5 comments about Harrington on Hold 'em: Expert Strategies for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. III--The Workbook (Harrington on Hold'em).

1. I learned more about how to play no-limit hold'em tournaments from this exercise than the previous 10 books on the subject. The examples are clear and very well explained. The options are examined at every step and eliminated logically. One should probably have read his first 2 books before taking this test if you want to ace it.



2. I had so much fun going through this book that I wish it never ended. You'll thoroughly enjoy testing your poker thinking against Harringtons extremely indepth comments. I've obviously read both of the other books but being forced to really think (in order to score points) is EXTREMELY helpful towards actually LEARNING the subject matter. If you enjoyed the first two. Buy this! If you dont have the first two, buy them, then buy this. Just do yourself a favour, study up and then attack this but write down all your answers to all the questions and number them (There's actually a score sheet in the back of the book). After I had gone through it I realised there is a section that categorises all of the errors you made so you can see where your game needs the most improvement but my answers were actually strewn about on bits of scrap paper so I couldn't make use of it...:S There's one or two questions where you might find yourself hard done by with Harrington not awarding points for what you may consider very reasonable plays but these are few and far between. For the most part he's pretty much spot on in his commentary.



3. With all the numerous poker books out there, Dan Harrington by far has the best set of books out there. The first one is amazing at covering all the basics to improve your skill, the second book is great with examples and how to handle the same hand differently, and the third is perfect to refine your game. Read the first one completely with understanding before moving on to the second and the third book. The workbook tests what you have already learned and will refine your decision-making. Highly recommended!



4. The first two books on No Limit Hold Em tournament strategy are the most helpful I've read. This workbook is particularly good at discussing post-flop play. I'm working through the problems - not done yet - but am looking forward to analyzing all the many flaws in my game!



5. This series (I own all three) is very well written. Volume three is the workbook, which essentially a book-length quiz that you then grade yourself on, but it is very well done. I was able to identify weaknesses in my game and improve. Highly recommended.
   
   I say spend the money and get all three volumes. Your purchase will pay for itself very quickly.

5 comments about Caro's Book of Poker Tells.

1. It a little bit on the difficult side as to writing style and very out of date when it came to the pictures and graphics, this book is still a good recommendation to any that play poker (of any kind).
   
   Harrington recommends this book, at least exposing yourself to the tells others have or that you may be giving is a good idea. I give it a recommendation.



2. ...especially in this day and age, and especially if your game is hold 'em. Many of the tells are far more relevant for a stud or Omaha game. That, and too many people have read this book. Really only useful against the lamest of players, imho.



3. Old and dated but still very relevant. Perfect quick read if you are in transition from internet to live games. Memorize these most famous tells and make more money, its that simple. Thank you from SuperAggressive.com



4. I purchased Mike Caro's VIDEO on tells years ago. (I bought the VHS but, of course, it's on DVD now.) It is an updated version of the book and it is excellent. Actually seeing visual examples of the tells is a much more effective and easier way to understand this material. With a video available, there's no reason to buy this book. If you can't find the video on Amazon, it's advertised in poker magazines like Card Player (which is available for free in poker rooms) or just google mike caro. It costs more than the book but it's worth it.



5. I should have listened to the other poor reviews and saved my money. This book takes about ten worthwhile (and very obvious) tells, spends a few pages on each explaining what could be summed up in just a few sentences, and then fills out the the book with meaningless other "tells" and filler. Included are picture that supposedly illustrate the book's points; the only problem being that most pictures are so dark and unhelpful that they only serve as additional filler to turn this flimsy piece into book length. I had to laugh when looking at an unfocused picture, clearly from the '70s, of a man wearing dark glasses -- completely obscuring his eyes. The book advises your to observe how he is shifting his eyes to the side to watch his opponent -- pretty bad stuff.
   
   You can spend ten minutes googling "poker tells" and get far better advice than what this book provides.

