2 comments about Championship Stud: 7-Card Stud, Stud/8, Razz.

1. DEFINITELY not worth the prices people ask for this book. Not even close. It's getting to the point that they should probably reprint it sometime soon, if people are actually paying $100 for it (are people actually paying these prices for this book? I don't think so...)
   
   Anyway, as far as the quality of the information, it delivers the basics on 7 stud games, but it doesn't offer anything that existing books don't already provide (for like 1/5th the asking price). The fact is, Stud is a pretty straight-forward game. It just doesn't have the nuances of no-limit games where pages and pages of philosophy are required. If you are seriously considering purchasing this book at these absurd asking prices, you are much better off taking that same $75, depositing it on a poker website and actually playing Stud, thus learning for yourself. The experience you get for your money will be worth a lot more than whatever you think you will be getting out of this book.



2. I have read almost all the stud poker books. This is the most insightful and the easiest to understand. I read and re-read this book and I win at stud.

No comments about The Only Poker Book You'll Ever Need: Bet, Play, And Bluff Like a Pro--from Five-card Draw to Texas Hold 'em.

1 comments about Jackpot Ridge.

1. Most western novels contain white hats, black hats, horses, fistfights and lots of gunsmoke. This one is no exception. What a lot of western novels don't include is a story that would work well in any genre. If you like a hero that's compassionate as well as nail-tough, a heroine you would take home to meet the folks, a man who hangs on to his life-long dream to the very end, a mystery, nail-biting suspense, and a great old-west shoot-em-up-bang-bang yarn to boot, you will definitely like Jackpot Ridge. Way to go Ralph Cotton!

5 comments about King of a Small World.

1. An excellent grasp of the poker world and how it relates to life. Rick Bennet is a great poker player that I first met in early 1996. I played WITH him and then later dealt TO him. This is the first time in print, film, or television that I wasn't forced to watch some incredible Hollywood poker hand where one player has four Aces and the other player says "no good, read 'em and weep". As a poker dealer that has played for a living, I am thrilled to finally find someone that undertands my world well enough and can also translate it so that others can see it. This novel IS what all of us in the poker industry HOPED the movie Rounders would be but fell so short. King of a Small World is the most accurate account of poker life from the many different aspects; professionals that grind out a living, dealers that blow all there tips, and recreational players that are there to enjoy themselves because they rarely win and are where we all make our money. Poker is a game of skill with short term luck. There has to be some luck or people wouldn't "gamble". I never heard of chess being played for big money. Finally an accurate portrayal of the life of a person that plays for a living. It is done by reading people and playing the odds, not by someone in a tuxedo betting $100,000 per hand on a table game where the house has the edge. Through the eyes of a professional poker player, the reader learns how poker gives us the tools to perceive the rest of life. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, the characters are very realistic; I know people like this. At the same time, I learned about the charity and underground games in Maryland that I have always heard about from the many poker players that have moved from the D.C. area to California, the new poker capitol of the world. I highly recommend King of a Small World.



2. I wasn't expecting much when I got this book. I am a big reader and a relatively new and still small wager..... poker player. I have been reading every poker book both instructional and literary I can find. The poker in this was great and very realistic to me though I have never played at the larger bet levels of the characters. The game is the same and losing still hurts. I was most surprised and pleased by the writing. It's not Shakespeare or Tolstoy, but it isn't too bad. It is a good read with real people for characters and true feelings. While there is action it is not nor does it try to be Hollywood. It will sit on my poker shelf next to the Cincinati kid, Shut up and Deal, The Biggest Game in Town, Big Deal, and The Education of a Poker Player.



3. I read in Poker Pro magazine that this was one of the top 6 poker books ever, and I read the first 4 allready, but not this one or the last one they listed. So I read this one and it was great. I'm new to poker, but still, this a really good read. I sometimes watch Rounders to get excited about going to Vegas, but I think maybe sometimes I'll read parts of this, too. And this is not even a lot about poker, its about the slacker life, to me.



4. As a current player of underground games in MD I really liked this book. It portrays a real description of poker life. Poker players can relate to this book in an eerie kind of way. Winning makes you feel like the king of the world, losing makes you feel like the scum of the earth. Book could have been alot better if it concentrated more on poker playing scenarios, but I was content.



5. This book had something I haven't seen in a book in a very, very long time. As I was reading along, I noticed something was missing. There were NO typos, and the grammar was perfect. What a pleasure!
   
   It also contains, towards the back, a couple of the most eloquent and memorable paragraphs on the game I've found in all the poker literature I've read.
   
   Otherwise the story is fair but hardly great. It definitely is on a level below "Shut Up and Deal", which is the best poker novel I have yet to encounter, but it is certainly worth reading.

4 comments about Championship Table: At the World Series of Poker (1970-2007).

