Customer Reviews

Hold'em Poker

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Hold'em Poker is a revision of Sklansky's classic from 1976. It was the first authoritative poker book to actually give starting hands in hold'em. Sklansky arranged the hands into eight groups and gave recommendations on which ones to open with depending on position.

In this edition he has revised the groups and corrected some minor errors. For example, 7-6s was then both the #30 hand in Group 5 and the #53 hand in Group 8. That has been corrected.

In addition to being the first book devoted exclusively to hold'em, Sklansky's little gem is perhaps the best introductory book on hold'em ever written, and then some. Sklansky does a masterful job of introducing the reader to the game, pointing out how it differs from other poker games, narrows in on the community card essence of the game, and then, amazingly enough, gives the reader information and ideas of considerable value to even seasoned players. Even if you have been playing hold'em for some time, and even if you have read Brunson's SuperSystem, I still recommend that you spend some time with this book.

Sklansky writes in a deceptively terse style so that the ideas and concepts are plainly stated without elaboration. This has frustrated some readers because in some cases what Sklansky is saying is clear at first blush, while in other cases the text seems cryptic. There are three reasons for this.

One, Sklansky thought of himself primarily as a teacher and deliberately left out some explanations while inviting readers to work out the reasoning for themselves. Serious players who want to improve their game will benefit from this approach. Take out a deck of cards and deal out some hands if necessary. For example, near the end of the section on "Odds and Implied Odds" he explains why it is often correct to call with a small pair before the flop. He notes that you'll often "win a nice pot if your card flops." He adds without further explanation, "Get out if it doesn't, unless you make an open-end straight." He wants you to work that out. If you do, you will come to note (after some study) that a draw to an open-ended straight that figures to be the nut is enormously better than an inside draw to the bottom end. I would add that if you have two sixes, the board 754 is significantly better than 987. Sklansky doesn't mention it, but in this latter case, you should usually not draw, but toss.

Two, like all experts writing for a general readership, Sklansky unconsciously takes some ideas for granted since he himself knows them so very well, but doesn't realize that the less experienced reader needs more explanation. I've read many books by experts in all sorts of fields from cosmology to Scrabble, and I can tell you that this is a common phenomenon. What the expert needs when writing a book for a general readership is a very good editor who is less than expert him- or herself. So, yes, this book would benefit from the work of a top notch editor.

An example of Sklansky's not explaining something that would be cryptic to most players comes from the "Semi-Bluffing" section of the "Strategy" chapter. First he notes that "If you never bluff on the flop or fourth street, you are giving away too much information when you do bet." Then he writes, "Rather than try to guess when to bluff, it is much better to use your cards to randomize your play." He is referring to semi-bluffing situations described in the proceeding paragraphs rather than a seat-of-your-pants bluff when you feel you haven't been bluffing enough. However, his use of the word "randomize" recalls a technique some pros use. Say it is correct to bluff one-fourth of the time in a certain situation. Everything else being equal, how do you decide? Take the first card on the flop. If it is a spade, bluff, otherwise don't. That will randomize.

Three, the expert is always aware of his learned colleagues looking over his shoulder; and so to some extent writes for that readership as well. We can see this in Sklansky's almost exhaustive treatment of how to play heads-up on fifth street in the "Strategy" chapter. Sklansky is anticipating knowledgeable critics familiar with saddle-point ideas from Game Theory, which are applicable to heads-up decisions on the river. You might profitably skim this section and save its intricacies for graduate school! But be aware that the top experts understand it very well.

I found it strangely synchronistic in rereading this book to fall upon Sklansky's ideas about the pause as a "tell." As Internet players know, how long it takes you to respond may give your opponents some information about your hand. Sklansky writes, "If a good player does not pause at all after he has bet and has been raised...he is most likely on the come for a flush or straight if such a hand is possible. With almost any other hand in this situation he has to pause to consider either folding or reraising." This is exactly the sort of "tell" that still exists in Internet play, and Sklansky's reasoning is as sound today as it was when he wrote this in the seventies.

This is not only a classic, but a book that almost thirty years after its creation is still very much worth reading. The fact that he devised his strategies originally for a game with only a single blind and an ante (the Las Vegas 10&20 hold'em game circa 1975) should be kept in mind. Yet the ideas and strategies are mostly still of great value. I played cards with Sklansky and I can tell you he is a very good player, but more than that he is a great theoretician who understands the game better than many world champions. Indeed they have learned from him.

This is an outstanding book on Hold 'Em! It takes some mental "work" to understand all of the nuances, but it's easier than the REAL work you'll have to do to replace the money lost through bad play. Most losses happen through attrition, not so-called "bad beats." Sklansky does a great job of teaching you to stop seeing the flop with garbage hands and therefore beating yourself. The low-limit games are great opportunities for making money if you'll follow the advice in this book and use DISCIPLINE. This book is not for the impatient. This book is for the person who wants to WIN! Others criticize Sklansky for being "arrogant," but he's right. Jack-ten suited is NOT the best hand, you don't HAVE TO CALL with top pair (when you know you're beat), and you need to get away from those small pairs when you don't get help on the flop. Want to win? This is THE book!

As a regular non-hold 'em poker player with friends with some success, I thought I'd see how the real thing was done. I read this book and played my first game of low limit hold 'em at a casino. 40 hours of playing later I'm even. The techniques in this book are excellent for 3,6 or 5,10 poker (especially when, as usual, there's at least three loose players at the table). I wouldn't recommend it for higher limit games or advanced players, the techniques are limited and there isn't enough advice on big pot hands. But hey, this book saved me around $500 from common sense alone, so it's ok with me. I'm still searching for a good book on pot limit or high stakes games, this isn't it.

