No comments about ACCORDING TO HOYLE, THE WORLD FAMOUS BOOK ON RULES OF GAMES.

1 comments about Percentage Hold'em: The Book of Numbers.

1. Very good book,changed some of my strategy.Still reading it as it is a challenge to take it all in.Well worth buying.

3 comments about Championship Hold'em (The Championship).

1. I first heard about this book when I read Jim MacManus's Positively Fifth Street last summer. By the time that I finished, the manual was out-of-print, but it has since been reissued. Its re-release is most likely due to the Hold'em craze, but, I believe, that its excellence made it difficult for its publishers to ignore.
   
   Overall, I'd place this one right behind Doyle's Super System, Number 1, in terms of educational and helpful works concerning tournament poker. I know this to be the case because I just returned from Vegas two days ago and finished reading it during my plane flight over. Championship... was fresh in my mind during the games that I played on vacation.
   
   I signed up twice for the 30 dollar, 30 person daily tournament at the Mandalay Bay. The first day that I attended, I wound up making it to the final table and finishing seventh--two spots out of the money. I had enough chips to allow me to coast to third or fourth place but, when Big Slick, a King/Ace of Hearts, fell into my hands, I had the sensation of hearing T.J. Cloutier whisper into my ears, "This is exactly what I meant."
   
   My mind immediately scanned back to page 299 where he states that what you do with Big Slick, and how you play when the other player holds it, makes or breaks you during tournaments. Here, Cloutier shares that it is also known as "Walking Back to Houston" as it has so often broken the players who held it. I knew that folding it would have been cowardice--particular with three spots vacant at the table.
   
   The flop fell three suited and A, 8, K. I had two Aces and two Kings. The guy across from me went all in with a few more chips than me. I followed suit. He didn't bet before the flop and I thought he had two 8s or a small pair going in. I was wrong. He had J, 10. When I turned my cards over, the table gasped. I had him, until a Queen fell on the River and he made a straight. It was I who was walking back to Houston. I dragged my way back to the Tropicana in a haze, but T.J. was right, Big Slick would have made or finished my tournament.
   
   That's the way the book is though. It is a play-by-play analysis of what one should be doing during tournament Hold'em play and I thought it incredibly valuable. It's much better than the Sklansky books as it's not as tight and I found it to be infinitely more realistic. It adapts to the changing conditions of play.
   
   Another thing I'd like to mention is that Tom McEvoy has to be one of the most underrated of all the pros. You know, he won the World Series of Poker back in 1983 but he is not given any coverage by ESPN. He really deserves an expose. Tom's point of view is quite valuable and I enjoyed the insights he shared, independent of T.J.'s. I have to state that the book is worth the money that you'll pay. If you want to save a few bucks, it's available from the Amazon z shops. All the buyers that I've made purchases from have been reliable.



2. Although Tom McEvoy and T.S. Cloutier are world class players this is not a world class poker book. They repeat themselves a lot and and even contradict themselves a little, and they do ramble on. One gets the sense that somebody miked them up and had them just talk about how to play various hands in various positions in various circumstances, mostly limit hold'em and in tournaments.
   
   For the not really booked up player this might be exactly right, but for the experienced player a lot of the advice is old hat. McEvoy and Cloutier recognize as much because on a couple of occasions they apologize for the repetition and advise the reader to take what they're saying as a "refresher."
   
   There is more than some merit to this advice. Anybody who has played poker for any length of time knows that you can go through stages where you drift from correct play to careless play to downright bad play. You are winning day after day, and you start to get overconfident and play more hands than you should. Next thing you know you're raising with ace-rag and calling with J9 offsuit and leading into the flop with second pair, no kicker. Reading this book will get you back to reality and tighten up your loose play, because believe me McEvoy and Cloutier do NOT play rags. Well, except when they know you're going to toss...
   
   Generally, just about everything they say is correct or at least debatably correct. Nonetheless I want to take exception to a couple of things, and to point out where what they say is only part of the story.
   
   Here's a good example. Cloutier says, "I never--and I emphasize never--call a bet on the end just because of the size of the pot. (p. 213)
   
   Well, if the pot is ten grand and your only opponent coyly pushes fifty bucks into the pot, you're gonna call. And when I say "you" I mean T.J. Cloutier as well. You're also going to call if it's a limit game and your lone opponent flips his last dollar chip into a five-hundred dollar pot. What Cloutier really is saying is that he reads the other player and the action. He recalls what experiences he has had with this player while he considers what his opponent's likely hand is, and that all of these considerations are more important than the size of the pot.
   
