5 comments about Universal Waite Tarot Deck and Book Set.

1. Beautiful cards brilliant colours. The only reason I did not give 5 stars was the accompaning book was not informative enough for me.



2. This beautiful redrawing/coloring by Mary Hanson-Roberts of this most traditional deck is complete with a depth of color that many other versions of the same are lacking. If what you are seeking is a softer alternative to the bold colors and heavy black outlines of the "traditional" Rider deck, you've found it.
   
   Interpreting this deck is like resting on a soft pillow. This is my original working deck, and is still my second working deck, after the Robin Wood. It's an excellent place for beginners to start. There's no wondering why the images created by Pamela Colman Smith are singularly the most popular in the world. These images are timeless and are traditionally known as being easy to read, as well as providing depth and insight for the more advanced.
   
   This deck is pencil-colored with delicate, soft lines drawn around the faces and figures, and soothing rich colors within the cards. The backings are a fully reversible gold and indigo star field. The Fool in this deck is absolutely gorgeous with his gentle yellow sky and snuggly robe. The High Priestess is absolutely beautiful.
   
   I am reviewing the deck alone, as I don't have the book that now comes with it. I found this deck to be excellent when coupled with "Learning the Tarot" by Joan Bunning, which uses the Universal Waite for illustrations. This book gives a solid grounding in how to read Tarot, and along with this deck, you will be well on your way!



3. After I purchased these cards, I read the reviews and all the bad things about them being thick and sticking together and not being comfortable, but when I got mine yesterday I immediately fell in love with them. I think that they're quite beautiful and for a beginner are a wonderful starter deck. Once you shuffle them a couple of times and get them nice and mixed there is no problem with cards sticking and it's nice to know that they're a nice durable, trusty deck. In fact, I started using them right away, and they came out on the head with answers. Mind you my friend wasn't too happy with the outcome, and how now his feelings were exposed to me, but that's his own issue, and he even agreed that they hit the nail on the nose with the problems he was having in his psuedo "relationship". Alas, if you feel like you want the cards, don't let negative reviews stop you from getting them, go with your gut, I adore mine.



4. It took me several trials to find the "right" Rider-Waite/Pamela Colman Smith deck. The first I tried was the basic Rider Waite Tarot deck, which has clear imagery but a little bit of a "3-color" comic book look to it. The second I purchased was the "original" Rider tarot, which I gather is a facsimile reproduction of what the deck used to look like when it was originally produced - the artwork is more detailed but the colors are a bit washed out; however it comes in a nice box set with a pocket sized copy of Waite's originial Key to the Tarot.
   
   This deck, the "Universal Waite" deck, is my personal favorite of the three. The original illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith have been retouched and recolored, so it is not the deck for "purists" but the colors are brighter and the details clearer than either of the other editions I have. This deck is available sold separately from the book; the book included in the book and deck set is the same text found in the "Original Rider" deck box set, and seemed like an unnecessary inclusion with the deck. A beginner will be better served by other books on tarot, and an expert probably already has a copy of this book. The set did include a fold-out paper "mat" describing the celtic cross spread which was rather nice and possibly useful to a beginner but overall I found myself wishing I'd just bought the deck by itself.
   
   This is the deck featured on the cover design of "Tarot for Beginners" by Joan Bunning.



5. I have around 65 decks and among all the complete RWS clones out there, this is my favourite. I was always put off by the orginal colouring and thick lines, ugly!
   
   When I came across this and delicate, exquisite and sumptious re-colouring by Hanson-Roberts I was very delighted! I love her way of drawing and use of colour(among my other favourites are her signature deck and the Whimsical) technique. The details just pop out and sing their message. It's astounding how simple colour changes and line restructuring can totally change your experience with a deck you formerly couldn't work with.
   
   So many books use the RWS for study and illustration, and it's been a treasure having this gorgeous deck to take out and follow along. As an alternative to the basic or original versions, this comes the most highly recommended by me!

5 comments about Phil Gordon's Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Texas Hold'em.