No comments about Fallout 3: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides).

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.

5 comments about Practical Chess Exercises: 600 Lessons from Tactics to Strategy.

1. First of all, I'd like to say that this is not a problem or puzzle book. As Cheng points out, if you rely on problem books, your mind channels into that mind set and you are constantly looking for mates in four or queen sacs which rarely occur. This book presents positions from amateur games (with a few master's games sprinkled in). They are typical positions which present simple tactics or strategic decisions or defensive moves, in other words you are not given anything to look for beforehand (as in your own games) so you have to think for yourself and scan the board for the best move in this particular situation. He doesn't even rate the difficulty until after you have made your choice. I had previously worked on CT-Arts problem series software and realized after finding five queen sacs leading to mate, that this wasn't real chess. Mr. Cheng's book is as close to real chess as I have seen. I was thinking he should create something on cd or dvd software based on this book or even more examples. But the book, as it is, is logically arranged. No more flipping to the back for the solution to the position. It's on the facing page and all you have to do is cover it up. Minor comments: slightly larger diagrams would help. Numbering left to right, as someone mentioned. Also, putting the color to move at the bottom of the diagram, rather than have all whites at bottom. I'm not sure if this would be a typographical issue, but there you are. I have only gone through about ten percent of problems, but have already learned a lot and have been kicking myself for stupid decisions, just as i do in real games. Congratulations to Mr. Cheng for this book, and perhaps he will expand into the software field in the future.



2. 
   The 1st word in the title is key, this book is _very_ practical.
   
   I suppose there aren't many chess books that will actually weaken your game, but I haven't come across any other that should really help an intermediate player more than this one. It's based on a novel, but seemingly obvious, concept that the answer to chess problem shouldn't be telegraphed in any way beforehand. Also, the positions shown are not simply of the white/black "to play and win" variety - you could just be trying get a draw from behind. You aren't told whether there's a mate hiding in there or simply a positional improvement. The key may be in noticing your opponent's threat, not yours. In other words, the problems represent challenges very much like those real players find themselves faced with on a regular basis.
   
   It just seems obvious that preparing with real-life problems with real-life solutions is a better use of your time than pondering over where's the mate in 3 when you know there's a mate in 3, etc.
   
   In short, a great book for intermediate-to-advanced chess players. It's a whole bunch of chess brain-teasers of the best variety. It's extremely handy when you want something very portable to keep you entertained for an indeterminate amount of time - like waiting at an airport. It's also handy if you just want to wake your brain up for a few minutes before you do something else. I'm sure I'll be sorry when I've finished this. I hope Mr. Cheng comes up with a volume 2 by then!
   
   There are a few minor points I could complain about. I think the arrangement of the illustrations s/h/b somewhat different (left/right before top/bottom) and it seems like the difficulty levels shown are occasionally a little off. A further break with tradition by showing "black to move" problems from the black side would have been welcome also. But, REALLY these are insignificant issues compared to the power of the concept and the excellent problems in this book.
   
   I'll just add that, for what it's worth, I was recently playing blitz against an A-level friend and I came up with a winning move in a complex position that stunned both of us. It was the kind of thing I would have probably missed in a long tournament game and I came up with it in seconds. I don't think I would've seen that move if I hadn't been exercising my brain with this book - and I'm not even halfway through.
   
   For a combination of originality, usefulness and just plain fun, this book definitely deserves 5 stars.



3. This is my first foray into the chess book market, so to be fair, I have to stipulate at the start that I don't have anything with which to compare this book. Nonetheless, what I find lacking about this book is any explanation into the theory of good chess play. What are objectives in 'start-game', 'middle-game', and 'end-game' sequences? What are the foundations to a great game? What makes a good player? How does one learn to look at the board? These are questions that are completely ignored by this book. Rather, it has a very brief introduction, and jumps directly into exercises. No theory is provided. No base with which to start.
   
