board (in this case, a Q on the flop, and then another on the turn), because even one Q buried in an opponents hands will cause his trips to beat yours. Oh yeah? Last I checked, when holding a set and having the board pair-up, I've now got a FULL HOUSE! I think that beats 3 Q's!! Sheesh!
   
   This book is god awful. The typos are brutal, and the flat-out wrong advice is even worse. Don't waste your time.
   
   Buy (or borrow from your local library) Brunson's "Super/System," or any book by Caro or McEvoy. These guys are seasons pros, and know what they're talking about - so you will, too. ;-)



4. I wanted some basics to get into $5 dollar single table tournaments online and it worked for that. You will definitely need something more advanced as you progress into higher limits and this will not be useful for 'free' games.
   Take two things from this book:
   1. The starting hands based on position
   2. How to calculate the 'outs' (a nice chart in the back of the book)
   Adjust your starting hands based on your willingness to take risks and understand your outs based on the chart in the back. The rest is pretty basic and as everyone has stated thus far there are a considerable number of mistakes.
   If you are going to buy another book watch the poker tournaments on T.V and find a player you most enjoy watching play, that you trust and that wins and go buy his book. There are no books that will teach you everything and there is no template for perfect play.

5 comments about Championship no-limit and pot-limit hold'em: On the road to the World Series of Poker.

1. This is the best book on poker from the best player. A great companion to 'Super/System' poker fans will enjoy this hands on gear turning read. Truly a neccesary book for the poker library. In contrast to Sklansky this book will not hold your hand so if your a begginer or your weak you need not pick it up. THis book is for the serious player looking to notch himself up. THis book helped an amateur take 5th in the WSOP and it can help you too!



2. I would not consider this to be the bible on no-limit. The book starts with an interview of T.J.Cloutier and ends with a few of his road stories. In between there are a couple of examples of how to play certain hands. But in general i found litlle basic big bet poker advice. The tournament section i felt was pretty good. Overall i wouldn't adivce this book to a beginning big bet player. I think they would be better off buying Pot-limit & No-limit poker by Ciaffone/Reuben. If on the other hand you're an somewhat advanced player, then you might find some usefull information in this book.



3. This book is pretty poor relative to other poker books.
   It's not that the book doesn't have anything to teach, it's just that I felt that for the cost of the book compared to the material versus the value of other poker books is poor.



4. A truly great book for some of the reasons below:
   Shows and illustrated how a great player like TJ Cloutier plays and thinks about the key hands. If you agree that preflop play is key then you will agee that which cards to play preflop and how to play them after the flop are the key issues.
   Introduces key concepts of tourney play and splitting up how you approach the beginning , middle and late stages of a tournment.
   The colourful road stories are all a bonus.
   Several winners have mentioned this book as being piviotal to thier success including Mcmanus's 5th place at the WSOP main event.
   With many newer books on NLH including the two books by Harrington taking a more detailed scientific approach to which hands to play this book is getting a bit dated.
   However for ease of learning and its relatively small size which means you can implement your knowledge faster it makes a great primer to the more detailed newer texts.
   Also you will learn and understand TJ's style of conservative tight/aggresive play.
   Who is TJ Cloutier? The most winning NLHE tournament player. Placed 2nd twice at the WSOP main event (Came 2nd to Chris Ferguson) Holds 6 WSOP bracelets.
   Who is his co author Tom Mcevoy?- Former wsop Main event Champion
   This was one of the key books that I used to win the weekly Thursday NLHE tourney at the Shara Las Vegas. A $2000 return on my $20 book.



5. TJ Cloutier has long been one of my favorite poker players. He is a gentleman as well as a poker genius. That being said, I would argue that this book, like TJ seems to have let the game pass by a little bit.
   
   There is fantastic history of some of the characters and tournaments of TJ's life as well as a quick auto biography, and the pot limit section reads well for anyone not to familiar with that type of poker. However, I feel like the no limit section is dated and fairly basic. It seems a lot of what TJ talks about comes from a time when people only played the top ten hands, and doesn't leave a lot of room for creative play that seems much more popular today.
   
   That being said, if one reads the book carefully, there are several good tips that should make the serious player plenty of money over the long haul. TJ is one of the classiest and best poker players of all time and this book is as good of a starter book as any; it's not too thick and there is plenty of character.

4 comments about Beat Texas Hold'em.