1. This book contains very basic information which is not presented any better than the many authors who have written about these concepts before Phil Gordon wrote this book.
   The "analysis" of the super unbelievable play of the online superstar Prahlad Friedman [who since this book was published proceeded to go broke in high stakes games and has since not been seen playing in them] is highly flawed.
   In an effort to make his point, Phil greatly exagerates the percecntage of the time Prahlad had a big made hand such as a set for those times he made his trademark overbet. Maybe that is one of the reasons why really great online players [certainly not including Phil Gordon] subsequently figured out how to exploit Prahlad and soon had busted him for all his money.
   The reason I only mention this section specifically is because it is the only part of the book that even resembles a concept that had not been previously written [and better, at that]
   I am not a friend or relative of Phil Gordon. Find a real high stakes professional and ask them how long the waiting list would be if he sat in a 25-50 NL game online. There would be a waiting list of about 100 people. He's not a great player and his books are a waste of time and money.



2. I'm not sure what this book has that isn't covered in books like: "The theory of Poker" or "Super System." In fact, it might just be better to read those two and Mike Caro's "Poker Tells." This is a how to book based on how Phil Gordon would play a certian hand in a certian situation. Its a good beginner's book but not quite as good as Sklansky's or Doyle Brunson's books. It's a fairly quick read and doesn't offer much that can't be acquired elsewhere.



3. I picked this book up after looking at a bunch of the other ones out there. I've played for many years, but never really analyzed the game in detail. It seems to give good solid advice in short sections without all the fluff. The day I picked it up I read the first 4 chapters and came away with some solid impressions on how I should improve my game. That night I played in a local bar tournament and won it. My wife (who's won 2 herself) was very happy. This was the first time I've won a tournament and I have to admit the cards were definately coming up for me. People started kidding with me that I was a "bully" at the table. They were impressed with how my play had improved and how I had correctly bluffed them out of some major hands. I can't give Phil's book credit for the cards I got, but I was much more confident and solid with my play after reading the first part. I've since gotten more and more great tips from the book and really enjoy it.
   
   The only thing I have to criticize is minor. I don't really care for the Sun Zu quotes in the book. I've seen those in everything from self help to computer programming books, and they are really becoming tired.
   
   I highly recommend this book.



4. Phil Gordon's 'Little Green Book' starts out very well. The concise chapters do a very good job of covering the basics of the game. In fact, I think the short, topical chapters are an asset throughout. In poker, the ability to analyze the situation is a strength. However, overanalyzing is a flaw. Phil's short chapter approach serves the information well.
   
   I also found the end of the book to be valuable. The hand-charts and percentages outlined on pages 262-273 provide critical information in a quick and easy format.
   
   However, I did not find much of the information in the middle to latter part of the book to be as useful. My problem rests primarily with the manner various situations are discussed. Phil spends quite a bit of time telling us how he varies his play against a particular opponent when he has a particular hand (i.e. 40% of the time I do this, 30% I do this, 20% I do this, and 10% I do this).
   
   In a particular game/tournament, specific hand situations under the same table conditions just don't come up often enough to break it down to that degree of detail. You just have to play to the situation in front of you at that time. Another significant flaw in this approach is that your opponents are likely going through the same mental exercises against you.
   
   As with all poker books, Phil emphasizes the importance of position, pot odds, and properly switching from aggressive to tight when dictated by the table. These are the absolute necessities to winning poker. I do think, however, too much emphasis is put on reading your opponent's betting patterns. I'm not talking about physical tells, only betting patterns.
   
   Fact is, that a poker player with any amount of experience and skill is going to vary their betting pattern just as the rest of us do. Sometimes they will bet as expected, sometimes they won't. I'm looking for something a little more concrete on which to base my decision. The more important thing to read is the board and the possibilities it offers. I'm more concerned about what could beat me and the mathematical probability my opponent has that hand, not whether he bet like he had it or not.



5. The book has the essentials, but the analysis is not the best. I like it that it had the chart about hands chances heads up.