   I felt that the author makes certain assumptions about my chess knowledge. Here, I may be showing my ignorance in not knowing, but I don't know the names of many strategies, and even found it difficult to understand the grid movements on the board.
   
   I like the exercises, and feel I have much to gain from this book. But first I want to read a book that outlines common strategies (such as, control the middle of the board, and why), goals, motives during the game, and maybe gives me some coaching on how to deal with the one's own psyche during the game (i.e. how to react if I miscalculate or lose an important piece during play). I don't know if such a book exists, but I have to keep looking
   
   I want to come back to this book when I want to practice thinking about specific chess positions. At the moment, I'm looking for a book that will boost my foundation and give me a better base in the game I love.



4. The 600 exercises in Ray Cheng's "Practical Chess" let you approach learning much as you would a real game -- exercises are displayed on one page, and possible solutions are revealed on the next page.There are all kinds of problems, tactical and positional, and they're not labeled so it's more fun and more challenging than most chess book exercises. The Kindle version is awesome. A great find.



5. this is a great chess book for the kindle. love how the exercises seem random and there are no clues like a real game. and the solutions are revealed by turning the page. simple but clever. highly recommend. but skip the front matter. you can hyperlink to thesymbol keys from each exercise.

5 comments about Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Pokedex: Prima Official Game Guide Vol. 2 (Prima Official Game Guides).

1. Even as a mother I can get into Star Wars, Bionicles, dinosaurs, and other hobbies of my 7-year old son, however, I can't say that I enjoy Pokemon. But noone can deny that the over the decade-old Pokemon craze is here to stay as witnessed by the phenomenal success of Diamond and Pearl. My son refers to this book like a bible and Pokemon Diamond is the only DS game that he hasn't grown tired of even though he's had it almost a year.



2. At first when I bought this I thought it was going to just sit around, but as my son played through Pokemon Diamond he started referring to it more and more. The best description of it now is "very worn".
   
   The fact that every pokemon is listed along with where it can be obtained is its best selling point. The book is really geared for after you've completed the game portion and are working on "catching them all".
   
   You could probably find all of the information in this book online, but not in one location. Having it there to refer to while playing is easily worth the cost.



3. Great guide for kids to look at. My kids have all the Pokemon games and they like to look at this for reference



4. While I don't know much about Pokemon, my son loved this book when he received it. It has everything you need to know about Pokemon all in one book - according to my son. He was a very satisfied customer :)



5. WOW! This is the best guide for Pokemon Diamond and Pearl by FAR! It's not just a Pokedex, but rather much more! It not only contains information on 490 Pokemon, (Yes, 490, unfortunatly it lacks total information on Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus) but it also has CRUCIAL information about what to do after you've beaten the Pokemon League. Up to that point, it's all easy, just go along with the story. BUT once you've beaten the Pokemon League, everything in the game suddenly becomes unclear. You might KNOW there's more legendaries to catch, but you might not know where. (For Example, I had not the First Clue about going to Turnback Cave for Giratina, but when I got the guide, It led me straight there!) You might KNOW about the Battle Tower, but not who the Tower Tycoon is and when you battle him. You might KNOW about Cresselia and Fullmoon Island, but not how to get there or what to do once you've seen Cresselia. You might KNOW about Pokemon, but not at what exact level they evolve, or what exact level they learn a specific move, or if they learn it at all. All this is CRUCIAL information that you will find EXCLUSIVELY in this guide. And that's not it, either. In case you don't know which region a Pokemon is from, there is a Table of Contents in Alphabetical order at the VERY BEGINNING, making it extremely easy to find pokemon. Also, a 2 page map containing all of Sinnoh as well as the names of all the cities and places of interest. Also tells you all of the items you may find in a certain place, AND information on EVERY ROUTE AND CAVE about things you can do there BEFORE AND AFTER beating the Pokemon League, again, more CRUCIAL information EXCLUSIVE to this guide. And again, there's more-you can find information on EVERY HM and TM in the back of this book, as well as all the contest moves, items, where to get every TM, where to get each item, and a Pokemon Weakness easy look-up chart with the weaknesses AND RESISTANCES of all 490 pokemon, (yes, remember? 490...Arceus, Darkrai, and Shaymin were unknown when this guide was released) and information about where to capture any Pokemon in the Pal Park, with a detailed map of it, and how rare they will be, aka how much time it will take to catch them, prizes at the Pal Park, etc. ALL CRUCIAL INFORMATION. Also tells you where to catch ANY pokemon in the game, (as long as you CAN catch it) INCLUDING what route for Pokeradar, and descriptions to every pokemon from both Diamond and Pearl. Also a comparison of the few pokemon you can't catch in Diamond, and of the few you can't catch in pearl, as well as the list of the 50 pokemon you can not catch in Sinnoh at all, (Previous starters and legendaries, event pokemon, with a FEW unexpected ones; Tropius and Tangela...) a berrydex, all pokemon abilities and what they do, pokemon personalities, natures, what wild pokemon hold what item, A TON of information on the Underground, and that's just the Pokemon Data Lookup section of the book! There's still the Capture Guide, which is about 2 times as thick, and the Post-Game Scenario! This book is a MUST For Diamond and Pearl Fans!

