3 comments about Your Best Poker Friend: Increase Your Mental Edge and Maximize Your Profits.

1. If you liked either of the author's previous poker books, The Psychology of Poker and/or Your Worst Poker Enemy, this book is a neccessary continuation of the lesson. YBPF is not a strategy book, and will disappoint those expecting one. This book lays out strategies for improving your game that are very practical. Of course, most of you won't actually get around to doing any of the things Schoonemaker recommends, just like you already gave up on your New Year's resolutions. That is why I don't mind giving an honest review and saying that if you take this stuff seriously you will improve.
   
   Also, there are some interesting updates to some of Schoonemaker's ideas from YWPE, especially regarding his hard-line stance that no one should ever quit their day job to play poker, and how on-line play is changing poker.



2. Reverse implied odds? Give me a break. Even Andy Black would be confused by this book. Give me Super System I/II any time.



3. Dr. Schoonmaker in my opinion is the most honest teacher of poker & life that I have ever crossed paths with. His writing, and observation of human behavior and the poker table/player is right on the money! I highly recommend this book for any semi professional, or someone who is considering becoming a professional poker player, or casual players of poker that want an edge on the home poker game. Limit, or no limit it works with both.

5 comments about How Good is Your Pot Limit Omaha?.

1. This book consists of fifty quizzes based on real poker hands. Each of these hands Rueben either participated in or watched happened. For example, Rueben will say he was dealt KKQJ double suited in late position and the book quizzes you a.) fold b.) call c.) min raise d.) pot raise. Next the flop comes T93 rainbow and three players check to you. What do you do, the book asks, a.) check b.) small bet or c.) big bet? And so on until the river. At the end of each hand, Rueben explains what he thinks the correct decision is at each step, his rationale and what really went down. It is up to you to think about whether you agree or disagree with his decision making processes. This book is not a "how to play pot limit omaha" manual for beginners.
   For the most part, I disagreed with his style of play. I thought he was overly aggressive. But you have to remember he has made a lot of money playing poker and I have only made a little.



2. wrong based on his plays. This is still a very good book to learn from but like the highest level books...holdem for advanced players , You MUST determine the intrinsic value of your hand for yourself as you will be the one playing in the casino. So read the quizes and take them for what they are worth. I labeled all the quizzes with a headline at the top after I wrote it. Some read MEANINGLESS ENTRY...nothing to be learned but this was maybe for 2 of the first 10. Take it for what it is worth...if you have the extra 13 bucks and want to improve your game I say go for it.



3. This book was quite instructive, but I found it annoying how many hands I thought should have been folded before the flop, and Stewart agreed with me. Once we get that question right, what is the point in going on with the analysis?
   
   I also found that the games that these hands came from were much more aggressive than the low-limit games that you find online. I don't think that these strategies are completely appropriate for those games. But, if you are playing for thousands at the Grosvenor Victoria, this is your handbook.
   
   Still, in the end, I would say that it improved my game. Plus, there is very little written on the subject of Pot-Limit Omaha, so you are going to end up reading all three of those books, anyway.



4. A terrific book for thinking through how to play a number of pot limit Omaha hands. It is not quite as well written as his later book on Pot Limit Hold Em, but I think Reuben is a better Omaha player than Hold Em player.
   
   The simple fact is, there is no definitive book on Omaha, and maybe the subject is too complex for there to be one. I've learned from this book and the Cloutier/McEvoy book, but there are still gaps in my education that I am filling with experience, some of it not so pleasant.
   
   The technique is to present a hand and ask you what you would do at various betting points in the hand. I sometimes disagree with his advice and do not play hands because I'm bored, as he does. So, we sometimes disagree about my score. The explanations of the correct strategy, which are often not the same as what Reuben did, himself, present many ideas we need to ponder to improve our games.
   
   His phrasing is sometimes odd. I know, he's English and he can't help it. In one hand, he describes a player as making a straddle bet on the blinds. Huh? I trade options for a living and play straddles all day long. Whatever he is describing has no relationship to anything I call a straddle.
   
   Still, a great book that would be even better with a nice, pretty English nanny translating it for me.



5. This book was short on technical information. It related how the author took long shots and got lucky

1 comments about How To Think Like a Poker Pro.