5 comments about Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players (Advance Player).

1. 
   I was constantly breaking even before getting this book on online poker sites. After reading it, I took nearly all of the guesswork out of my playstyle and recently just bought a new guitar entirely with winnings.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who already considers themselves decent at poker and already has good intuition as to spotting how others play to determine what they have... or don't have. This book will not probably help you with those things. This book is best for those who are already good at poker but either have their game strategy wrong or off a little.
   
   The best part of this book is it makes it much more easy to spot poor play from other people at your table and thus allows you to profit hugely from that.



2. I really am not a fan of the reviews, but I feel that I have the obligation to recommend this book because if you read it, you will understand better the others players' game, and the best of it you'll get a big edge over them.



3. Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players is simply the best single volume study of Hold 'em as it is played today that I have ever read. It is endlessly informative, rich in detail and illustrations, complex in its treatment of complicated concepts, and insightful in every important way. It omits nothing of any importance to the game.
   
   The book begins with a consideration of general starting hands requirements, adjusted for playing style, position, etc., and follows through on the play of each, as well as general considerations for each type or class of hand, and its relation to the innumerable factors impacting expectation or the play of other. Once this analysis is dealt with, Sklansky deals with a whole series of more individual or isolated cases or concepts and miscellaneous topics. The important details considered are too many to list here; Hold 'em played well is an enormously complex game, and Sklansky addresses it from every angle.
   
   Sklansky's writing style is very dense. He does not blather on about his personal experiences, drop names, or chat; he instructs in the style of a particularily dry math or statistics professor. He is direct, thorough, and exhaustive (sometimes exhausting). You will not read this book in one sitting and become a professional caliber player. You need to play, then return to the book and read much of it again; upon doing so the reader will find, again and again, that now he finally really understands some new concept. It is a work of extremely subtle and complex analysis.
   
   Nobody playing Hold 'em for money today can do without this book.



4. This book is extremely good for gaining a solid foundation of Texas Hold 'em. I read it on and off for around 6 months and realized that while I learned some valuable lessons and picked up important bits of information I need to read it over and over again to truly take in everything that is being said. For me it is like a good movie that you see once and figure you saw it all only to watch it again and pick up something new, then a while later watch it again and see even more that was missed.
   
   I highly recommend this book for students of the game. This is essential reading if you want to compete seriously. Even if you think you know it all and the book makes sense, read it carefully and understand that many serious players have read, re-read and learned significantly from this and the other classics. It will help your game.



5. Primarily for LIMIT HOLDEM not for no limit (which is my prefernace). This wasn't clear in the descriptive text.
   Excellent for Limit PLayers, but essentially a very different game than "NO LIMIT". For No LIMIT POKER you can do alot better than this.

5 comments about The Original Rider Waite Tarot Pack.

1. This is a classic set, which includes mini size of the book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edward Waite. Essential for any serious student of the occult, magic, gnosis, and of course the tarot.



2. This is the best, basic set to learn with and to carry anyone until they find their personal style and a set (or sets) that speak to them.



3. For those interested in Tarot, no matter your level of experience, this deck and book pack are a great value. However, those with less than perfect vision may wish to consider other similar items instead, or may even want to purchase a seperate book and deck. The book included with this pack is in EXTREMELY TINY print making it difficult to read.



4. As a beginner of Tarot reader and a stranger to the western culture, Original Rider Waite Tarot Deck is more friendly and easily to get start.
   I even brought two Decks, one for playing and the other for saving.



5. I found this product to be exactly what I was looking for. It has very beautiful pictures on the cards and is the appropriate size for handling. I would recommend this product to anyone.

5 comments about Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide.

1. it actually write all bout the philosophy about poker and it teaches u to be a better poker players before or after u win the game !!!!



2. This book is far and away some of the best stuff that has been written on poker. I lost my copy and this book is so chalked full of info I had to buy it again! Barry Greenstein is the consummate professional and an excellent writer on top of that.
   
   For those that like hand charts and theorem like explanations of how to play poker, you will not like this book.
   