5 comments about 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders: A world of possibilities inspired by just one skein.

1. Love the book! A lots of fun and interesting designs. Beautiful lacy patterns and convinient layout. Have a few on my list to knit next :)



2. I love this book! It is one of the few knitting books I own, I am super picky about what I add to my collection. I have made several of the patterns in the book and am planning to make more. The only downside to this book is that there are a lot of errors in it. Make sure you go to the publisher's website before making any of the patterns so you can have the corrected instructions.



3. This book exceeded my expectations. It has a really broad range of patterns and I love the way they are grouped by yarn weight. If you're holding a skein of yarn, wondering what you can knit with it, just go to that weight's section and find something suitable.
   
   Notable find inside: a really cute baby dress knit from one skein of sock yarn.



4. A quick and easy transaction. The product arrived as described. Would certainly deal with this seller again.



5. So many nice and inspirational things
   to do with just One Skein.
   The difficulty is to chose what You want to
   start with.

5 comments about Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook.

1. I picked up this book to re-learn how to knit. I had knit a bit in the past, but basically just long swatches I called scarves. This book was amazing. I read through it and made the dog sweater pattern in it on the first day. The diagrams and descriptions are clear and helpful. The index makes things easy to find. Also, the patterns in the book list what skills you will need and what page you can find information for those skills on.
   
   I look forward to learning more and tackling the harder projects in this book. There is no doubt all the information I need is in here.



2. Overall, it is a great book. If you're a beginner and really want to learn all the basics, then this is the book for you. Unfortunately I was surprised that not all the techniques were clearly/fully described, so I had to Google for some explanations and clarifications while learning to knit. But guess what, because of this book and thanks to Google )), I can knit anything I want now. And I'm a busy person, so I was only knitting in the evenings for a couple of hours while watching TV and relaxing.
   One of the greatest advantages of this book is the author's style of writing and explaining things. It felt like I were talking to a friend while learning to knit and you come to realize that the person who wrote the book really cares enough to make things interesting and exciting for readers and especially for the beginners like myself.
   So, go ahead and purchase this book. Also, I have a tip for you. If you want more patterns, go online and Google them. There are a plenty of resources online, so you'll get really excited about the whole process.
   Happy knitting))



3. There are a lot of reviews on here complaining about how 'young' the patterns are, and the light-hearted tone of the book. I think people are forgetting that this book has been written for a young audience. If you are out of your 20s and looking for more serious knits, this isn't for you (although you may be able to modify some of the designs in here to your tastes). As for the tone, it's what you should expect from a book with the title 'Stitch 'n Bitch' - it's going to be less serious than the heavy tomes you'll find on many knitters' shelves. It's written to fall in line with the new wave of young knitters, many of whom want the magazine-like and irreverent style found in this book.
   
