Requested Book Reviews

Hi Everyone:

In my book Gambling Theory and Other Topics there are a bunch of book reviews. However, this book was last updated in 2004 and I've written a bunch of reviews over the years since that last update that appeared in the Two Plus Two Online Poker Strategy Magazine. Also, there have been some requests to get these reviews published again so I'm getting them together and will repost them in this thread.

A couple of points. When I review a book, it gets a rating of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best plus some comments from me. The reviews I'm going to post received my rating at the time they were written and if I was doing one of these reviews today the rating might be different. This has something to do with increased understanding of the subject matter, especially if the subject is no-limit hold 'em.

I'll also be adding some "Current Comments" to the reviews where I see fit. In addition, all comments on the reviews are welcome.

Reviews Written after 2004

Super System 2 (7) by Doyle Brunson. Even though this is not a bad book, it certainly comes in under expectation. It has a number of problems. First and foremost, while short chapters of 50 to 80 pages may have worked well in the original Super/System when the poker literature was still quite sparse, that’s not the case today where there are a number of 300 page plus books which are detailed and very accurate. Thus it fails when compared to the depth of other books that are available for specific games.

This problem becomes compounded by the inclusion of over 200 pages of material that in my opinion is questionable at best. This includes Crandell Addington’s “History of No-Limit Hold ‘em,” Doyle’s chapter on “Online Poker,” Mike Caro’s “43 Exclusive Super/System 2 Tips from Mike Caro’s University” which while worthwhile for a beginner is too elementary for a book of this stature, and the World Poker Tour chapter by Steven Lipscom.

Two other serious problems are the fact that parts of the book are written at a high school level, and the very important no limit chapter is essentially the same as the one that appeared in the original Super/System. Expert poker players are not necessarily expert writers and some professional editing was sorely needed, and those who bought this book to see what changes Doyle would have made to his no limit strategy after over 25 years are going to be very disappointed.

On the other hand, the chapter on Omaha eight-or-better is excellent, it contains the only write up (as of this moment) of triple draw lowball, and I thought the seven-card stud eight-or-better section offers some good advice. It also contains a chapter on pot-limit Omaha but I’m not knowledgeable enough in that game to comment on it.

So while I think that Super System 2 is worthwhile, I also believe it could have been much better. Perhaps in a few years an improved version will come out.

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Ace on the River; An Advanced Poker Guide (10) by Barry Greenstein. There are many people who are pretty good players but who can’t crack the small circle of really top players. Much of the reason for this has very little to do with their skill at the poker table, it has to do with psychological holes in their make up. Barry Greenstein is perhaps the most successful poker player of the last few years, and this book does a pretty good job of explaining why that’s the case.

Put another way, it’s about how a pretty good player can always play his best, and avoid those times when he doesn’t. Here’s an example: “There is great value in playing side games with seats available for emotionally drained players who just got knocked out of the daily event at a tournament. Don’t be one of the victims. If you last a long time in a tournament, don’t play in a side game immediately after getting knocked out. Tournament play is more tiring than side-game play.”

A few people have objected to this book because with the exception of some hand examples at the end, it’s not a how too text. They feel that while many topics are touched, there is not enough in depth discussion on how to actually play. While I think this point has some merit, it’s also not the purpose of Ace on the River. As Greenstein has stated on our forums at www.twoplustwo.com, there are other books that concentrate on this area. He is targeting those players who should be doing much better than they actually do, and to this end I believe he accomplishes his goal.

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Stepping Up (3) by Randy Burgess. The idea here is to give guidelines for those who want to move from home games to more serious low limit games in a public cardroom or on the Internet. While this concept certainly has merit, too much of the given advice is confused and convoluted as well as being weak tight. For example, on page 57 it states when playing against a tight player: “Or if you got AK before the flop in hold ’em, you fold right behind a tight raiser who you’ve watched only raise with QQ or better rather than trap yourself with a dominated hand.” Well, while this advice is probably correct against a queens or better raiser, I can’t remember ever playing against someone who was this restrictive. In addition, to be completely sure of something like this would probably require hundreds of hours of close observation of this opponent in action.