   For those that want the wisdom of one of pokers finest players, you will not be disappointed. Barry understands that a thorough understanding of mathematics and of poker is more the ludic elements that make up the physical game.



3. So I won't rehash what has been said in the other reviews. But the following hasn't really been emphasized:
   
   This book is BEAUTIFUL. It's a large oversized "quarto" trade paperback, with extraordinarily thick and glossy pages, bound together beautifully. It's been a very very long time since a book at this price point was made this nicely. I would suggest buying it, just to have such a nice looking book.



4. This book is different from the usual play these starting hands only type poker instruction manuals. There is a lot of interesting and useful insight into life and thoughts of a high limit poker player.
   
   The top review on the page said it was too brief about the math and starting hands, I say BRAVO, I have had enough of that information and this was definitely a refreshing work for a person who owns several books and dvds by professionals on how to play (Hold Em).
   
   GREAT WORK. I only gave it 4 stars simply because I didnt want anyone to think that I just slapped them on there because I liked the book. I read this almost 300 page book in 2 days(its really about 250 pages because theres a lot of photos and stuff, but they were not overdone IMHO)



5. This book is excellent for any poker player looking to make the move from casual play to a more serious game. Barry Greenstein discusses what it takes to make a living from playing poker, including bankroll management, game selection, what makes a great all-around poker player, and how to balance poker with the rest of your life.
   
   One of the most helpful aspects of this book was how Barry describes the mentality of a poker player. His advice helps you deal with bad beats, getting outdrawn on, and all the other perils of playing poker.
   
   Also included in the book are example hands, presented in a "what would you do?" format. Barry then discusses his play and what he was thinking in many key hands of his poker career.

5 comments about Pot-Limit Omaha Poker.

1. Echoing the sentiments of another reviewer -- I would not want to be playing Omaha against anyone who has this book in his or her arsenal. This is currently THE book on Omaha, but as was mentioned before, you will only get out of it what you put into it. The amount of detail contained within will probably be lost on most players, especially the uber-in-depth look at the straight draws (holy cow!). This book has improved my game immensely, and will most likely do the same for you.



2. Are you an Holdem player who want's to understand Omaha? Well, this book is for you. I was such a player and didn't understand Omaha. Now I understand it better and even if I don't play it very much it also improved mu understanding of Holdem. Buy this book and you won't regret.



3. Good introduction to PLO. Basically teaches a tight preflop strategy where you get the money in postflop dominating an opponent. For example, you both may have the same straight draw, but you also have a flush draw.
   
   Main weakness of the book is it doesn't talk much about postflop play with deep stacks.



4. I have read several poker books on Omaha; Ken Warren's, Bob Ciaffone's, T.J. Cloutier's, and recently Rolf Slotboom's book. None of them helped me with Omaha the way this book did. Yes, there are a few typographical errors, but it certainly should not stop you from buying this book if you want to play Omaha. It's not just Omaha High, but the High Low section is excellent.
   
   Jeff is systematic in his approach to each starting hand. The understanding of which drawing hands get you into trouble (i.e. your outs are not the nut outs)and which ones can turn into monsters is something the other books left out. Warren's book is very elementary but a good starting tool. Ciaffone's book is very thin, good information, but no examples. Rolf's book has an interesting style for short stack play, but once you double up his big stack play is not as clear as Jeff's. After I read T.J.'s book I thought no one should play a hand unless it was the Broadway wrap. This book is the only Omaha book you should buy.
   
   This book is mainly for cash game play. There are a few examples from tournaments, but this book concentrates on the cash game arena. This book is a tremendous value for the price they charge.



5. This book will teach you what you need to know to play any kind of omaha. It is a great PLO book, as well as a good book for Omaha/8. I saved enough money after reading 50 pages to pay for the book. A must read IMO.

2 comments about Bidding in the 21st Century: The Club Series (Acbl Bridge).

