5 comments about Hold 'Em Poker.

1. David Sklansky, the dean of poker writing, picks up where he left off on the Theory of Poker. It's more practical than his theory book, in that it focuses on one game, but it's less relevant to what many people play - No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. Very useful book, but not the Be All End All of poker playing.



2. This was probably an awesome book when published in 1976, but the book has not been really updated since then, in spite of being reissued in 1997 as a new edition. The only real updating as far as I can tell is the addition of footnotes here and there explaining that some of the specific advice for certain situations may not be valid for the modern double blind structure. This book has a lot of very worthwhile ideas, but most of them are better explained in more detail in Sklansky/Malmuth's Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players, which I highly recommend. Another awesome Sklansky et al book is Small Stakes Hold'em, which I find extremely useful since I don't play in the big leagues. Overall I would rate Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players as much more valuable book than this one, even if you are not yet an advanced player.



3. He's not as good as he seems to think he is. This book was not at all helpful.



4. This book (more like a booklet, actually) gives a quick yet firm foundation from which one can start building his/her own Hold'em strategies. It was originally written when the single blind game was the norm then updated, but the "update" consists mostly of footnotes at various pages. Some of the concepts aren't exactly explained as well as they could have been, but they're good enough to understand what the author is trying to get at - it's the overall wins you care about, not the game you're currently playing, and encourages you to look at the long-term probabilities of winning rather than the individual game.
   
   The book discusses almost exclusively the limit hold'em games, not the no-limit hold'em games. It's not for those that are not familiar with the rules of a hold'em games but it does touch up on the variations of the limit hold'ems and the differences between the limit and the no-limit games. The reader will likely want to read other books after reading this one. It's a fairly easy read that focuses on concepts more than the exact numbers, but some probability calculations and tables are provided if the reader is interested in them.



5. I picked this one up because in my search for a poker book I kept running across Sklansky, and where better to start than the book that started it all? At least it was the first to the starting gate, the rest is up in the air. I've been playing for about four years now and have a good grasp on poker itself, but wanted to get a little deeper to see if I can propel my game play that much further. So I started with the basics.
   
   Sklansky gives some very good tips on strategy on various different types of hands, positions, chip stacks and so on. I lot of this was intuitive for me but I had never actually sat down and tried to understand why I did those things, such as raise in order to get the free card in case I don't hit it, or raise if you are one of the first to act just to feel out the players behind you. Sklansky did a great job in describing why many of these steps are taken and explained why it is important to do them. For that I felt I have learned a lot.
   
   On the flip side though he mentioned a lot of ratios and odds and never went into how he did that. He would throw numbers out there and I had no way to relate to it and understand how he came to the math that he did in order to apply it myself. Perhaps that is something intuitive and I just can't grasp it right away, but some explanation would have been good. Also this is a rather basic book on Hold 'Em. Obviously, being 108 pages, it only had the chance to brush up on the basics, but I wish he could have went a little deeper (of course you can also buy his other book with advanced techniques, always a businessman in the wings to get more money out of you).
   
   Over all this was a decent book and help me understand a lot of the basic moves I have already been doing and help with knowing why it is important to do that move and so on. But there is more that I wish he would have done better with, such as some of the math or gone in to more detail. I would still recommend.
   
   3.5 stars.

5 comments about Middle Limit Holdem Poker.

1. If you're somebody who's used to the graphic presentations of cards and hands in many of the Two Plus Two books then you might be initially disappointed upon opening Middle Limit Holdem because this edition will never be confused with a Power Point presentation. However, if you're looking to learn limit or substantially improve your game, then this is definitely the manual for you. The authors created over 300 pages of densely packed information which was broken down into 40 logical subtopics. What they offer here is an old school approach to the game which is both low in reflexive aggression and low in variance, and, for me, anything which decreases variance is totally welcome. I'm not one of those reviewers who thinks that certain styles are obsolete as I find that differing viewpoints enrich my game. Personally, I'd place Middle Limit Holdem in between Ed Miller and Lee Jones in terms of the type of play it advocates. If you don't know limit, then I recommend learning it as increasing proficiency across the strains of poker can only thicken the bankroll in the long run.