   Here's another. Cloutier says, "If there is more than one other player in the pot and you try to bluff on the end in limit hold'em, you might as well just donate your money to charity instead." (p. 215)
   
   In a sense this is just an exaggeration to make a point. But if you look deeper you can see that this cannot be right. True, trying to steal the pot with a bet on the river is a losing proposition in limit hold'em. However, if everybody only bet the goods on the river there wouldn't be much of a reason to call except in those cases where it's unclear who has the best hand. Furthermore, if you NEVER bluff at the pot on the river, you are--in the nicely expressed words of David Sklansky--"giving away too much information."
   
   Here's a third: Cloutier describes a situation in which you raise preflop with AJ and the flop comes rags and you have two opponents who check to you. You bet and they toss. Cloutier says, "You might have the best hand, don't get me wrong, but you're still bluffing with the best hand." Actually, what you're doing is semi-bluffing. You have two overcards, and a not unreasonable expectation that you do indeed have the best hand at the moment. Why give a free card for one of your opponents to snag a pair?
   
   And then there's the "free card" play. Cloutier makes the very excellent point that "If you're going to make this play, you had better be drawing to the nuts. You don't want to be drawing to a jack-high flush and raise to get a free card in a multi-way pot."
   
   Amen to that. However, when you are in last position and raise with a four-flush on the flop you are making a play for a half-priced card, and if the play works, the card you're getting for half price is the river card NOT the turn card. (You can simply call and see the turn card for the flop bet.) You pay an extra flop bet (half the size of the turn bet) in the hope that everybody will check to you on the turn and you can check to see the river for "free"--or actually for the flop bet you raised with. Another point to understand here is that when you are drawing to the nuts and there are three or more players in the pot with you who will just call, you are actually getting proper odds for your raise.
   
   All in all an interesting if not entirely instructive book. One of the best features is their advice on how to play twenty "practice tournament" hands from AA to some rags including 75 unsuited. There's some good advice on tournament strategy and how to play in various kinds of games, tight, loose--no fold'em hold'em--and how to play against various types of players, maniacs, super tights, etc. There are some interesting poker stories. One of the best is about Cloutier being dealt AA in a $100/$200 hold'em game in San Jose. The flop came A-Q-9. T.J bet and got called by one player. The turn was a five. Again it was bet and call. The river was a four. Cloutier doesn't give the river betting, but you can be sure it was something like bet/raise!/call because he concludes by telling us that the Asian businessman he was playing against showed him three-deuce!



3. One of 3 books on poker I bought. Good read and very comprehensive. Would recommend it to anyone. Its got something for everyone. I've started playing online in the last two months and its been really helpful. You can dip and choose from sections, or just read it cover to cover. Good examples and well laid out. This book will improve your poker playing.

No comments about The Everything Blackjack Strategy Book: Surefire Ways To Beat The House Every Time (Everything: Sports and Hobbies).

No comments about Playing to Win at Bridge (Master Bridge Series).

5 comments about The Education of a Poker Player.

1. Poker books of late, for the most part, have all been about strategy. If you're already figured out how to play small pairs in early position or if you're looking for a poker book that isn't about "odds", this one is about as good as you're going to get.
   
   I don't know if all the stories are to-the-letter true or not- Yardley may have exaggerated some of them a wee bit- and it was definitely written in a different time but overall, the organic advice about the gamesmanship aspects of poker is spot-on accurate (from my perspective as a winning NLHE and mixed games player). There is just so much more that goes in to beating this game than pot odds and hand selection.
   
   I don't think this book will appeal strictly left-brained sort of people who view the game of poker almost entirely as a mathematical exercise, but it will appeal to everyone else.



2. I have purchased several copies of this book over the years. I bought the first one to sharpen my play and my wife's play when, in graduate school, we got together with our best friends (two other married couples) and played into the early morning hours (A total of $15.00 at stake--$2.50 each!). This latest purchase is a gift to a friend who is interested in the beginnings of our current intelligence agencies--NSA, CIA etc. No doubt there are better poker guides on the market: No doubt Yardley's guide is the only one worth reading just for the fun of it. (See Yardley's "The American Black Chamber")



3. But mostly, it is a collection of autobiographical anecdotes by one of the most interesting characters in twentieth century American history.
   
   Actually, it is about an even split between poker and the exploits of Herbert O. Yardley, but it is hard to tell which aspect the author invested more of his energy in.
   
   Regarding poker; both the mathmatical disciplines of poker and the psychological game of poker are well addressed in terms that make the knowledge easy to apply. Well structured breakdowns of when to fold and raise based on straight probability make the book straight forward from the numbers aspect. Anecdotes of various poker games and player that Yardley knew address the psychological game, including bits on reading the other player and how to present yourself at the table. A little dated, perhaps but mostly relevant.
   
   Regarding Yardley; the anecdotes provide a portrait of a man you do not want to trust with secrets. Vain, arrogant, self-serving, and possessed with the belief that laws are for other people, but he still conveys surprise and resentment that he was put out of the American intelligence community (such as it was) in the 1920s. This book should be a cautionary tale for people deciding who an organization should place in a position of trust. If someone sounds like Yardley, DON'T put him in a sensitive position.
   
