Sit 'n Go Strategy
This books draws mixed responses. This is because, in case every poker player reads it, then online Sit `n Go games would get a lot difficult to beat. This book is most suitable for SNGs with the entry fee of $10 by way of medium stakes, though several advanced, higher stakes players may get benefited from this book. Several of the topics which are discussed are much advanced, as far as the beginning players are concerned, who must first of all get some experience, apart from an understanding of the basic concepts, before they purchase this book.
Sit `N Go Strategy is by far one of the best books on poker, which have ever been published, and is a major contribution to the game of poker, since enough literature on poker is not available as far as SNG tournament strategies are concerned. A properly written, reasonably comprehensive guide for playing low as well as medium buy in, apart from one table tournaments, this book is a fair buy. The text of Sit ‘n Go Strategy is logically distributed into various sections dealing with Medium Blind Play, Low Blind Play, as well as High Blind Play, apart from a chapter, with the title of Sit `N Go Career Play that addresses covers a few additional concepts.
As far as low blind play is concerned, the author tutors a very tight and aggressive style of games, although he admits, that the other playing styles may also be successful, in case the players are skilful at post flop play. When it comes to medium blind section, the author also supports a tight and aggressive game. However, he displays how a tremendously aggressive play may be the optimal strategy as the blinds enhance, and the table conditions are right.
High Blind Play is another amazing section, and is one of the major highlights of the book. A methodical analysis of the table conditions, the individual styles, blind sizes, stack sizes, payouts, as well as chip values, and how they affect optimum strategies is also provided. A lot of valuable information is offered for the intermediate players, as well as advanced players are likely to get benefited from this section. Various concepts like steals, resteals and stop `n go, are properly explained as well.
This should not be considered to be just another poker book. It is quite an interesting as well as informative reading for online players who wish to improve their game at one table Sit `N Go contests.
Subscribe to the comments for this postRead ‘Em and Reap
Phil Hellmuth Presents Read ‘Em and Reap: A Career FBI Agent’s Guide to Decoding Poker Tells
by Joe Navarro, Marvin Karlins, Phil Hellmuth
Joe Navarro, one of the co-authors of the book was serving as a special agent in FBI. He mastered the art of behavioural attitude with his job in FBI and utilised the same skills for poker tells. Along with Joe Navarro, Phil Hellmuth is one of the main authors of the book.
A majority of the successful online poker players already know the basic poker skills and possess the expertise which is beyond the scope of the beginners. There are tons of books in the market which speak of poker strategies and the mathematical elements attached to the game. However, most players lack the psychological elements of the game and fail to read people appropriately. Therefore knowing more about poker tells is one of the best things to do as an average poker player, so as to improve the chances in the live settings.
Previously, Mike Caro has made an attempt in explaining the poker tells through his ‘Book of Poker Tells’. However this book takes a completely different approach, while explaining the categories of poker tells and the ways to deal with them. The book also includes tells related to the hand, the feet, the mouth and the overall eye movement.
There is a unique distinction between tells portrayed by the actors and the signs given out by the non-actors. The book elaborates more on the latter kind of players. Navarro begins by explaining the limbic brain, which is the psychological foundation of the unconscious, tells. According to him, the limbic brain reacts to all those things which are heard, sensed, seen or felt. The reactions given out by the brain are so spontaneous in real time and therefore give out an honest response to all the information from the surrounding environment.
As soon as stressful situations are created, just like the ones in the high stakes poker game, the limbic brain would prepare the body to fight, freeze or flee. In the later parts of the book, the authors give out details on how these responses manifest themselves into different body movements. There are various photographs to support the theory, along with description of tells.
The reports on physiological motivations for a tell are pretty interesting and ‘Gravity Defying Tells’ is one of the best chapters in the book. This chapter gives out examples of tells such as raised eyebrows, nostrils, hands or feet. It happens to be a 213 page book, with most information on tells. However, there are a few chapters in the book which are completely irrelevant as compared to the subject of the book. On the whole, the book is fairly informative and would be of great help to the beginners. On the other hand, it would be interesting and captivating to find the interrelation between court judgements, jury discussions and poker tells, all coming from an authentic record of Joe Navarro.
Daniel Negreanus Power Holdem Strategy
Considering all the aspects, this book is a little disappointing. What is most disappointing is the fact, that this 485 page book has little to do with the writings of Negreanu, which appear only in the last 200 pages. Unlike what was expected, this book does not focus on the unique style of poker of Negreanu.
