Customer Reviews

The Badass Girl's Guide to Poker: All You Need to Beat the Boys

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm very glad I purchased this book with a gift certificate. I'd be quite annoyed had I used my own money. There are a few useful chapters in the book (none of which includes anything that couldn't be found online -- for free), but they are completely overshadowed by chapters with names such as "Playing the Dumb Blond: Using Being Female to Your Advantage," "Lucky at Cards, Lucky at Love: Meeting Men Through Poker," and "Queen of Hearts: Improved Relationships Through Poker."

Bochan tries; I give her that. She, however, spends too much time painfully attempting to compare poker playing with "feminine" things that "badass girls" can relate to (I do hope that was her editor's idea, not her own.). Examples: 1. When explaining a round of betting: "One way to indicate that you're checking is to tap your fingers on the table. So there's a perfectly good reason why you need to paint those pretty nails before the game. You don't want something as superficial as chipped polish to chip away at your confidence." 2. On poker etiquette: "Just as you wouldn't dare to show up at a dinner party without a nice bottle of wine or flowers, you shouldn't sit down at a poker table without mastering the basic etiquette." 3. On following the rules: "[Following the rules] keeps the game running smoothly as your fresh-shaven legs and lets everyone concentrate on the action at hand."

Let's not forget the entire chapter dedicated to setting up a girls' poker night. A fun way to add "femme flair" to the night, according to Bochan, is to "[p]ass around a tiara instead of a dealer button to show who's dealing." Wait... I've a better idea. Why not invest in a red dealer button and call it a "period"? "Look!" you and the rest of the girls could exclaim (in between giggles) when it's Tiffani's turn to deal. "Tiffani's got her period!"

If I were interviewing Donald Trump about business strategies, I wouldn't ask him how he felt when he made a huge business deal on Ivanka's first day of preschool. Nor would I ask him if he'd ever thought about not wearing pink ties in the board room on "The Apprentice." I'd ask him about, well, his business strategies. In the chapter entitled "Chicks with Chips: Tips, Tricks, and Girl Talk with Two Pros," Bochan interviews two female professional poker players. Here are two questions Bochan asks Annie Duke, one of only three women who "won the coveted gold bracelets at open events at the World Series of Poker" in 2004: "[Y]ou were almost full-term with Lucy during the 2000 World Series of Poker, where you finished tenth -- can you talk a little about how it was to play?" and "[D]o you ever consider dressing more sexy or differently to use that to your advantage?"

The two hours I spent with this book weren't all for naught, however. Bochan does spend four pages on Texas Hold `Em Strategy which have proved quite helpful to me. If you're looking for books on actual poker strategy, I suggest you go with the classics. Bochan's acknowledgments page says it all: "I hope I never again have to write a book in as short a time as I wrote this one[.]"

I bought this book for my wife, as she seemed to be developing an interest in the game of poker. She read the book and now she's beating me at my own game! (Good news is she shares her winnings so it all works out in the end...) She got some copies for her friends and now they've started a poker game of their own and are loving every minute of it.

I had to see what the fuss was about so I read the book myself. Know what? It's great! Author is very funny - book is written w/ charm & wit. Also it explains things in a very clear way (I even got a copy for my mom!)

Anyway, I'd recommend 100% for any women looking to get into the game, or for the guys who want to figure out how those women keep taking our money. Also, I love the interviews w/ the famous female players - interesting stuff!

The Badass Girl's Guide to Poker is a hilarious, easy-to-follow guide that makes learning to play poker a breeze. In this book, you don't only learn strategy and what beats what, but you really get an introduction to the what the game's all about. For me, I FINALLY understand why poker is such a huge trend right now. Toby Leah Bochan's book gives you all the information you need to be a good player, as well as a million fun suggestions for things like how to talk your way into a traditional boys game and how to start your own poker night. After reading the book I got some of my friends together to play Texas Hold 'Em, and we had an awesome time (MUCH better than a movie night!). There are also handy lists at the end of the book with the ranks of hands, lingo, and a quick and dirty guide to playing Texas Hold 'Em. All-in-all, it's a fast read that will give you all you need to know to fit right in with the whole poker craze, and you can read it in a weekend.

I'd recommend this book for women who are beginners to poker or who intend to play just for kicks in a fun, home game. If one is looking for more advanced poker strategy, there are better books to turn to. The best part of the book is the chapter on poker lingo. Knowing the language is an important part of table image and Bochan covers all the necessary terms well so an attentive reader will not look like a novice. If only she had delved further into poker strategy- some illustrated examples would have helped.

It's not that I'm not a badass, or that I don't "get" it. It's that this book on poker was about 2 chapters of actual content, most of which was bare-bones mechanics of playing, and not that useful to actually calculating odds and winning the game. The rest was about how to attract a man at the poker table, how to dress for poker, basically, how to play into every tired stereotype of "a badass girl." When I read the gratuitous lists of suggested movies and songs, I knew I was reading a book in which the author had really been stretching to find something to say. Ms. Bochan: Doyle Brunsen can go on for a thousand pages about poker. If you have to come up with unimaginative song lists and interviews (interesting, but not especially helpful to learning how to "beat the boys"), you're not quite ready to write a book.

This book has good advice about playing poker for beginners, how to set up a home game and how to play in different environments. The author dedicates a portion of the book to playing poker as a way for women to meet men. Although that didn't meet my needs it was funny to read and might be helpful for readers looking for that advice. The author also includes handy tip sheets in the back of the book that can be photocopied and used by novices. Worth a read!

Although this book may be satisfactory, do NOT buy the poker set, which includes a summed-up version of this book, along with four shot glasses, four stir sticks, coasters, and a pack of cards. It is absolutely not worth your time or money. It cost forty dollars Canadian, and the book is information you can simply find for free online. I'm working on getting a refund right now.

This book is a lot of fun to read and pays for itself after a few games of poker. I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to learn the game and have fun doing it.

This book is great! I was not familiar with Texas Hold 'em and feel like I would be confortable being in a game after reading it. The style is terrific- I look forward to more from this author!