1. Audrey Grant is absolutely one of the finest writers of Bridge instruction. I have used her books for 6 years and this new revision is again improved from previous editions. The book is for beginners but I can assure you that players of many years can and will benefit from the concepts put forth in her new book.
   Dave Drewes ACBL certified teacher



2. ACBL is revising its long run four volume "Bridge Series" and the first volume about bidding features some questionable changes and is missing some very useful information.
   
   It is doubtful that novicesshould be told that only 25 points are needed for a 3NT or 4 of a major suit game contract. Beginners need extra points to make up for their lack of card playing skills.
   
   Also, they need 16-18 HCP to open 1NT but should be told that 15-17 may be enough later.
   
   More serious is the lack of strict standards for opening one of a suit. All 13 point hands don't qualify. E.g. Ax-Kxx-QJxx-QJxx should not be opened nor should QJ-QJ-QJ-Axxxxxx. Neither hand has enough quick tricks, which come from combinations of A,K and Q in the same suit. Also, unguarded honor cards should not be counted as full point value, but the author fails to mention any of these concepts stressed by Ch.Goren.
   
   The book lacks any index or indications in the glossary about where to find various consepts and ideas, but which was part of the earlier book.
   The pink summary pages was an asset in the previous book but now missing.
   
   The discussion of strong and weak two bids is too superficial.
   
   Aside from the above criticism the book is very attractive and good.

3 comments about Bridge At A Glance.

1. This is a very concise yet thorough review of bidding presented in a pocket guide. It is a must have for the novice to intermediate player who is still unsure of the bidding process. It also provides a quick summary for declarer play as well as defense play in a trump or no trump hand. I love it!!!! Highly recommended!



2. GREAT CONCEPT BUT A FEW OF THE PEOPLE IN MY CLUB FOUND IT CONFUSING TO USE AND THE RULES ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE ONES IN AN EARLIER BOOK BY AUDREY GRANT



3. I have been sumarizing bidding options for a quick review before a game in my computer. There is no longer a need this is a great reference. It also fits exactly in your convention card holder so that between rounds you can easily check up on something that you have a question about. Wonderful for the beginner or intermediate player. Advanced player would have to much ego to pull it out in public but get it for private review in the potty stall or at home because it is a great review. great to have for at home rubber games with family or friends that are learning. Good gift for that partner that can't get on the same page with you. HaHa. Play more bridge and bid it up!!!

5 comments about No Limit Hold 'em: Theory and Practice.

1. Excellent book for the beginner to intermediate player to learn more about poker concepts. Well written and will definitely help your game.



2. I think this book gives a solid primer on no limit holdem, especially to the neophyte (like myself). I feel like there is some very useful information, such as when to call an all in from a short stack based on how you would profile the opponent (loose, tight, very tight, etc).
   
   The Sklansky Chubukov ratings are nice to know (even though the numbers can only be used for one small situation in the small blind)
   
   When I buy a poker book I am primarily looking to glean one or two important concepts and I think this book has done that.



3. This book is the book your looking for on no limit strategy. It explains many concepts that may not be clear to the starter player who wants to get deeper in knowledge. Many holdem books apply to limit poker but this book goes further into concepts that are started in supersystem and why doyle can makes certain plays.



4. One of 3 books on poker I bought. It is an all-time classic from what I've read and it certainly seems to live up to that billing. Its comprehensive, well laid out and easy to follow. If you're serious about winning at poker you need this book! Lots of helpful tips and advice. Great book



5. There are only 52 cards in a deck of cards and the rules to this game are VERY SIMPLE. This book is 300 pages of worthless drivel. Youll read this book, and play exactly like you always play. This book is garbage.

1 comments about Heads-Up No-Limit Hold 'em.

1. This is a great book that focuses 100% on heads up play. Like Moshman's last book on sit and goes, this one gives you both the math and general sound strategy for playing these games. He describes how to beat aggressive opponents, attack weak players, and bet for "price-setting."
   
   The material on Metagame and Pot size manipulation was new for me and very useful. There is also a nice review of fundamentals that includes how to make the mathematically correct decision in almost any hand.
   
   Highly recommended.