CardSharp

subtitle: expert play for no-limit tournaments

Author: Mitchell Cogert – website for the book

Publisher:  Self Published/CreateSpace

Since I took forever to review Cogert’s previous book, Play Razz Poker To Win, and he was still kind enough to send me an evaluation copy of his latest I figured I’d try to be a bit more timely.

Compared to the previous book, this one is on a topic a lot of people actually care about.  There’s no question that NL holdem tournament poker was responsible for the poker boom and it is the fomat the probably draws the most interest from new players.  Hell, my parents who do not know the first thing about holdem just got invited to someone’s little home tournament.  As such, beginner’s books targeted at this audience make a lot of sense. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Mitchell Cogert – website for the book

Publisher:  Self Published/CreateSpace

This is one of only two books currently in print on the topic of razz poker.  The other is Sklansky on Razz/Sklansky on Poker which I previously reviewed.  There are also a few pages in the lowball section of Supersystem.  I was unaware this book existed, but Mitchell contacted me out of the blue and was kind enough to send me a review copy, so I owe it to him to (belatedly) get around to reviewing it. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: David Sklansky

Publisher: 2+2 Publishing

Sklansky on Poker is a little known 2+2 book. It started life as Sklansky on Razz. Only one problem – no one plays razz anymore except for the occasional HORSE game and a few medium stakes online games. So what 2+2 did is take the orginal text, tack some essays by Sklansky on the front, take razz out of the title, and voila – a new book for the 21st century.

You’ll notice that I gave this book two different star ratings. That’s not a mistake. The 5-star rating is for the essays. The 3-star rating is for the old Sklansky on Razz text. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Bob Ciaffone

Publisher: Self Published

There’s something very weird about Omaha players, and especially authors of Omaha books. They seem to be unable to view their game in the context of what’s really going on in the poker world. I have yet to read an Omaha book that doesn’t claim Omaha is “The Game Of The Future!” and “The Action Game!” or some very similar nonsense. I’m beginning to suspect the guys who write Omaha books just copy eachother’s introductions.

The reality is somewhat different. You’ll find 50 mid-stakes holdem games in Vegas for every one Omaha game. Omaha is the game of the future in the same way flying cars are the commuter vehicle of the future. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Roy Cooke

Publisher: ConJelCo

Real Poker II is a collection of Roy Cooke’s Card Player columns focusing on the play of middle limit holdem hands taken from his play in Las Vegas.  In each hand, Roy describes the situation and one or more key decisions, and then tells the reader what he believes is the correct course of action and why. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Mason Malmuth

Publisher: 2+2

Poker essays is a book that I like very much in concept. Mason’s introduction is to my mind spot on: the most important thing a serious player should do is think about the game. Poker Essays consists of a series of short to medium length essays by Malmuth that encourage the reader to do just that, namely think about areas of the game they may not have considered. These essays cover a broad range of topics and are connected in only the loosest fashion, so the reader is free to read in chunks or out of order. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: John Feeney

Publisher: 2+2

This book is pretty good. It may surprise a lot of readers, however, because despite the fact that Feeney is a degreed psychologist he takes an approach to poker psychology that more poker and less psychology. The book is a collection of essays by Feeney with only limited connections between them. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Alan Schoonmaker

Publisher: 2+2

This is a book likely to surprise a lot of readers. I wouldn’t say title is misleading per se, but the book might be better titled The Self-Psychology of Poker because the book’s entire approach is essentially self-help in nature. Read the rest of this entry »

Authors: David Sklansky & Mason Malmuth

Publisher: 2+2

Hold’em Poker for Advanced Players has been the single most recommended book for mid-stakes limit holdem play since it came out. It has substantial strengths and weaknesses, and the prospective buyer needs to take these into account before deciding whether to purchase it. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: David Sklansky & Ed Miller

Publisher: 2 + 2

There aren’t a lot of books written about cash game no limit holdem. For a long time, the Supersystem chapter has been the definitive source of information on the subject. This book is the first meaningful publication on the topic in several years. However, it’s a real mixed bag. Read the rest of this entry »