1. I didn't think this book was anywhere near as good as his previous book, 'Real Poker II'. There is really nothing new in these essays, and I definitely didn't start thinking like a poker pro after reading it. Frankly, that would have been a scary experience. Also this book does NOT feature the analysis of any hand play, which I think is Cooke's strength.
   
   Since there is no 'Seach Inside' feature for this book, I'll descibe the contents a bit. The essays were previously published in Cardplayer Magazine if I understand correctly. There are four sections, the first being 75 pages, entitled 'Philosophy of Life and the Game'. Some of the titles in this section include 'The Point of It All', 'The Railbird Hustle', 'There Can Be a Dark Side', and 'The Mental Game'.
   
   The second section is called 'The Edge Concept', about 45 pages long on, well, edge.
   
   Section three is 'So You Wannabe a Pro', 85 pages long, which again is exactly what you would expect it to be. I previously have seen about everything here elsewhere. If any man, woman or child base a switch in careers on these few pages, each and everyone of them need to be spanked by their mommies ... hard. very hard. Then they need to come with me to the doctor to have the dosage of our medication markedly increased.
   
   The final section, about 70 pages long, is entitled 'Strategy and Tactics'. I would have expected this section to interest me the most. However, as i noted above, his 'Real Poker II' contains far more information.
   
   The book ends with John Bond, the co-author, being allowed two pages to articulate his thoughts about poker, life, and what he has done in the last fifteen years.
   
   Parenthetically, I wish Mr. Bond would learn the difference between a noun and a verb; for example, 'earn' is how you get earnings and not the earnings themselves, and 'sit' is what you do with your seat. I won't continue, because it will take away what little fun there is in reading this book.
   
   Cooke is always talking about edge. The edge here, I believe, is to reread 'Real Poker' and pass on this one.
   
   No, better yet, buy the book and enjoy it. What the hell, life is short! And my three star review gives you a 0.5 gold star edge. How can you lose?

5 comments about Why You Lose at Poker.

1. I have read six other poker books from cover to cover and tried to use the knowledge at the tables. Each book did teach me something and helped my game. However, my losses were always bigger than my gains, albeit not by much. After reading this book, I have not lost ONCE! In a 3-6 hold 'em game, I started walking away with several extra racks of chips each and every game. To be honest, I am sure that I will lose on occasion and I am far - far - FAR from being a pro - I can now enjoy this game recreationally and make some money along the way. This is an excellent book. I just hope I don't face other readers of this book at my table!



2. This book is great for learning poker at a decent level. I really like being able to read what I'm doing wrong, rather than......"if you do this, there's no doubt you're going to win".



3. This book is simple and clear. It helped me take an objective look at my style of play and identify some lapses in discipline and logic that have been causing some serious leaks in my bankroll. Horse sense and discipline, is my short summary of this book.



4. Fox and Harker are succesful poker players and co-wrote an earlier book about NLHE.
   
   Fox, who is a tournament bridge player himself, and Harker, who isn't,
   got the idea for this book after reading the S.J. Simon's classic book and you can tell. Not that I am talking about plaguerism. They just decided to do a book LIKE for poker players and they succeeded.
   
   There are chapters about common errors that cause losing players to
   lose and winning players to win less. Much of this is elementary but
   some of the chapters are very interesting. They are reminders to veteran players and warnings to newbies. Even many very experienced players could use the advice about game selection and the chapter on the economics of tournaments.
   
   The greatest resemblance to is that it ends with some hands played at the club. after which they analyze each player's actions, replacing him or her with a reasonable player to see how much better (or worse) said reasonable player would have done.
   
   This is a very entertaining book. Unless you are a very advanced poker player, it would help your game too. I only gave it four stars because a some very good players would find nothing in it that they don't already have under control. The entertainment value of the book might still make it worthwhile for some of them but not for others.
   
   For fans of
   
   For those who remember Mrs. Guggenheim, the pleasant but hopeless
   rubber-bridge player from by S.J. Simon, it
   might be interesting to know that she is still alive and well.
   Evidently, she was widowed or divorced, I didn't get to ask her which,
   and has married again, to a wealthy and generous man named Goldman.
   
   I ran into her in an entertaining little book called Poker> by Russell Fox and Scott T. Harker, where she was playing poker
   for moderate stakes. She isn't any better at her new game than at her
   old one but she remains indominatible.
   