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Professional Poker; The Essential Guide to Playing for a Living (8) by Mark Blade. Despite it’s title, this is not a book on strategy, rather it addresses those other issues that serious players have to wrestle. Topics include quitting your day job, how much you can make playing poker, loaning money, bankroll requirements, staking, getting your poker education, what’s it like to be a full time pro, emotional issues, and a few strategy tips (at the end).

Some of the sections, such as the discussion of staking and how 300 big bets is not a precise bankroll requirement were quite good. But I also feel the book has its flaws. First off, dispite the author’s statement to the contray, much of this material has been written elsewhere. Second, if the 282 pages of text would have only been about 200, it would come across much better. At times it seemed that sentences/paragraphs were just added to take up space. And third, the constant promotion of his other (not yet published) books does get annoying.

However, even with these drawbacks, many of you, especially if you’re relatively new to poker, may want to pick up this text. This is particularly true if poker is something that you might be very serious about.

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The following reviews have been added after 11/24/05

Weighing the Odds In Hold’em Poker (8) by King Yao.In many ways this is a very good limit hold 'em book. Some of the analysis and discussions are terrific and it’s at a level of detail that should help even the most serious players, and the short handed chapters are some of the best material currently published in this area.

However, the reason my rating isn’t higher is that I also thought the book was flawed in some aspects. One example is what the author calls DIPO or “Do I have pot odds.” All this is is a way to compare your potentially good cards plus the size of the pot to the cards that fail to complete your hand. While there is nothing wrong with it mathematically, it does create much unnecessary work that would be very difficult to do at the poker table. In fact, if this section was removed from the book without replacement, this text would have received a rating of 9 instead of an 8.

Another problem has to do with the way some of the analysis is done. Yao seems to rely a little too much on “hot and cold” simulations where all cards are dealt out without regard to betting action. For example, when holding ace-ten offsuit in the big blind against a raise from a solid player “from early/middle position” he concludes “You are offered higher pot odds to see the flop, so it is worthwhile to call. Be quick to dump your hand if the flop does not fit your hand.” In my opinion, this hand in this spot should always be folded before the flop. Part of the reason, is that against a solid player who raises from early position, ace-ten offsuit will frequently either win a little or lose a lot. Thus lack of playability needs to be taken into account and Yao fails to do so.

Another example. Yao states “If many players have limped in, ace-queen-suited can be a reasonable raising hand, but king-jack suited no longer is.” I routinely raise with both of these hands in this spot.

Again, this is still a very good book despite these problems, and I do recommend it.

Current Comment: This book has stood the test of time much better than most poker books that are 12 years old. So this is another indication that my rating of 8 may have been low. In addition, I would now call from the big blind with the ace-ten offsuit in today's more aggressive games where typical players now have a much wider raising range.

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How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker; The Wisdom of Dickie Richards (2) by Penn Jillette and Mickey D. Lynn. From my point of view this book is a major disappointment. First off, there is very little “how to” instructions contained in the text. It is mostly a book of bizarre stories from someone who they call Dickie Richards but whose real name is not revealed about all the money he has stolen from different people.

Second, it is full of four letter words and many demeaning expressions, and is simply one of the most crude and vulgar books I have ever read. Perhaps that’s the “Penn Jillette style” and some of you might find it mildly entertaining, but in my opinion there’s little worthwhile information here and both authors should be ashamed of themselves.

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Poker Protection; Cheating ... and the World of Poker (10) by Steve Forte. For those who don’t know, Steve Forte is recognized by many as the world’s foremost authority on cheating. This includes all casino games as well as poker, but this book concentrates solely on poker. The text includes much discussion of all the different cheating options (and many variations) that are out there as well as lengthy discussions on how to protect yourself. Many photographs are also available. Topics include collusion, sleight of hand, holding out, marked cards, tournaments, online poker, and much more. Simply put this is must reading for the serious player, especially if you play in a home game where your risk is much higher. I found much of the material to be fascinating and learned a great deal from it.

Current Comment: Unfortunately, this book is difficult to find today.

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How Good is Your Limit Hold’em (8) by Byron Jacobs with Jim Brier. This is a book of hand problems where the author steps you through the hand in a question and answer format. His answers show the thinking that is required in a game as complex as limit hold ’em and should be good practice for intermediate players who are striving to improve their games.