The book has five chapters before those of Negreanu, and each one is written by a different pro: Todd Brunson, Evelyn Ng, Paul Wasicka, Erick Lindgren and David Williams. Evelyn’s chapter presents an interesting strategy for the beginners, which make quite a lot of sense to me. Also the fact that I hadn’t heard of it before, made it further good. However, the other four chapters by the pros were simply a waste of time. As it is, Lindgren, Brunson, Wasicka and Williams have all written about these very basic concepts, which I had heard about, a million times before.
The chapter by Lindgren dealt with online play. A major drawback with this chapter is that it has been written for players who cut their teeth in casinos and have moved to the online version. In actuality, I believe most of us would start online and then work our ways towards casinos in case we succeed online. This makes the whole thing going backwards. He provides a bit more of the actual in-game strategies than Brunson, but not too much.
All said and done, the chapter by Daniel is simply great and I feel that it is good enough to stand apart, on its own. Around 200 pages in length, an in depth description is provided for his small-ball strategy, the mathematical analysis that makes it work, as well as the art of mastering it. The reader is guided through the starting hand selection and moves all the way through flop, turn, and river play, making it a lot easy to understand the analogies in the way. Although I believe that the rest of the world of poker has caught up with Daniel’s methods ever since his phenomenal success in 2003 & 2004, the strategy is nevertheless, quite a useful weapon for a poker player.
On the whole, with all the disappointing stuff, the book should get just 2 stars.
Smart Ways to Clear A Poker Bonus
W
hat’s the smartest way to clear an online poker bonus? While most of us would like to just get that bonus added to our accounts as soon as possible, it’s not always easy to do. If you’re collecting a big sign up bonus, you may have to earn quite a few player points to clear that money. If that’s the case, you want to do it the right way.
Online Poker Bonus Clearing Tip #1: Check Your Status Early and Often
Most sites will have a menu option that can take you to a page that lists your bonus status and how much time you have to clear the bonus. Watching your progress towards earning the requisite amount of points is not only encouraging, it also will give you a good idea of what’s required of you. Finally, you’ll always see how much longer you have before the bonus expires, which will let you know if you need to pick up the pace.
Online Poker Bonus Clearing Tip #2: Try to Favor Cash Games
If you enjoy tournaments and cash games equally, you may want to consider trying to focus on cash games a little more while you are trying to clear a bonus. Points are earned for tournaments only based on the buy-in/entry fee of the tournament. The software doesn’t care if you play 12 hands or 100, since the site already made their money on the game through the entry fee. On the other hand, you earn bonus credit for every single raked cash game hand you play, even if you fold before the flop, so cash game points can be earned much more quickly.
Online Poker Bonus Clearing Tip #3: Don’t Count Your Chickens
During the bonus clearing period is a bad time to play recklessly. Sure, you have that other money coming to you, but you don’t want to blow $2000 trying to clear a $50 bonus. Play the same, solid, disciplined, thoughtful game you always do, and not only will the bonus come to you in time, you may have also added a nice stack of chips to your bankroll.
My 50 Most Memorable Hands
An absolutely well laid-out book, narrated in a totally effortless fashion, this book is definitely a good buy. Doyle does not starts out explaining every detail, hence when you get this book, be sure that you know the basics of the game of Texas Hold ‘em. As it is, there are around, 10 hands of 50 that are not about hold ‘em hands. Be aware of them.
As Doyle elaborates the several hands, you are available with nicely detailed photographs of the cards. This way, you can get a feel of what has been shown on the table, with the story being told. This is the most amazing aspect of the book, i.e. the ability to see the cards and taking it all in. The flop, turn, and river are displayed almost all of the forty or so of the hold em hands; there are some times where he goes about telling the story sans the pictures of cards. A trivial inconvenience.
Doyle is definitely a poker legend, and it is great to now about his memories pertaining to these hands. A brilliant book, and I know that he may come up with fifty more someday!
Poker Winners Are Different
There are a large number of books on poker strategies, and most of them are quite good and have been quite useful in helping you to learn the tricks of the trade. But equally important are aspects such as your fears, your motivations, your reasons, or your responses to particular situations.
