25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Trust the book-the odds are correct, August 25, 2005
This review is from: Illustrated Guide To Texas Hold'em: Making Winners Out Of Beginners and Advanced Players (Paperback)
I'm a big fan of this book, as it has helped me make the jump from beginner to skilled player. Therefore I was surprised to see a negative review of Purdy's odds calculation. As I use his system when I play, I of course went back to the book to see look at it closely. And guess what? It turns out that the reviewer was actually wrong, and this book is correct. The confusion lies in the difference between odds and probability, and understanding the difference is crucial if you attempt to use either at the poker table.
Let's go back to the example the review used. You have pocket cards of 6-8, and the flop is 2-3-8. What are the odds that an 8 will come on the turn? Purdy claims 45 to 2, and the reviewer claims 2 in 47. Who's right? Purdy is. You see, Purdy is calculating the odds, whereas the reviewer is calculating the probability.
Let's make this much simpler. Pretend you have a situation where there are fifteen cards left, out of which 5 cards will give you the result you desire. (I know you'll never have this few cards left in Hold 'Em, but it's easier to understand this way). Your instinct would be to say that your odds are 15 to 5, and then reduce that to 3 to 1. But that's not calculating odds, it's calculating probability. Odds are formed by this setup: [Number of cards that are not what you desire] to [number of cards that give you the desired results]. So out of 15 cards left, 10 give you the undesired result, whereas 5 give you the desired result. Therefore, the odds are 10 to 5, or 2 to 1. Much different, right? If you want to get more complicated, you can use this formula, which translates probability to odds: where x = probability, 0.x/(1−0.x) = odds. Try it yourself. If something has a 20% chance of happening, the odds of it happening are .25, or 4 to 1. Weird, but true.
So why all this high-level discussion for what's supposed to be a beginner book? It's about learning to use odds quickly. The whole point is: compare the odds of getting the card you want to how much money you're going to get back for the bet. You can get the same answer by calculating the probability, but that's much harder to do while sitting a poker table. Using odds, if you're playing against 9 other people, after the flop there will always be 47 unseen cards. All you need to do is subtract the number of out cards you have, then put the result on the left, the number of out cards on the right, and you have your odds. Do the same with the amount in the pot vs. what bet you need to call, and you have your pot odds. If you try to use probability, you're going to be doing a lot of division in your head, and under pressure you risk messing it up. The math wizards can do this, most of us can't.
So, overall this is a fantastic book for beginners, and one that I highly recommend. Trust that the author has this right. And if you're still unsure, check it out yourself.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poker lessons that are fun and easy to learn, December 9, 2005
This review is from: Illustrated Guide To Texas Hold'em: Making Winners Out Of Beginners and Advanced Players (Paperback)
I just picked up this book today and have no regrets about the 15 bucks i dropped on it (hey it's even cheaper on amazon). What makes this a better poker book than others is that it set up as a tutorial, walking you through 150 actual situations at a poker table. You have to decide what play to make and then the author tells you the correct answer. If your new to hold'em these exercises will save you money fast. There's so many stupid plays us beginners make, this book will help you eliminate these weaknesses from your game. I read brunson's super system and sklanskys theory of poker before I started playing on line a few months ago, they helped me a lot but I still lacked real game experience. This book will jump start your experience and help you make those tough decisions at poker table. You should be aware that the book deals with limit games and not no limit. Even if you play no limit I think these exercises will help strengthen your game if you haven't been playing for that long. It's a quick fun read that won't blow up your brain trying to figure out what the author is talking about. I'm sure you'll make your 10 bucks back!
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely useful and highly recommended, November 7, 2005
This review is from: Illustrated Guide To Texas Hold'em: Making Winners Out Of Beginners and Advanced Players (Paperback)
Read Sklansky and Harrington last month. Very good books and a must read for anyone interested in playing poker well. Have been playing dealer's choice poker variations for about fifteen years. Have been playing Hold'em, specifically, for about four months now.
The Sklansky and Harrington books give you a lot of theory. They teach you how to think about poker. This book gives you all practicum, which is especially great for the beginner and intermediate player. The author provides very straight forward explanations for his decisions, and in the process reinforces proper play, while also discouraging improper play.
This book is a great complement to the other two books mentioned. Will help reinforce the basics -- plays that we take for granted, forget about, and therefore get wrong under pressure. Highly recommended for anyone interested in learning solid basic game play, or for reinforcing the basics as well.
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