2. Very good poker book for middle limit. Takes it to another level.



3. I have added this book to my current libary and think that the book is a fine addition.



4. The book is quite enjoyable to read and discusses how to play 400 typical hands that arise in everyday poker.
   The discussion is very logical and teaches you how to think properly on every betting round. It advises you on how to get the most value out of your good hands and to minimize losses when you are beat. When to value bet on the river, and when to check raise, etc, etc.
   I can't say that I picked up a tonne of tips from this book, but it did revise a lot of good principles that I already knew.
   To a weaker player than myself you could pick up a lot of good tips.
   The rules set in this book can't be applied to low limit games with weak players who play totally illogical, it is written for middle-higher limit games. Thus only 4 stars



5. Jones and Warren can take you from 1/2 to 4/8, and this book from there to 40. I've read dozens and dozens of others since, but this is still the most solid, readable, understandable and above all practical of the bunch.
   There are very few truly useful guides to the mid-limit games; this one stands highest in my estimation. The dissections of various hands and the decisions involved are far more complex and intelligent than most. You need to have played a lot of hold'em to really grasp some of the subtleties presented here, but when you have and do you will be ready to really mix it up with some of the world's better players.
   I also enjoy Ciaffone's writing, very direct and transparent and to the point.
   This is a book any good player would do well to re-read once a year. It makes you think about your moves and reevalauate your style, which is a must if you are to keep progressing.
   Thanks to Bob for writing one of the best books available for the limit player who is ready to tackle the tough competition. Then again, sometimes the bigger games have some mighty weak players, and if your bankroll can stand the variance you might find the advice in this book to be worth a few thousand times its purchase price.
   When it comes to value bets on poker books, this one is a winner.

5 comments about Standard Bridge Bidding for the 21st Century.

1. What this book is NOT meant for: Not meant for a complete beginner -- this is not a "Learn how to play bridge" book. This book presupposes the knowledge of terms that belong to someone that has already learned at least enough bridge to sit at a table and play (although not necessarily very well). This is a book that is more geared towards teaching someone that already knows something about bridge (and bidding in particular), and gives him/her a self-contained, complete description of the current "standard". I place standard in quotes because I consider his referring to the 2/1 system as "standard" not yet totally accurate (though perhaps before long it will be). Nowadays, at most clubs in the US, you will see a significant percentage of players, even experts, that hold to older standards.

   Beyond teaching the 2/1 system, this book goes further into refining your bidding judgement. All too often we've all found ourselves saying "Hey we have 25 (or 26) points, we need to be in game! Damn why did I go down?" Or "Hey, we have only 21 points, but we made slam!", and lament that you were (un)lucky at how well/poorly the hands fit. This book does an excellent job at improving your judgement and hand valuation skills, to actually be able to anticipate when the hands do fit well, and therefore should be bid more aggressively, and when they do not well, and therefore should be treated skeptically. Also this book introduces splinters and other bidding techniques to help discover (mis)fits and further aid your judgement.

   Another important point of bidding all-too-often neglected is the need for planning your rebids. Many books pretend that no matter what you bid, you will never have a problem the next time your turn arises. In reality, sometimes you need to make a counter-intuitive bid to facilitate rebidding. Also sometimes you flat out have no good call, and this book gives you advice on how to make the best of such situations. My only complaint is the strange numbering scheme used -- not worth docking a full star for, but somehow I think I ought to be able to give this book 4.5 stars for it.




2. Hardy does a great job of explaining today's bidding for duplicate auctions. Although I have not yet finished the book, the first half is chock full of bidding help and tips that hopefully will help my game.



3. The book is called Standard Bridge Biddings, but is not suit to the standard, beginner (novice) player. To enjoy this book you have to be an advanced bridge player; a novice player will get lost right from the beginning. The book is written in a quite awkward way, and not in a clear step by step sequence, suggesting the author assumes that the reader is well acquainted with the game. Saying that, Max Hardy is well versed in the intricacy of the game, providing a broad array of bidding conventions, many having an in depth description,evaluation and analysis, especially the 2/1. I, for one, learned and enjoyed the book very much, and highly recommend it to the advanced player who wishes to improve his game.