This book by Al Schoonmaker can be of great help in this regard. As a matter of fact, this new book with the title “Poker Winners Are Different” sets the bar even higher than his previous books. He identifies, as well as articulates the features of winners, as he helps you in determining whether you have those characteristic features or may cultivate them. He says, tales of poker hands are like fishing stories of the one that got away. Gambling is a common theme in storytelling, music and movies. As a matter of fact, the most powerful aspect of the book is its “interactive” approach, which helps you in self-evaluating your attitudes as well as your game for determining whether you may indeed be a winner or not.
The Aussie Millions
Ever wondered how much money could be earned by playing in poker tournaments? The answer is quite a lot and some Aussies have made a career out of winning hands.
Joe Hachem was the first Aussie to ever win the Main Event at the WSOP. This happened in 2005 and Hachem took home $7.5M from this poker tournament alone. Mel Judah, better known as the “Silver Fox”, has earned over $3M from his poker career.
So if you ever wondered how much money is in this game, you have your answer. You do have to possess superb skills and of course a lot of luck. If you have these two ingredients, the sky is the limit.
Cash Games (How to Win at No-Limit Hold'em Money Games) Vol. 1
As you fall short of the tournament series that would always happen as the cash games are far more complex, these books are definitely best for people wishing to set the transition from tournaments to cash games.
One of the most prominent advantages of the book, is that it shows as to WHY the two kinds are different, and the alteration in insight, which needs to be made.
In case you happen to be a tournament player this would certainly introduce a few ideas that you would not be at ease with and hands which you have been a bit happy to get all with in a contest are now hands which are often beat by the turn as well as beyond. However, in case you are open to new ideas and try out the concepts introduced in the book, you will definitely see an upgrading in your results. As far as the previous books are concerned, the hand problems are definitely fascinating and offer some major insight…
They will probably not be of much use for the experienced or successful cash game players, but everybody else would learn a lot. Along with these Professional No Limit Poker Vol 1 would also be a good reading.
Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. II: Endgame
Another great work by Harrington and Robertie! In fact, this book is even more powerful than the earlier volume. The book presents the authoritative text on how to think about as well as play a final table of a no limit hold em tournament. In this process, they have further redefined the game.
These two gentlemen introduce an entirely new lexicon about no limit poker: red zones, inflection points, green zones, dead zones, probe bets, as well as continuation bets.
The book has several terms and phrases, which help in clarifying the various intuitive concepts related to no limit tournament play, which are explained in a very simple manner. As a matter of fact, you may never have read a simpler or clearer book, with more powerful explanations for them. As it is, players enter the various stages, with the stack size growing and lowering the final table of a tournament. Quit like this, with other critical conceptions in no limit plays like final table play, continuation and probe bets. The authors take the ideas that exceptional players have instinctively recognized but till now have never totally expressed as well as compiled them in clear, simple language, which any player with moderate experience may readily grasp and inculcate. The hand examples that the authors think us through add to a better understanding of the game.
Even saying that this is a must-read book for each serious hold em player would be an understatement in itself. As a matter of fact, this book is cheduled to change the way, the entire game would be played in future. As a matter of fact, this book has the potential to direct further texts on the subject, to come up in the times to come.
Doyle Brunson's Super System: A Course in Power Poker
This is considered by pros to be the BEST POKER BOOK EVER WRITTEN. A classic book on each major no-limit game, which is played today and deals extensively with poker games, this book offers a number of advanced strategies, tactics, theories, as well as money-minting techniques. So, if you are serious about poker, then you should have this book. Available in paperback edition for the first time, Super System covers 608 pages of amazing information and includes fifty pages on the most accurate poker statistics that has ever been published. It also features chapters, which have been written by the superstars of the game, the best theorists as well as the best poker players of the world, like Mike Caro, Dave Sklansky, Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson and Bobby Baldwin.
It covers three world champions and is addressed by two master theorists, providing valuable winning advice on minting money on the tables. These poker superstars address the important games in depth. So, you get draw poker, 7-card stud, 7-card low stud, lowball, high-low declare, high-low split and of course hold’em. The crucial winning concepts as well as strategies have been clearly outlined as well as explained, which enables you, to be a big winner. Serious poker players should always have this book. It is more of a mandatory reading for the aspiring tournament players, or poker pros, and is simply great for players who are moving over to higher stake games. This is definitely one of the best books every written on poker- Absolutely indispensable for any poker player.