There are three reasons my rating is not higher. First, many of the questions concern situations which to me are highly debatable, yet the author gives definite answers. For instance, saying that calling is clearly a better play than raising when you have Q♦T♦ on the button after three players have limped in is in my opinion not clear. I think that rasing is often the better play. A game this complex is not as cut and dry as Jacobs sometimes represents it.

Second, I flat out disagree with a few of the answers. For instance, before the flop if I’m one off the button in a six handed game that is populated by tight players, the two players to my right both fold, and my hand is 8♣7♣, I’m raising every time, not folding as Jacobs recommends. Part of the reason for this raise is to help balance my raises those times my hand consists of bigger cards.

Third, I found the layout of the book to be awkward. Having the answers on separate pages that follow the problems made it necessary to frequently go back and forth between pages which in turn made the information somewhat difficult to read and retain. A better layout in my opinion is to have each answer immediately follow each question.

However, despite these criticism, this is a pretty good book and those of you who are still working on your game should benefit from it. Just keep in mind that there should be more flexibility in your strategy than is shown here and that some of the answers may not be framed in a complete context.

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The Making of a Poker Player (5) by Matt Matros. Along with the poker boom there is also an avalanche of poker books. Many of these are autobiographical in nature with some strategy discussion thrown in. In general, I find these books boring and egotistical, and don’t see their appeal (and they usually don’t sell very well). This text is a typical example as the author takes us from playing poker in his dorm room to becoming a tournament star. The book is well written so some of you may find it more entertaining than I did, and the strategy advice should be helpful to those of you who are relatively new to poker. But the fact is, the more I read the more bored I got.

Part of the reason my rating of this book is lower than what most would give it is that Matros recommends books by authors such as Ken Warren, Gary Carson, and Ken Buntjer which I feel should be left off of any reading list. For someone who is claiming to be giving expert advice, it’s my opinion that these recommendations show his thinking about some aspects of poker to be highly flawed. In addition, he seems hostile towards many things that are associated with our company Two Plus Two Publishing LLC including our website at www.twoplustwo.com. So perhaps that is clouding my judgement a little.

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Play Poker Like Johnny Chan (8) by Johnny Chan and Mark Karowe. For those of you relatively new to poker, this is a surprisingly good book. While the text is fairly short, it does contain good discussions on several different poker games including limit hold ’em, no limit hold ’em, seven-card stud, seven-card stud eight-or-better, (limit) Omaha high, Omaha eight-or-better, and pot limit Omaha. There is also discussion on tournament strategy and general poker concepts, plus some filler material. While a few advanced ideas do appear, most of the text is designed to teach solid play and is aimed mostly at low limit games. You won’t be able to play like Johnny Chan after reading this, but it will get you started down the right path. And as Chan says, you then need to “practice, practice, practice.”

Current Comment: Some people I knew who were familiar with this book were surprised my rating was as high as it was. But I did like the book.

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How to Win No-Limit Hold’em Tournaments (2) by Tom McEvoy and Don Vines. Yet another book written on poker tournaments by McEvoy and another writer that says very little. Most of the advice is centered around the idea of being aggressive, especially from late position, but to also make sure to protect your stack. But it contains very little advice that is specific in any way, and after reading it I don’t believe that new players would have any more of an idea as to how they are suppose to approach tournament play than before they picked up this text.

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The following reviews have been added after 1/24/06

Poker: The Real Deal (4) by Phil Gordon and John Grotenstein. This is an introduction to poker and the poker lifestyle. But I found it very disappointing. Part of the problem is that the book seems to describe poker from a point of view of “this is the way we would like for it to be” than from “this is the way it is.” So we’re told to act like a drunk, have lots of heart, and what kind of clothes to wear. Maybe someone new to poker will find this interesting, but I certainly don’t.

Another problem with the book is that it touches on a great deal of strategy, much of which is highly questionable. For example, on page 57 it explains how in limit hold ’em if you check raise when the flop comes K♠T♦9♣ after you have flopped a set of tens, you may get the third player to fold for two bets when they hold “a potentially dangerous hand that otherwise might have been worth a call, like K♦J♦ or Q♣T♠.” Well almost no one is ever going to fold either of these two hands for just two bets, and they shouldn’t.