   People also complain about how simple the patterns are, especially the garter stitch scarf. This is a book for BEGINNERS. I don't know about you, but I felt a huge sense of achievement when I finished my first garter stitch scarf! This book has been written with this in mind. Those of you who are holier-than-thou knitters who have been holding needles since birth, buy more advanced books and stop bashing this one for being too simple for you.
   
   I'll admit it's not entirely clear at times, and there are errata (Debbie Stoller seems plagued by errata-filled patterns, makes me wonder why her books aren't thoroughly checked before publishing) but these can be found easily online.
   
   I'd still recommend this book to anyone interested in learning to knit, and I'd direct them to http://www.knittinghelp.com too, as watching someone do things makes them easier to learn.
   
   It's not perfect, and it is what it is - a 'hip' guide to knitting written for a young audience. There are still almost 200 5 star reviews for this book, so even with all the 1 and 2 star reviews out there it's still a hugely popular and widely-used book. I still say, buy it - but know what to expect by reading this and other reviews.



4. I love the idea of this book and I love the practical suggestions and patterns it contains. I look forward to a lot of knitting.



5. I taught myself to knit using this book.
   I can do everything covered in this book.
   'nuff said :)

No comments about Mixed-Media Self-Portraits: Inspiration & Techniques.

5 comments about Phil Hellmuth Presents Read 'Em and Reap: A Career FBI Agent's Guide to Decoding Poker Tells.

1. Mike Caro's book was revolutionary since it was the first book that categorized all the tells from the poker table. I believe everybody should read Caro's book first if you want to learn about tells, but this books teaches you on how to continue learning how to read tells.
   
   Joe Navarro talks a lot about standard position, this is how people are in their normal state. You have to be observant on how people look like when they aren't under any pressure or stress. Base on this knowledge you will then start trying to read this person on tells. In the end of the book Navarro teaches you how to improve your observation skills with some exercises.
   Some reviews says that this is just a copy of Caro's book. I don't believe that's true, you will find information here that you can't find in Caro's book.



2. This is one great poker book. I play a lot of poker and everything else I've ever read about poker tells (even by the famous Mike Caro) has been completely useless. This book paid for itself the first time I played poker after reading it. I now feel like a professional player able to make some great reads.



3. This book is certainly more relevant today than Caro's dated one. But, like Caro's work, some of the information is delivered as absolute and true, while we all know there are no such things in poker.
   
   Read 'em and Reap has much to offer but everything in it needs a little salt for seasoning.



4. This might be seen as competition for Mike Caro's excellent _Mike Caro's Book of Tells_ but it is better viewed as a complimentary work, covering different parts of the same theme.
   
   Before we discuss the differences between the two, we have to mention the view that tells are not very important. That view, promoted by people as prominant as Daniel Negreanu, is simply wrong. While tells may not help you very often, a tell can win a very important hand for you or keep you from losing a very large number of chips. As long as tells exist, as Mr. Negreanu will freely admit, they don't have to be seventy percent of the game (a bizarre claim made by the authors of this book)to be important.
   
   This book, in contrast to the Caro book, analyzes very basic neurological reactions, honest tells. In contrast to the "weak means strong" theme of the major tells in the book of tells, this book teaches you to see often subtle but almost always honest indicators of a player's confidence at a particular moment in time. The most important part of this book is the section on not _giving_ information.
   
   The flaws in this book include the above claim that poker is seventy percent driven by reading tells. Most others involve Mr. Hellmuth and his ego and the amount of extraneous bragging that is done by both authors.



5. I read this book less than two weeks time and entered three poker tournments three weeks later- result 1st tournment third place, 2nd tournment 1st and 3rd tournment 1st place. This book is amazing. Worth the money spent!!!