While experts won't get much from this title, I wholly recommend it for any player with a basic understanding of the game, as well as for more experienced poker players who haven't yet tried hold 'em. The author is thorough and easy to understand for the most part, offering plenty of helpful exercises and examples to help build good hold 'em strategy. I wish I could give this four and a half stars, because it is great with one exception- the claim "updated for today's double blind structure" means a few footnotes added to the text that don't offer much insight. A warning to beginners: you won't get rich against strong players simply by reading this book once (after reading it the first time I managed to break even over a weekend in a tough $5-$10 casino game), but you should bust up a relaxed Thursday night game without much trouble. To sum up, pay attention to the lessons in this book, and you'll be several steps ahead of the average poker player. Good luck!

Sklansky does a excellent job of explaining the game. Although his theory may be complicated and confusing, this book is well worth the read. If a player studies this book, and I mean study, not just read, they will be able to do well enough in nearly any game they enter. I started playing hold 'em a little over 2 months ago (gotta love rounders) and after studying this book I can confidently play in any mid range limit game with the knowledge that I am skilled enough to make money.

Maybe my expectations were too high after reading the other reviews, but to say this book is good is an overstatement. While I won't disagree that the information presented in the book is accurate, the statements made in the book and by other reviewers that you need to study this book many times can only be because it is so poorly written.

First, there's a well known ranking of hands presented in the book. There's very little explanation as to why hands are ranked the way they are, except for a few obvious examples, so the only way to learn this is to memorize it. I would have preferred a more thorough explanation so I could figure these out on my own. In addition, it would have been nice if these had been presented in some graphical way to make the required memorization easier; in this case they are just a list.

Second, the book then moves on to "Flops you want" and a big table of examples of starting cards with Excellent Flops, Good Flops, and Fair Flops. Again, a nice table but no explanation to help a reader figure out WHY a particular flop is "Excellent," "Good," or "Fair." Again, a few obvious examples of Excellent flops are explained but it's up to the reader to figure the rest out (this is why you have to read it so many times to learn anything; you have to figure everything out on your own).

This pattern continues throughout the book. An idea is presented along with a fairly simple example, but little explanation is provided with each topic to help a reader understand why a particular concept works and most importantly, when a particular strategy is appropriate.

This book is like a flow of the author's thoughts that aren't presented in any logical fasion. He jumps from one example to the next in apparently random order so you just end up confused.

Maybe if I just keep reading it over and over I'll get it. Oh yeah, I remember once hearing that if a reader needs to read something over and over that's the author's fault; I think that applies here!

This is still the 1st best book to read for anyone wanting to play Texas Hold Em. This covers a lot of the basic strategies in simple and clear language. These days you can figure that everyone out there playing Hold Em has read this book or knows the information in it so it's an essential read. After reading this book and playing with the strategies presented, players will probably want to pick up the sequel to this book, Hold Em Poker for Advanced Players. Note: these books are primarily geared toward "ring" play or money tables, not tournament play (although concepts can apply to tournament play). If you eventually feel like you want to try out some hold em tournaments, beware of Sklansky's "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" book as it tries to cover playing in Texas Hold Em, Omaha, and 7-Card stud tournaments all at once. The information is very general and a little scattershot because of its broad scope.

This was the first poker book I read and boy was it a mistake.

First off 2+2 needs to update their theories on Holdem to today's game. Instead of having foot notes saying "this" or "that" doesn't apply anymore "so ignore it". Why not just re-write parts and print new editions?

Second, while I have no doubt the book is chuck full of great poker theory, it is hard to understand the way he presents it. I had read a few reviews above expressing this opinion and purchased this book anyway. I'm sorry I did.

All in all, maybe a book worth reading if you have allready read Doyle Brunson's "Super System" and Lee Jones's "Winning Low Limit Hold'em" and still want more.

This was the first keen analysis of the game AND Sklansky's first book. Many of the ideas in this work were crafted into his later _Theory of Poker_. The book is somewhat dated in that D.S. undervalues the importance of position and underrates the profit potential of smaller pocket pairs. His writing style is stiff, not languid, and does not lend itself to easy reading. Many gambling pros speak their thoughts in an abrupt, abbreviated fashion and D.S. carried it over into his written product. He describes pot odds he anticipates at the close of betting as "implied odds", a phrase copied by other writers. If they are anticipated odds why shouldn't they be called that? D.S. seems to derive less of his income from the tables and more from author's royalties and consulting fees (he has advised casinos to abandon the three for two bonus on naturals in twenty-one). He has also stated that no one had published any insightful word on poker prior to 1976 (his book). His notoriety has gone to his head. This is a gratuitous slight to Herbert O. Yardley's _Education of a Poker Player_ published in 1957. However, this revised 1976 book is still worthwhile reading, for Hold'em and poker in general, and not reading it would be a mistake.

"Hold'em Poker" by David Sklansky is about as good as poker books get. This is not a Johnnie-come-lately effort trying to cash in on the new found popularity of Hold'em Poker. This is a solid classic that has been around for a while.

Even though this book has some age on it, the odds and probabilities in Poker haven't haven't changed, and neither has the value of this book. If you are going to play Hold'em for money, this is an essential book.

This is an fundamental background work, necessary homework for serious Poker players. It is not a simple, entertaining read. It contains real information that requires serious consideration.

Failure to read and understand this book will put you at risk of being a "producer". One losing session will cost you many times the price of this book.