4. This should not be your first bridge book. After you've gotten the basics and have spent some time studying the game, I found this to be a great first 'serious' book to become more than just a light social player.
   
   I bought it after I'd read a couple of introductory books, put in some hours playing hands pretty socially, and begun to read up on more advanced concepts and conventions. I loved the game and wanted to get good (not just good enough to play casually with relatives), and it perfectly fit my purpose.
   
   What hardy does best is to teach you the thinking and the reasoning behind the bids/conventions that he presents. You get a good idea of what exactly you're trying to accomplish at different points in the auction, and then the suggested bids make a lot more sense. I guess a drawback would be that because he devotes so much time to explanation and examples, occasionally there are specific cases which he forgets to address. In that sense it's not an utterly complete bidding strategy, but having a set bid for every little specific situation really important as a developing player.
   
   Hardy also has chapters on competitive bidding, slam bidding, etc, which don't really require you to have read all of the preceding chapters in detail to understand them. This allows you to jump around a bit and keep the material fresh, as the chapters are pretty dense. All of the sections were fantastic, and I really feel like I'm thinking about the game much better and getting a lot more out of auctions. Nothing makes me happier than bidding games with 17 points or slams with 28 when I believe our hands line up correctly.



5. Mixed feelings. Seems to leave a bit too much to the reader's imagination. Nevertheless, an interesting, thought provoquing presentation of a system I have not previously used.

5 comments about Kid Talk: Conversation Cards (Tabletalk Conversation Cards).

1. I bought this so we would spend some quality time at the table and boy did it work.My husband works alot of hours and is so used to eating and jumping up from the table. These cards really go all of us talking and the kids have been eating more and not bouncing around at the table.Even my 2yr old likes to listen to our answers and has been much more behaved at dinner!



2. A little disappointing. Our family has to skim through a few cards before we find one that seems fun.



3. We were looking for a way to increase our family communication during dinner and to allow each child in the family to have equal "floor time" for their comments. The cards contain great topics, are creative, and enhance spontaneous discussion. Great buy!



4. I bought these for my godsons (4 & 9). They both really enjoyed them, as did the adults!



5. I bought these to use with my kids, but found that they didn't find the ideas at all interesting. Personal interest varies, of course. It seems to me that we have more interesting conversations than the ones suggested in the deck on a regular basis. My main issue with these cards, however, is that many of the "facts" listed on the cards are completely incorrect. Don't beleive everything you read, and particularly with this card deck- find out if the "fact" it lists is truly a "fact". One could take this in an entirely different educational direction than it was intended, but a research project wasn't what I was looking for.

5 comments about Hoyle's Modern Encyclopedia of Card Games: Rules of All the Basic Games and Popular Variations.

1. If you love card games, but just about played every game you know to death and need something new, this is a great book. This must have every card game with every variation of it ever concieved. It gives good explanation of each game, along with how they are played in different parts of the world. The problem with the book, however, is the same. It has every rule to every game ever written. It is not a good book for reading, but a great one to have on the side in case you are ever really bored, or can't decide on all the rules of a game. It is great for anybody with that old game they just can't quite remember all the rules to. Problem solution: if you find a game you like, have a hilighter pen readibly available for the table of contents. it is easy to loose track of what may have been a great new card game. Recommended only for real big card game buffs.



2. Year's ago I had this book,but lost it over the year's. Now I'm buying it again,but more updated.I recomend if you want to learn how to play card games.



3. This book is a valuable tool for the person who loves card games and wants to check on a rule of a certain card game. It is an excellent reference. Anyone who plays cards would find this to be a wonderful addition to add to their booklist.



4. Any card game you can think of is in here.
   
   If you are looking for how to play that card game you used to play, or heard about, or forgot...this is the guide for you!



5. Well, the information is a little old and doesn't cover some newer games either. Although it has a lot of card games in it my one complaint is the books layout. It reads like a novel and games are referenced in the index. Needs a much better layout and bold titles. Other than that it's not bad but really needs a revision.

5 comments about Weighing the Odds in Hold'em Poker.