Smart Ways to Clear A Poker Bonus
What’s the smartest way to clear an online poker bonus? While most of us would like to just get that bonus added to our accounts as soon as possible, it’s not always easy to do. If you’re collecting a big sign up bonus, you may have to earn quite a few player points to clear that money. If that’s the case, you want to do it the right way.
Online Poker Bonus Clearing Tip #1: Check Your Status Early and Often
Most sites will have a menu option that can take you to a page that lists your bonus status and how much time you have to clear the bonus. Watching your progress towards earning the requisite amount of points is not only encouraging, it also will give you a good idea of what’s required of you. Finally, you’ll always see how much longer you have before the bonus expires, which will let you know if you need to pick up the pace.
Online Poker Bonus Clearing Tip #2: Try to Favor Cash Games
If you enjoy tournaments and cash games equally, you may want to consider trying to focus on cash games a little more while you are trying to clear a bonus. Points are earned for tournaments only based on the buy-in/entry fee of the tournament. The software doesn’t care if you play 12 hands or 100, since the site already made their money on the game through the entry fee. On the other hand, you earn bonus credit for every single raked cash game hand you play, even if you fold before the flop, so cash game points can be earned much more quickly.
Online Poker Bonus Clearing Tip #3: Don’t Count Your Chickens
During the bonus clearing period is a bad time to play recklessly. Sure, you have that other money coming to you, but you don’t want to blow $2000 trying to clear a $50 bonus. Play the same, solid, disciplined, thoughtful game you always do, and not only will the bonus come to you in time, you may have also added a nice stack of chips to your bankroll.
Poker Winners Are Different
There are a large number of books on poker strategies, and most of them are quite good and have been quite useful in helping you to learn the tricks of the trade. But equally important are aspects such as your fears, your motivations, your reasons, or your responses to particular situations.
This book by Al Schoonmaker can be of great help in this regard. As a matter of fact, this new book with the title “Poker Winners Are Different” sets the bar even higher than his previous books. He identifies, as well as articulates the features of winners, as he helps you in determining whether you have those characteristic features or may cultivate them. He says, tales of poker hands are like fishing stories of the one that got away. Gambling is a common theme in storytelling, music and movies. As a matter of fact, the most powerful aspect of the book is its “interactive” approach, which helps you in self-evaluating your attitudes as well as your game for determining whether you may indeed be a winner or not.
The Aussie Millions
Ever wondered how much money could be earned by playing in poker tournaments? The answer is quite a lot and some Aussies have made a career out of winning hands.
Joe Hachem was the first Aussie to ever win the Main Event at the WSOP. This happened in 2005 and Hachem took home $7.5M from this poker tournament alone. Mel Judah, better known as the “Silver Fox”, has earned over $3M from his poker career.
So if you ever wondered how much money is in this game, you have your answer. You do have to possess superb skills and of course a lot of luck. If you have these two ingredients, the sky is the limit.
Harrington on Hold 'em: Expert Strategies for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. III–The Workbook
This book comes out with Dan Harrington in the best way till date. Amazing as it might sound, finally we have a whole book devoted on the analysis of pre-flop as well as post-flop actions across each decision point of hand. More so, Harrington has got rid of the pure orthodox approach of the initial volumes. In this book, he focuses on a variable style of the game, which includes slackening against more aggressive opponents, who are hell bent on pushing you over the table. The first two volumes would give you a basic mathematically sound orthodox game. This volume focuses a lot with aggressive, “play your opponent” types of moves. This is definitely a brilliant analysis.
I simply cannot have enough of this book. Harrington literally does some spoon feeding as he takes you step by step along the decision-making processes. During the process, he improves the quality of the decisions. Although he may remain orthodox, play a hand considerably according to the potential, he focuses on more aggressive games. He addresses the merits and demerits of other kinds of games throughout, and also tells you, as to what he shall do and why. A remarkable show of poker analysis.
A few books are so brilliant, that they tend to define their field. Each book that comes thereafter might agree, disagree, or may clarify as to what a definitive book would say on the subject, yet there is definitely one thing that the subsequent books would not be able to do: they can not simply ignore it. In case you are a serious tournament poker player, then in that case, you can not ignore the Harrington series. As it is, this is a classic text dealing with Texas hold em poker tournament strategies.
The second Volume continues with the good work, moving away from the conservative approach of the first volume. And by the time you are done with reading this book, read all the top online poker updates and get the latest news, tips and poker rules at epn.org.