   The cast of characters is similar to Simon's but only Mrs. Guggenheim/Goldman is recognizable.



5. The book is well written and contains very good advice. It's well worth the time to read, it should help your game progress.

5 comments about Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People: The Memoirs of the Greatest Gambler Who Ever Lived.

1. In a way it's fitting that the most entertaining poker book ever written contains total detail about the most dramatic game of poker ever played, by the greatest card man of the twentieth century. I'm talking about the truly legendary, Thomas Austin "Amarillo Slim" Preston. His amazing book, Amarillo Slim In A World Full of Fat People, is for poker what the BBC's Top Gear is to motoring: funny, wicked, informative and entertaining. If Jeremy Clarkeson is reading this, that wipes out any future poker debts I might accrue!
   
   In the early nineties, Slim was invited help launch the Casino de Caribe in Cartagena, Columbia by casino boss Lynn Simon. Amarillo was flattered to be asked at this late stage in his career only to discover that he would be playing some of the deepest untaxed pockets in the world:namely, the major drug lords of the Columbian cartels. Playing poker for the very highest stakes is nerve racking at the best of times: now just imagine that you're about to have a showdown with Pablo Escobar, probably the most feared cold-blooded killer on Earth. Turns out Pablo just wanted to be friends and show Slim his mansion, his zoo and that he was in charge of Columbia. Once this had been established, Escobar's helicopter dropped Amarillo back at the Caribe. The tall Texan then proceeded to financially disable some of the deadliest Cartel bosses, under protection from a Swiss style physical safety agreement, which they honoured under pain of death from Escobar. Apparently Pablo himself didn't fair well at poker against the card playing cowboy, leaving the Columbian poker challenge to come from his under bosses, who lost the equivalent of 'a week's supply' to the six foot four American.
   
   By the third day the physical safety agreement broke down when one of the Cali Cartel bosses decided to shoot a disloyal girlfriend with a pump action shotgun about a yard from where Amarillo was standing. This should have been Slim's signal to catch the next jet home to Texas but he readily confesses to a liking for danger and besides, a quote from the man himself betrays another reason to stay: "I'd never seen men with more money and less brains than these drug lords." The cowboy stayed and rounded up a mountain of cash before high-tailing it back to cattle country.
   
   In the lives of most card players, the above true story would stand out as the most remarkable of adventures, but trust me, to a man who had won a million dollars by the age of 19, played poker with two Presidents and driven a golf ball over a mile, it was just one of many.



2. This book is really funny but it isn't going to teach you anything really about gambling and poker. He does give a few pointers, but it is basically the story of his life and what a story it was. It is a very easy book to read and enjoyable for anyone who likes gambling.



3. Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People is a autobiography of Slim focusing (unsurprisingly) on his gambling exploits.
   
   The upside of this book is that it's very entertaining & well written. For a lot of people, that may be more than enought it make it worth their time. The gambling yarns contained within are some of the most incredible I've seen in print, and I'm a fan of the genre.
   
   Unfortunately, there are serious issues of Slim's honesty and integrity surrounding this book.
   
   The first, and more minor, issue is that the book is largely assembled from Slim's previous "Play Poker To Win" and Holden's "Big Deal," often taken nearly word for word from those sources. Not only is this a bit of a raw deal for readers who already have those books, but I'm a little curious why Holden is credited and quoted for some of the sections he wrote, but others masquerade as Slim's voice. I hope nothing dirty is going on here plagiarism-wise, but I'm suspicious.
   
   The second, more serious, issue, is that this is a self-flattering autobiography by a man of very questionable morals. There's no doubt, reading this book, that Slim thinks quite highly of himself. But his actions don't exactly support his opinion. He's a self admitted gambling cheat and liar. In fact, the allegations of cheating go far beyond what he admits to in the book - the depth of his association with Johnny Moss' dirty card rooms and and various mechanics on the Texas circuit was not discussed. Worse yet, there's good reason to believe that Slim is a pedophile. He was arrested on three charges of indecency with his 12-year old granddaughter in 2003, apparently confessed to police, and then plead guilty to reduced charges. His wife divorced him over the incident. Sources in the poker community say that Slim maintains his innocence and claims it was a scheme by a faction of his family to get a hold of his money, but that doesn't explain the confession.
   