1. This book is my favorite Hold 'Em book of all time for one simple reason. Every piece of advice it gives is backed up with one or more concrete examples of that principle in a game scenario as well as a mathematical proof of why that strategy is ultimately profitable in the long run. There are thousands of possible scenarios in poker. Having an expert tell me to throw away King-Queen offsuit in early position does me no good if I don't know why. I either won't remember, will misapply that information, or at the very least won't encounter that exact situation at the table where an understanding of the reasoning behind the advice might help me apply the same principle to a similar although slightly different scenario. This is where Yao as an author shines. This book will take you a bit longer than most other Hold 'Em books to get through but it's well worth the trip. If you want to skip over the mathematical parts, the writing itself is enough to stand on its own. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to deepen their ability to play Hold 'Em strategically. It's probably not the best first book if you've never read any book about the game before but a great second or third book - highly recommended.



2. This is a great book if yuor are into the mathematical aspects of hold'em. ALthough there are some good cencepts for those are less concerned it's main focus is on math. This book also explains outs and non-outs and how to calculate pot odds based on these as well as based on what your opponents cards are (if you are able to read hands well enough).



3. re-read this all the time. addresses only 'limit' games and i only play 'on-limit' and free-rolls. think it provides a good 'basic TIGHT strategy'. he addresses bluffing but it didn't 'stick'. like the charts alot! guess i'm old-school but did find the use of 'she, her' a little annoying. still don't understand 'raising for a free card'. lol
   
   all the best,
   RR



4. If you want to learn about the odds and how to play Hold'em Poker, GET THIS BOOK NOW !!!



5. And that's exactly what I was looking for. If you are looking for the down and dirty numbers behind poker, and I am not talking about tables of numbers to memorize but the actual formulas that those tables are derived from, this is the book for you. Reading this book makes my head hurt, and probably should be done sitting at a desk with a pen and paper. Not only do you want to take notes, you will also want to be sure you can work through what Yao is explaining.
   
   It is a wonderful read if that is what you are looking for.

5 comments about Phil Gordon's Little Blue Book: More Lessons and Hand Analysis in No Limit Texas Hold'em.

1. If you have basic poker knowledge (read the Phil Gordon's Green book) then this is a great follow-up. Even if you didn't read the Green book, you'll learn something reading this book. It's an easy read, entertaining, and has some good info. For a casual player who wants to get better but doesn't want to get too involved in poker theory, there's no beating Phil Gordon's Green and Blue book. For a serious player, it's still a good read if not a bit fluffy, like Phil Gordon himself. READ IT!



2. When learning something like poker I like my information straight foreword, not with a lot of embellishment. While studying each hand I had to remind myself what I was trying to learn that particular hand without being distracted by the anecdotes.
   
   I'm sure many students will find this makes the learning more interesting but my goal when studying poker is to improve my game with the least amount of effort.
   
   About a quarter of the way into this book I asked myself how would I be better served? Should I continue with Little Blue or would I get more out of re-reading books I had already studied like Harrington Vol I or Little Green.
   
   About 5 problems into Harrington Vol I...there was my answer. Goodbye Little Blue.
   
   Bottom line...maybe this is a great book but if your learning style is similar to mine...take a pass.



3. Phil Gordon's three book set rivals Harringtons' as the best poker books on the market. This one in particular goes through several hands and strategies as well as warnings on getting trapped or lazy whilst playing.
   
   The Black and Green books are also great, in fact the green book might even be better than this one, but they are both must haves for someone that wants to improve their game.



4. Both Phil Gordon's little "green & blue" books I've purchased and given as gifts. Myself and family members have benefited and improved as players after reading these. They are practical and easy to understand and implement. I highly recommend these as must read or additions to any level poker player from beginner to advanced players.



5. I bought this book after having read Phil Gordons Green Book on poker. Do not waste your money. While the Green Book has valuable information that WILL improve your game, the Blue Book is a bad sequel and provides very little useful information as it is only a diary of previous hands played by Phil in numerous situations. You will learn more from watching Poker After Dark and visually watching how hands are played out by professionals.
   
   What really upset me about this book, was a hand that is described starting on page 73 and runs for 8 pages only to be told if you want to know the outcome of the hand to go to Phil Gordons website. I payed $22.00 for information in this book, not to be told to go to a website for the rest of the story.