1. This is a great book for beginner Texas Hold'em players. It is an easy, fast read, which is very entertaining and informative.
   
   The early chapters talk about the basics and mechanics of the game: how the cards are dealt, posting the blinds and the proper hands to play. Here they also discuss betting and the various positions at the table (everything from being "under-the-gun" to being on the "button.")
   
   Later chapters cover "Limit Texas Hold'em," which is the basic game you might play at home or in a poker room. Also, many of us watch poker on TV, and an entire chapter is devoted to that, talking about what really goes on. A chapter on online poker is very interesting, as thousands play online every day. In fact, I just won a mini-tournament using some of the inforation I learned from this book (1st prize - $25!!!!!).
   
   The book concludes with a chapter on winning in tournaments, which explains how playing in those differs from just the regular game.
   
   Each chapter contains practice hands and "Tom's Top Ten Winning Tips."
   
   Again, a good book for the beginner. More advanced and/or experienced players will probably want something more in-depth.
   
   Good luck...and may the flop go your way!



2. This book is what it is. "Beat Texas Hold Em" is designed to give beginners a feel for the game and ideas for strategy and tactics. It succeeds wonderfully. Its price is very cheap which is something that cannot be said of many gambling books. The narration style is very clear and concise. There's nothing confusing in the least in its structure. McEvoy provides advice on how to play common hands and also addresses internet poker in a separate chapter. No, it won't say a great deal to the pros but for those of us initially grappling with the game it's well worth the price.



3. I would recommend this book only if you've been playing hold 'em poker for a month max, or if you've been playing for a while and you keep loosing yet don't know why. The information here is basic, solid strategy that will prevent the novice from loosing all his money. It covers limit, no-limit, tournament and online play, therefore giving the reader a good basic foundation on all the most popular types of Hold 'em. It's also very inexpensive, a plus that's even more enticing for the beginning player considering the prices of most other poker books. But for intermediate players, this is pretty much information you already know intuitively.
   
   To sum it up: A good, cheap, introductory strategy book meant for those who have just started playing the game.



4. Mr. McEvoy's view on how to approach both internet or real-life games of either limit or no-limit Texas Hold'em would best benefit someone who has just started playing the game. McEvoy informs his reader on the basics: what kind of hands are good/bad, how to bet in many different situations, relative chances of making certain hands, reading bluffs, and how to act depending on your position at the table, whether it be your chip stack or seat location.
   
   McEvoy suggests a very tightly played overall strategy of the game. He tells of no style of bluffing--a quintessential part of poker, especially Hold'em. If you sit around and play a tight game, which normally means playing almost no hands, you will eventually be blinded until you are short-stacked or sitting at the rail.
   
   Enough with my displeasures--I believe this book, despite its few drawbacks, is an excellent guide to those just beginning in Texas Hold'em. Mr. McEvoy gives a good synopsis on starting hand strengths and weaknesses. He also gives great insight on the impact of position, or order of bet, at the table. He argues that position is everything--I agree.
   
   The best part of this book is the section devoted to possible hands one may come across at the table. While one hand may be wise to raise with in late position may simply be a call- or fold-only hand in the early or mid positions.
   
   The part of the book that helped me the most was the section devoted to learning your opponents. McEvoy wisely stresses that you must know or very quickly learn the tendencies of your opponent in order to come out on top. He teaches to always fall in with the speed of the game, but at the same time, play your game no matter what. His best advice--to me--is to stick with your game and style and do not stray from it whether you are the chip-leader at the table or the short-stack heads-up against anyone from novice to poker great.
   
   This book seems to be most beneficial to novice players, yet there are a few key things that could be learned by a seasoned-veteran who gave this book a shot. Mr. McEvoy's book was both very informative as well as entertaining and even humorous at times.

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 The Picasso Flop (Texas Hold'em Mysteries).

1. I enjoyed the story and the Las Vegas setting. I'm not a poker aficianado so the game play could be dead wrong and I wouldn't know it, though I've watched poker tournaments on TV. I did think the name-dropping of "real" players was used too heavily, to the detriment of developing the fictional characters and should have stayed more in the background for flavor.



2. I don't know much about poker. If I hadn't caught a few of the shows on cable, I would think that a book with a tag line of "A Texas Hold'em Mystery" was a western-mystery. But sometimes I do turn on the television so I know that Texas Hold'em is the hottest thing in card games for adults.
   