   Final Verdict: I WANT to like this book, but a good book glorifying a bad man looses a lot of its luster. In light of that I can't bring myself to like Slim, or his book, nearly as much as he likes himself.



4. Fast read on a fast pace of a fast life. Amusing and entertaining, and probably educational if you pay attention. The lessons aren't presented as such, but if you follow the pattern of his betting, you learn not to get sucked into a bad deal. Not going to win a Pulitzer, but a great light read if you like biographies, poker, Texas or characters. He makes Huck Finn look like an altar boy.



5. This was a very entertaining book. The stories in here will keep you interested from the beginning all the way to the end. It is written in colorful language and allows you to kind of get inside Slim's head. It is a short 264 pages filled with wild stories of how Slim would gamble on almost anything and win. You may not agree with everything written in these pages but you will definitely get a few laughs along the way.
   
   Slim talks about human psychology and what role that plays in gambling. One of his sayings is "never make a bet unless the bet is already one." And through these pages he reveals his secrets to doing just that. I think there are a number of useful things that anyone could pick up and find useful in their own lives from some psychology to a number of bets that anyone could make others that could almost be guaranteed winners. One of the last things Slim says is, "making peace with yourself is the first thing a winner must do."
   
   If you have any interest in the mind of a gambler and like outrageous stories involving risk then I think you will enjoy this book.

1 comments about Poker Wizards: Wizdom from the World's Top No-Limit Hold'em Poker Players.

1. Love this book. If you play, whether it's a friendly or a smoker, this book can help your game with its insights from the players with the biggest stones. Those guys (gender agnostic) are legends and yet seemingly accessible - if only. Dunnett has done it. Even though I recommend it, I'm tempted to keep to myself and use it for the potential ill-gotten gains from less informed competitors.

4 comments about The Illustrated Guide to No-Limit Texas Hold'em.

1. I was not a fan of this book. It contains a lot of errors - like how to look like you are going to bet by holding your chips when describing an Internet tournament scenario! Of the 150 scenarios, one includes making a Royal Flush and another involves flopping quads. Sure, they happen, but I've been playing online for more than six years, and I've made one Royal. Are there people playing on the Internet as dumb as the opponents described in this book? Sure. But the overall message I took away from this book is, "Don't gamble unless you have the absolute nuts." Good luck on that. Find a better use for your money.



2. Following the success of the limit version of this book the author has moved into the arena of the very popular no limit Hold'em game. Unlike most of the books out there this one breaks everything down into illustrated scenarios which include the important factors of position, pot size, action, and other useful information upon which decisions should be based. The reader can visualize the exact scenario and then read the correct course of action. By providing over 150 scenarios some of which are multiple parts of the same hand the reader is guided through a number of thought processes that are essential for any winning poker player.
   
   A beginner is exposed to ideas they may never have considered such as the importance of position, how to figure pot odds, the consideration of prior action in the hand, theoretical hand strength, maximizing profit from a winning hand, and much more.
   
   Some of the concepts will be old news to an advanced player, but to new and intermediate players it drives home some very important advice covering real life and internet games. By using illustrations with every hand the concepts are easy to grasp and remember. It is a book that can be read a little at a time and is very easily absorbed.



3. I'm between Beginner and Intermediate, and this book works great for me. Illustrations help reders to understand situations very clearly. With this book I feel as if I were at a card table with a great mentor.



4. There are lots of books out there that are just too much work for the beginner. Sklansky is brilliant but I can't wade through his books or most of the 2+2 library just yet. That's a criticism of me not them.
   
   Lots of other books attempt to describe hands in prose or through some kind of diagram. These books by Purdy provide a very clear way of illustrating and narrating a poker scenario so that it has the feel of being at the table. The situations can be read one at a time. Each stuation and analysis taking perhaps five minutes or so to read through.
   
   Since 95% of the book consists of the 150 situations, don't buy this book unless you are willing to actively engage in thinking them through as presented. This is not a book to just sit back and read on autopilot. You have to "play" the hands. You might think of it as 5 hours of play at the casino poker room.
   
   The books by Purdy have helped me the most in starting out. And who knows, after reading them, I may just be ready for some Sklansky.

5 comments about Phil Hellmuth's Texas Hold'em.