   Still, the advice on poker is good, and the tales are exciting (whether historically accurate or not; I have a hard time believing that Yardley was the hero and 'James Bond' type that he paints himself). Also a great adjunct to serious reading on game theory, both for the applications and psychological vignettes related to the subject.
   
   E. M. Van Court



4. Pros- Very entertaining read. It definitely hearkens one back to a time long past in American history- wild rough-neck types plying their wits over a card table in any given Saloon in any given town in any given state, a century ago.
   
   Also, it was pretty much one of the earlier books to ever address poker from a mathematical perspective. Things like "pot odds", while not called "pot odds", are discussed in an easy to read, organic fashion. Later poker classics like "The Theory Of Poker", while much more factually comprehensive than Yardleys book, are clearly built on a foundation that was originally laid by "The Education...".
   
   Cons- Save for the chapters on 7 Stud, most of the games talked about in this book are no longer played on a broad scale, save for the occasional home game. Games like 5 Card Draw, 5 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo without a qualifier, 5CD Deuces Wild... These games just don't occupy the same presence today that they once did, so a lot of the technical and strategic information, while still "valid", is a bit dated...
   
   ... but like I said in the title, this "con" is also very much a "pro".
   While games like 5 Draw and 5 Stud are no longer kings of the hill, they are most definitely experiencing a resurgence of interest as players expand their interests beyond Omaha, 7 Stud and Hold Em. As strategy books on these games, "The Education" is absolutely top flight- read it and heed it and you will find yourself crushing your friends the next time they decide to throw a 5 Draw or a 5 Stud into the rotation at the next home game because someone just got done watching "Cincinnati Kid."
   
   Also, a lot of the principles, while discussed in the context of somewhat 'dated' poker games, still apply to *all* poker games...
   
   Pretty safe bet that as long as everyone is informed in advance that this poker book mainly deals with older games, there won't be a single buyer who regrets purchasing it.



5. When I started studying and playing seriously a decade ago, this book was mentioned constantly by all the old masters. Read it and see why.
   Yardley is a solid writer and player, and you learn the poker basics here as a by-product in this entertaining tale. He's quite a character and was a real player in our various nefarious intelligence agencies; his brains and wariness suited him well at the card table.
   This little book is a quick and easy read and has a lot to say about poker and life. While not the strategic masterpiece its adherents often claim, it is nonetheless one of the first books to really detail the how-to's of good poker. Add to that the non-poker aspects and it becomes one of the more engrossing reads in the poker-book world.
   Highly likely to be in your local library. Try to get an older copy; the various semi-lurid covers are most humorous. Poker IS a seedy gambling game full of harlots and ne'er-do-wells, after all. And, well, maybe one or two fascinating, intelligent, funny characters...
   Better to stay in church.

No comments about Reading The Cards (Test Your Bridge Technique).

3 comments about Practical Low and No Limit Texas Hold'em Ring Games.

1. This is not a beginner's book. The author does what he says he will, he reviews some basics for low limit ring Texas Hold'em games and takes us through a game. I would say the book is worth the money (less than money spent in one hand of some low limit games in a casino or card club). I got a few things from it and like most poker books, you generally get only one or two things but the things you get will make you money at the tables. The book is a little light on the No Limit but that is okay for me. I prefer low limit ring games versus low no limit ring games (100 buyins etc).



2. The book talks about playing a conservative approach to the game and cutting loose in rare situations. The exercises ( a low limit session where you try to play along) were something to do to help one play a tighter game. Overall the book reminded me to start tracking my wins and losses more and stop complaining. So for me it was pretty good.



3. I have read several books on Texas Hold'em poker. This is quite an amateur book. The writing is not very high quality. However it does serve as a good reminder or refresher to make your poker games more successful. The exercises in this book are great. These were very useful. Overall you can do without this book if you study other poker books. However you have some spare cash hanging around then you might find a few useful tips.

No comments about Famous Play Decisions: Test Your Skill Against the Experts (Master Bridge Series).

1 comments about Samurai Bridge: A Tale of Old Japan.

1. Samurai Bridge will appeal to bridge enthuhsiasts who like fiction related to their hobby. It is hard to find a quality work of fiction that blends truly interesting bridge hands seamlessly into the story. This book does that.
   Take a village where everyone is a bridge enthusiast (or so it seems) in Japan in the 1800's. "What?" you say. Add in some sexy ghosts, a fearless warrior, a bunch of schemers who want to govern and you get a downright interesting tale.
   The hero meets a number of crafty men and has to decide whom he can trust and whom he must dispose of. By the sword(s) of course.
   Will he win the hand of the beautiful Kiku, no mean schemer herself, in the end?
   It was worth persevering until 2:00 a.m. to find out.