The reason I don’t rate this book lower is that it is well written and some of you may find it entertaining. But for someone like myself who has spent a lot of time in public cardrooms, it has little value.

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Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book; Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Texas Hold’em (8) by Phil Gordon. This is a surprisingly good book that quickly goes through many points of strategy dealing with no-limit hold ’em and exactly how the author plays in specific situations. It is more geared for tournament play than cash game play, but much of the material is applicable for both. For instance, Gordon explains why he likes to raise a little less when he is first in from an early position than when he is first in from a later position. It has to do with the fact that his average first in raising hand up front is much stronger than his average first in raising hand when he could be stealing — a good point that I’ve never seen any place else.

The reason I don’t rate the book higher is that parts of it are in major need of a professional editor, and one section about BOW, short for “Biggest Online Winner” is analyzed incorrectly. Gordon needs to understand when he holds A♣K♦ and the flop comes A♥7♠6♠ that the possible hands he gives for BOW are not equally likely. Specifically, if BOW plays virtually all hands, he’s much more likely to have a weak “gut-shot straight draw” than either a set or a straight-flush draw. On the other hand, given that Gordon has probably raised when he holds an ace-king, many of the potential gut-shot hands that BOW could have would have been folded before the flop. No wonder Gordon states “I’ve tried to emulate his cash-game style to some extent, although I haven’t been nearly as successful with it as he has.”

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Making the Final Table; No Limit Texas Hold ’em Strategies for Surviving and Thriving (7) by Erick Lindgren. This is a short quick summary of how the author plays major poker tournaments where he has been very successful. It’s based on an aggressive approach than on one where the emphasis is just on survival. This includes making many small raises before the flop early in the tournament when the chip stacks are still deep relative to the blinds with the intention of outplaying your opponents on the later streets, and taking advantage of opponents who begin to play too tight in their effort to just make the money. There are also discussions of playing in the middle stages and the playing at the final table including how to play against the big and small stacks. There’s also a section on poker math written by Matt Matros.

This text is a good overview of how this successful style works and touches on many topics that tournament players need to consider. However, the reason it doesn’t rate higher is due to its short length. It’s sort of like putting dots on paper without drawing the lines to connect them. While the information that’s here is worthwhile and accurate, it needs to be explained in more detail with more detailed examples. So most of you should view it as supplemental reading.

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Kill Phil (10) by Blair Rodman and Lee Nelson. In Tournament Poker for Advanced Players David Sklansky introduced a simple all-in strategy which he called “The System,” and which would give a complete novice a chance in a major tournament. This book picks up where Sklansky left off and presents a powerful tournament strategy based on the all-in move. In fact, it presents four such strategies from “Rookie” to “Expert,” and there’s no question that the better tournament players are not going to appreciate these all-in tactics.

There’s also some very good discussion on how the best players use “small ball” to get the money and how to defend against these experts, and the sample tournament towards the end of the text is also quite helpful. A must read, especially for those of you just getting into the poker tournament scene.

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The Book of Bluffs; How to Bluff and Win at Poker (5) by Mat Lessinger. I found this to be an uneven and confusing work that to be fair was difficult to evaluate. Most of the book the author goes from one bluff to another with little coherence between the hands. He underestimates the value of the semi-bluff, especially in limit games, and doesn’t seem to understand that identifying situations where your expectation is positive is more important than having your opponent fold. The bluffs seem very results oriented and some of the reasons for their success, such as the top card pairing on the river, aren’t even mentioned. And finally the bluffs move from limit to no-limit to no-limit tournaments with the author not recognizing the differences between how these very dissimilar games should be approached and how typical players play them.

On the other hand, there are some positives. Counting your bluff outs, something that very few consider, is a worthwhile idea, knowing when your opponent is close to all-in is important, and knowing when to listen to your opponent has value. So some of the analysis is reasonably good.. A pretty good player who can recognize all the weaknesses may find some value here.

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Over the next few days, I'll be adding more reviews in additional posts in this thread.

Best wishes,
Mason