1. Phil obviously knows a lot about Texas Hold'em, he just doesn't share much if it in this book. If you think Phil is the smartest man on earth and devour anything he touches, then you'll love this book. He does a great job of pointing out situations where his brilliant intellect helped him win past tournaments. Unfortunately, he fails to deliver on the purpose of the book, helping US play better. It appears to me that he wrote it while on a long flight, the morning before his publisher's deadline. Don't bother with this one.



2. Just don't buy it. It's basically a reprint of play poker like the pros which was horrible. Buy Any poker book instead.



3. I foolishly bought both these books seeing I could get a discount if I bought both. I got them separately in the mail and thought they accidentally sent me two of the same book. Yes they are that similar. I will in the long haul probably benefit from the material in both but think that it should be boldly advertised that most of the material is directly copied from the original book.



4. ok . teaches u some of poker tips which can be usre in home gam e!!!!!!! fantastic !!!!!!!



5. I found this book to be very informative. Following the instructions and tips given in the book has actually improved my game and increased my winnings almost immediately. Well worth the inexpensive cost of the book.

5 comments about Championship No Limit & Pot Limit Hold 'Em (Championship Series).

1. there is some good stuff in this book and written in simple terms



2. As the title implies, the authors discuss every hand that [they] think is playable in a tourney and describe how to play them in limit, no-limit and pot-limit events. There's also a discussion of some important hands that were played in past WSOP championship events. However, I found the information and discussion to be a bit shallow.
   
   McEvoy and Cloutier seem to take a cookie cutter approach when describing how to play the hands. When you have hand X you do action Y. While they [somtimes] modify the action to be taken based on position, there is almost no discussion of the changes that your stack size would dictate. Nor is there much discussion of how hands play differently early in the tournament at full tables vs. late at short tables.
   
   Discussion of how to play various hands on the flop and later are seldom given much in-depth discussion.
   
   Anyone following the advice would be fairly predictable.
   
   Lastly it should be noted that the authors are two long-time successful players. While overall I was disappointed, there were a few points that struck me as very useful. Hence the two stars instead of one.



3. I must admit this is one essential poker book that should be in every poker player's library. Tj and Tom give you expert analysis on the proper way to play particular hands. I really value their experience given all the bracelets and tournaments they've both won. Tj Cloutier gives great advice on knowing your opponents and tendencies to make your decisions at the poker table. Even though much of the advice in this book at first look can be interpreted as conservative, its really the best book on tournament poker strategy. Tj stresses no limit holdem is all about survival and making smart decisions where you don't have to take too many chances will ensure you do survive. For example Tj states "In the first round of the World Series, as well as in the first round of the smaller buy-in events at the WSOP, a pair of kings is not a big enough hand to get broke with. The only hand that is big enough to get broke with before the flop is two aces." Who'd a thought that at first glance!



4. This book contains many stories and not that much poker-tips.
   
   The tips are pretty basic and many of them are told repeatedly throughout the book. The result of that is a book with 304 pages that contains a net total of maybe 100 pages of poker-lessons. Not good. Sure, the stories are very entertaining to read and the authors both have a LOT of experience, but I got this book to get better at tournaments. Not for entertainment reading.
   
   I regret that I bought this book. Recently I threw myself into Dan Harrington's vol.1 and vol.2 and they're great. I highly recommend them. Actually I can't even think of a single bad thing to say about them.
   
   Sorry T.J.!



5. I'm not sure who this book is intended for. The down home, folksy style of writing makes it easy and accessible, like a good beginners book. But some topics that beginners absolutely need to learn, like pot odds and implied odds, are skimmed over and barely touched on. Other times, they'll simply repeat the same thing over and over again, with different ways of phrasing it. I get that you need "iron balls" to play hold 'em; no need to word it 5 different ways in the span of two pages.
   
   The authors also like to make grand pronouncements and hold fast rules, as if they're reading from a stone tablet or something (this is not a direct quote from the book, but they do mention this "concept"): "Thou shalt not draw to a flush unless ye have the nut flush draw AND two overcards!" Ignore, for a second, the absurdity of that statement; I just hate it when poker players say things like that as if they're the gospel truth. There are going to be times where you should put money into the pot with a non-nut flush draw or even simply two overcards, let alone both of them. The overall strategy described in this book is uber-tight, to say the least. They're much more concerned with protecting their own chips then they are with taking them from others. That's not a bad strategy for a beginner to start with, but if that's as far as your poker skills get, you're going to leave a lot of money on the table.
   