   Enter World Poker Tour commentator Vince Van Patten. He's teamed up with mystery-writer extraordinaire Robert J. Randisi and together they have penned the first in a series called The Picasso Flop.
   
   Ex-poker professional Jimmy Spain has just finished his time in the slammer. He's almost kicked his past but an old cell mate, Harold Landrigan--a wealthy, weathly man--hires Jimmy to keep an eye on his young daughter Kat. Money is no object to Landrigan and Jimmy accepts his more than generous offer. Only thing is, Jimmy can't let Kat know of his connection with her father.
   
   He moves to LA to meet Kat and see if she has any talent at all. She's a whiz at cards. Jimmy takes her under his wing and the duo head off to Vegas for the World Poker Tour at the Bellagio. Thanks to Daddy Harold, both have the buy-in fee for the five-day tournament.
   
   Things are going well for the two until an Internet poker phenom turns up dead, with the Picasso flop--three picture cards--as one of the only clue. It shakes Jimmy and Kat but not their fortitude. Until a poker posse buddy of the dead guy's takes a nose dive nto the hotel's swimming pool also with the same flop floating in the water..
   
   The Picasso Flop is littered with the poker world's most famous names. I have no idea who these people are, but it didn't get in the way of a good story. It helps that the authors do a minute amount of explaining about the game but that helpful little tidbit of info doesn't get in the way.
   
   Jimmy and Kat are compelling characters. For some reason, after I started reading The Picasso Flop, I started calling all the men I know "dude." And that's a word I never thought would be coming out of my mouth!



3. Odd comparison, but bear with me...
   I just finished reading Picasso Flop a day or so after Knight Rider came on.. and even with low expectations, both were disappointing. THey shared similar traits... a seemingly fan-friendly idea, and poor execution. Both appear to be hastily thrown together, have shaky (at best) plots, and OH-SO-convenient situations. Perhaps if KITT had driven into the Bellagio in this book, it might have at least made me stop and think something other than "Jeez, this book is so simplistically written..." The jacket desribes the author as the writter of several mysteries...I have a feeling it's quantity over quality if Picasso Flop is any indication. Maybe I'm asking too much from a book released by the WPT. Will I buy future installments? Sure, because I'm a rube that loves poker and will buy just about anything associated with it... and I'll watch Knight RIder every week if it gets picked up, because I loved the original when I was a kid... but that doesn't make them worthy...or any good. Suggestions to both: take a little more time. try harder. make a better product.



4. I really wanted to enjoy this book since I love watching the WPT poker telecasts and Vince Van Patten's commentary. I also love playing Texas Holdem. However, this book reads like it was written by a fourth grader (not to denigrate fourth graders writing ability). I got to the 10th chapter and decided I couldn't take it anymore. Vince, don't give up your day job....................



5. The story in this book follows the basic conventions of the mystery genre and does an adequate job. Mystery fans with no interest in poker won't hate this book, but it won't make their top ten lists. Some serious poker players will think it emphasizes silly froth over pure poker.
   
   I loved this book for the inside jokes about celebrity poker. If you're a fan, there's all kinds of fun detail, carefully-etched portraits and amusing color. If you're not a fan, and don't know any of the people involved, it will seem like shameless plugs for the World Poker Tour with lots of silliness in between the murders.
   
   This isn't a book for everyone (as the other reviews clearly show), but if you like this sort of thing, it's a five-star book.

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.

1 comments about Maran Illustrated Poker (Maran Illustrated).

1. Enhanced with the technical expertise of professional poker player Ken R. Auliffe (Editor of the "Canadian Poker Player" magazine), Maran Illustrated Poker from the Maran Family is an profusely illustrated introduction to the major varieties of poker card games including Seven Card Stud, Omaha, and the wildly popular "Texas Hold'em" in both limit and no-limit forms. Readers are taken through the psychology as well as mathematical aspects of poker whether in home games or tournament play. Providing a knowledgeable perspective and an illustrative pictorial representation of diverse hands and game play situations, Maran Illustrated Poker carries its readers through poker essentials, as well as offering tips for comfortable playing in a casino card room, an online poker room. The critically important subjects of tells, bluffing, table position, and so much more are covered in detail. Maran Illustrated Poker is very strongly recommended as a truly invaluable and "user friendly" reference for all poker players, be they novice or expert, amateur or professional.