1. I received this book with the compliments of Cardsmith publishing. I am in Iraq and was looking for some good poker books. I read the book in two days! This book was very interesting and sparked my interest in several other poker personalities like Amarillo Slim, Unger, Moss, etc. Very entertaining. In addition, Dana Smith's interviews with the final table participants were very well done. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a light read about some of the great poker players.



2. Reminds me of one of those baseball books with statistics but not much else. The stories are short and typically discuss one or two hands at most. If you want history it may have value but it will not improve your play.



3. I greatly enjoyed the book! I found the year by year history of the world championship of no limit holdem facinating. Benny Binion created a fantastic event! It's wonderful to see how the event has grown over time from just a one table event, to probably 1000 players this year. If you are looking for playing advice go elsewhere. There are many other great how to play books available, but if you love poker and are interested in the history of it's biggest event then you will enjoy this.



4. The stories about playing poker on the old pro circuit are worth the price of the book. I enjoyed the brief attention paid to the often lucky final hand showdowns and the much greater time given to interviews with the winners. The big disappointment is the photos attached to the text. They resemble what photos would look like if they were taken by an infant, through a foot of water, with the lights turned off. The pictures should have been omitted; they are that bad.

   This is an OK read with some exceptional advice from the top names in poker from the past two decades. Not destined to be a bestseller, but a good book for poker enthusiasts.

No comments about Drawing Dead to a Gutshot: How to Talk Poker.

No comments about How to Win at Duplicate Bridge.

No comments about Hoyle's 8 Favorite Games - Essential Family Guide to: Backgammon - Poker - Spades - Solitaire - Dominos - Hearts - Checkers - Cribbage.

2 comments about Secrets of Winning Video Poker, 2nd Edition.

1. If you find a secret here you've been living in a cave. Reviews of game types are interesting, but you'll not find illustrations of the machines, or the odds, or the various underlying deal algorithms. The editing is poor (e.g., slots are in isles), and advice like "play the machines that give the best odds." Duh!



2. Okay, this book has this information ---
   
   Chairs: Each video poker machine in the casino has a chair in front of it so that you can play the machines in comfort, even if you were to play for hours, as many of the players do. --- No, I am NOT kidding. And that was one of the more helpful paragraphs! Okay, now I AM kidding. I would be embarassed if I had written this book.

2 comments about Poker Night: Winning at Home, at the Casino, and Beyond.

1. I've hosted and participated in home games for 15 years, including a hold 'em game the last two. Our games are a lot of fun with a lot of bravado. Now we're sending a player from our table to a WSOP satellite and, since, I want to be the one, I'm looking for a quick study to improve my hold 'em game.
   
   This book meets that need well. I've thought about giving it to my poker buddies as a gift . . . but that would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it? I'm on the cusp of knowledge, and do plan to read Brunson, Slansky, Cloutier, Caro, etc. For a quick study, though, those books are a little intimidating. Vorhaus does a good job of explaining odds, pot odds and strategic considerations in hold 'em, including playable hands, how to vary your play in various stages of a tournament and how to play against various types of opponents. It's pretty distilled, which is what makes it a good starting point. There are a handfull of succintly stated useful tips that will improve my play. Now if only I can remember them . .
   The rest of the book is OK. I suppose if you're just starting out with a home game, there's useful information. The author has some pretty strong biases against crazy games and wild cards; though those are staples of many home games, he chooses to ignore them. And he sums up play in various games nicely with a major piece of advice: FOLD. That's his advice for 7/27 if you don't happen to start quickly with the nut 7. Of course, if you start "playing to win" at some of these home games, it might mark you as an unfun person. He talks about that, too.
   If you're looking for a compendium of poker variations, especially the whacky varieties, there are other books that offer much more.
   This book serves as a quick start guide for the casual player just ready to step it up to a more serious level.



2. The book is geared for the home poker game and the goal is to teach you how to cream all your beer-drinking buddies and take their money. The first part of the book is a brief rundown of hand rankings, how to host a game, house rules and then a brief synopsis of the four major games - Draw, Hold 'Em, Omaha and Stud. Then the book goes into strategies for these games with a short section at the end on playing in casinos and going pro.
   
   Overall I thought the book was ok and worth the money. I picked up a good dozen or so tips on strategies for playing. I coupled these tips with what I learned in Peter Arnold's "How To Play Poker" and I guess the tips are working because when I play online I win a lot (with play money of course). I liked the section on odds - no complex mathematical equations on calculating odds or memorizing tables of probabilities. Just a simple explanation on how to calculate card odds and then pot odds.
   
   I would recommend the book to anyone who buys it. For $14 you can't go wrong. Plus it's funny too - I caught myself laughing out loud a few times at the humor Vorhaus put in the text.