   This book is not without it's highlights. The discussion on how to play small pocket pairs is refreshing, if only because two dissenting viewpoints are discussed. T.J. doesn't really like them, Tom will play any pair. Personally, I agree with Tom, especially if the stacks are deep. The implied odds you get from hitting a set make it a very profitable hand to play, as long as you can get some action when you hit it. If you're at a table full of nits who don't pay off (players like T.J., for example), you probably shouldn't waste your money with the small pairs unless you're simply trying to steal the pot pre-flop (basically playing it like a semi-bluff.)
   
   Overall, I was very disappointed with this book. I think the main problem is it's target audience. It seems like the authors wrote this with serious poker players in mind, but a lot of it reads more like a beginners book. If I had found this a few years back when I played ATC (any two cards) this would have been exactly what I needed. Now that I know how to play the good kind of loose, this book does nothing for me.
   
   If you're a real tight player, you may find this book comforting. Everyone else should move along, there's nothing to see here. If this is "the bible of poker", as the back cover claims, then call me an atheist, cause I ain't buying it.

5 comments about Poker: The Real Deal.

1. Being a novice at poker, I bought this book expecting to find some very basic, not too complicated strategies on how to win at poker. Instead, I found a book that introduces some of the mathematical complexities of the game and in doing so, forced me to think more about the science of poker rather than the luck of poker. I have read this book many times and each time I learn more. I believe this book is excellent in that you have to read it more than once to understand it.
   
   Phil also sent me an autographed photo, personalized. I am impressed, he is the ambassador to poker that poker needs.



2. This page a day calendar was useful but a little light on poker strategy. It won't be something I'd suggest buying for it's information but as a page a day calendar it was fun and sometimes informative. I'd suggest a Phil Gordon page a day calendar to anyone interested in poker.



3. Of all the poker authorities out there, I'll put Phil Gordon in the top three, along with Brunson & Sklansky. Without being arrogant or aloof, he explains the history and techniques of the game. He explains the odds and math in very simple terms that anyone can understand and benifit from. Phil walks you through the stages of learning the game. You learn how to play on line and setting up your own home game. He then walks you through moving from low to middle limit games. "The Real Deal" will definitely step your game up a few levels. This is a great addition to anyone's poker library.



4. Among the very best hold'em poker books for beginners. Good advice and clear examples make this a must have for those who want to learn and improve their game. Even for intermediate players it's a good refresher and ensures your fundamentals are rock solid. Easy to read and enjoyable to boot!!



5. I'm a relative newcomer to poker and after reading reviews on Amazon, I chose this as my starting point to start reading in order to improve my game.
   
   The other reviews are spot on, this is an excellent starting point, for the following reasons:
   
   1) It's extremely easy to read. It's well written, and it's peppered with interesting scenarios and anecdotes that keep it from getting boring. I breezed through it in a few days.
   
   2) It's not jam packed with statistics, yet at the same time covers the basics. I'm sure in depth statistics are necessary for more advanced players, but for a beginner they can be overwhelming. The book does provide some very basic statistics, such as the calculation of "pot odds" in order to determine when to chase a drawing hand.
   
   3) It covers a very wide range of topics, from a basic overview of the game, the types of equipment you need (incl brand names of cards and chips), how to host a home game, a description of casino cardrooms, how professional tourneys work, the world series, etc. It also of course has a number of chapters on how to play a game, such as how to think like a poker player, and a brief description of a number of different poker strategies and when they can be used.
   
   4) Finally, it contains a number of references for additional reading. Like I said, this is an introductory book, and I plan to follow it up with additional reading.
   
   I also purchased Slansky's "The Theory of Poker" and Caro's "Poker Tells", both also recommended by amazon reviews (and both recommended by Gordon in this book), and I'm very glad I started with this one.
   
   One note though, this isn't a big issue but the majority of the book focuses on limit hold-em. Many (if not the majority) of the concepts are applicable to other poker games, but I think it's worth noting that the vast majority of the examples are limit Hold 'em and I don't believe that is mentioned anywhere on the book's cover.