5 comments about Poker for Dummies.

1. Its good for beginners but its too broad.....it covers a little bit on every poker game and teaches you about bluffing, helped me win Id reccomend it!



2. it's great that this book assumes that you know nothing about poker, because i knew nothing.
   
   this book is great in helping you think of all the considerations in poker, what the odds are, the groupings of hands, what other players are playing etc, but with a bit of practise, you can make these decisions in a matter of seconds. and practise i did. when i found that lou krieger was host of royal vegas poker, i practised there.
   
   the only aspect that put me off a bit, but was my own shortcoming, not the book's, was the issue of calculating the standard deviations, outs etc. being mathematically challenged, puts me at a disadvantage.
   
   but this is a great book, which is comprehensively basic - as it should be. i'd recommend it to anyone.



3. I love "Dummies" books and usually start with one when I want to learn something completely new. I have played poker recreationally most of my life, and been a consistent winner--because my competition was even worse than I was. I even won in my sole foray into a card club--because I was lucky. I had never played Hold'em, however. I wanted to learn more than just the rules of the game and get an introduction to some of the theoretical poker concepts that I knew were out there. This is the wrong book for that.
   
   This book is just too elementary for anyone but a total and complete novice. The only "take away" for me was an understanding of what playing tight pre-flop means for Hold'em. The commentary on post-flop play was way too simple-minded.
   
   This book spends too much time explaining things like tournaments, the World Series of Poker, and the Internet. I am still looking for the book I want.



4. This book is great for everyone who's new to poker, especially casino poker. It explains all kinds of poker in detal and gives general rules on how to win in poker. You certainly can learn all your basics from this book, but I don't think it's good for people who want to learn Hold'em in particular - for that I'd recommend "Hold'em Excellence: From Beginner to Winner" by Lou Krieger. It explains everything in detail. Krieger certainly knows what he's talking about and explains it in a simple, easy to read form.
   Poker for Dummies doesn't deal very well with internet poker; it only gives some general advice and the info is somewhat outdated. If you're interested in online poker, it's definitely not for you.



5. Honestly, this book didn't do much for me. I never got interested in reading it, and just learned by playing and watching poker tournaments on TV.

1 comments about Tournament Poker for Advanced Players: Expanded Edition.

1. First, some of you may be interested in how this new expanded edition compares to the previous edition. I don't have the previous edition, but in this new expanded edition, there are viii + 346 pages, including the 8-page index. The principal new portion is Part Five: "Additional No-Limit Hold'em Concepts" which runs from page 214 to page 282. The rear cover flatly states that this edition "contains over 100 pages of updated material."
   
   Having read about 1/3 of the text so far, my conclusion is that this book will be helpful to those who are beginner-to-intermediate tournament players, but who are already familiar with the basics of No-Limit Hold'Em (NLHE). This volume contains many useful hand examples, but it is not loaded down with irrelevant mathematics of the "if you have this and he has that or that or that, and he then does this X% of the time, then you should bet Y% of the pot" etc. In other words, this book focuses more on effective strategies at different parts of the tournament rather than on the supercilious "I'm a math genius and you're not" writing that characterizes the NLHE: Theory and Practice volume, also by Sklanksy and Miller.
   
   There is advice on what to do if you want to maximize your expected gain, or what to do if you want to maximize your chance of winning outright with expected gain be darned. Several alternative suggestions are presented on how to play certain hands depending on stack size, stage of the tournament, etc. The advice strikes a balance between being specific and general in nature.
   
   Part Four: "Hand Quizzes" runs from page 156 to page 211. Unfortunately, only 11 out of the 50 hand quizzes are specifically concerned with No-Limit Hold'Em, although maybe another 9 or 10 questions concern Limit Hold'Em. The rest concern Omaha and Hi-Low and Stud and other uninteresting forms of poker.
   
   There are a few typos and inadvertent grammatical errors, but not enough to be too annoying.
   
   If you are already an experienced NLHE tournament player, then you probably don't need this volume.

No comments about Faerie Tarot: Premier Edition.