Customer Reviews

Ken Warren Teaches Texas Hold'em

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

If you haven't read any books on Poker or attended any courses and are interested in learning about Texas Hold'em, then this is a good book to start with. I really liked how he included the tables of odds to drive home why you should play certain hands and not others. In addition I had never thought of pot odds and why you should play some hands only when the pot odds dictated. Although it is all common sense, if you've never thought about it, it is eye opening. Even his break down on what you hope to accomplish by betting is a good read. So if you're just getting into Texas Hold'em and aren't a poker wiz, then you'll find lots of well organized, and thought out material to improve your game and change your thinking.

After this book, some of the others may make more sense.

A couple of my friends got me started playing No Limit Hold 'Em. I knew nothing about poker. I started watching poker more on TV, and started playing with friends more, but I was still horrible at it. I bought this book, and it totally changed everything in my game. It teaches you so much. Now that I've read it over and over, and have had months of playing, I'm ready to move to the next level, and try a more advanced book like "The Theory of Poker." If your a beginner, or even a step above, this book can really improve your game. Now all my poker buddies have even read it and their going to buy other books as well!

Some of the sections in this book include...

playing with an ace
starting hands
raising
bluffing
semi-bluffing
short-handed games
position
check-raising
tells
reading the board
odds
pre flop, flop, turn, river play

This book will cost you money. The recommended play is too loose pre-flop, and too tight/passive post-flop. For example, cards that add to 20 or 21 are recommended starting hands. The problem is that weak offsuit broadway hands are big losers in early position. Postflop, this book is too much like Lou Krieger's "fit or fold" nonsense.

As a guy whose first holdem book was Ken Warren's Winners Guide to Texas Holdem, believe me when I say it took me years to unlearn some of this garbage. Warren is confused. Stay away.

Although I play poker frequently, I had played hold 'em exactly ONE time before I read Ken's book. It lays out the basics for the beginner in a logical and organized fashion. It discusses starting hand strategy, position, playing with aces, and raising. It also devotes a section to odds, which is essential knowledge if one is to become an effective hold 'em player.

What I specifically like is the "if-then" approach that Ken uses. He lays out specific scenarios, analyzes them, and then identifies pitfalls and opportunities. Other books I have read often use "it depends" too often for my liking. Well, it always depends! Ken really offers some specific options on how to play in certain situations. And he informs the reader about the things they need to be aware of in certain situations.

Lastly, Ken offers specific advice on how to analyze your own play and keep track of your playing sessions. He also offers specific exercises for expanding and improving your game.

I thought Ken's book provided an excellent foundation for the beginning hold 'em player. The concepts he outlines are on the simple side, but he provides an extensive level of detail when he explains them. I have read it 3 times and still consult it frequently. I have also recommended it to my friends....every one of them who have purchased his book have found it to be well worth the money.

Warren covers a lot of ground, maybe too much, with this book but never really ties it all together into a cohesive strategy. A big plus is that the book is easy to read (unlike Sklansky) but with that readability comes only a superficial examination of each topic with no more than a few pages dedicated to each. Although the book tops out at over 400 pages it could easily be condensed into about 150...so don't think that quantity here implies quality. Ultimately, it's an ok read on a lot of hold'em topics that never gets too deep into anything.

Now that online poker literally pays all my bills, I can come back to this book with a much deeper understanding of the game (and this book). Let me start off: there are much better limit hold 'em books for the beginner. The advice is weak-tight and the starting preflop hands are far from optimal (I think he recommends limping J9s in middle position and other -EV advice). Also, there is a lot of useless information for the beginner - specifically statistics. A beginner shouldn't be worrying about how many combinations of hands there are or how often we get dealt a pocket pair.. NO. they should be worried about the reasoning behind the preflop raise or why not to call a preflop raise with KJo from a tight player in early position.

After playing "play money" and freerolls for about 6 months I took the plunge and bought this book. The book has a "read this chapter then do exercises" structure. Its for Limit only. For No-Limit try Super System or other texts. If you follow the advice then the book will enable you to TEACH yourself holdem and develop a good solid foundation. The key is DISCIPLINE and with a little practice you can become that "tight aggresive" player that can win many big bets per hour from most microlimit players. In order to benefit from most poker books you should read them, apply what they say and reread and fully understand the ideas. You cannot just read a book once and know it, rather youve got to play and experiences the situations in real life to appreciate and remember them. Ken Warrens system should teach you this but you also need to be able to adjust your play to suit the game you are in. This is necessary so that you dont become predictable.

What Im saying is that if you teach yourself Ken Warren style (which starts off tight) then adjust according to the game you are playing then you should show consistent results over time.

Overall great book. Definitely worth the money. Sweet.

Good/Memorable parts of the book
- "reasons to raise" section
- odds and outs section (standard stuff you just gotta know)
- exercise that tells you to create a playing log
- "how to play aces" section
- overall info on reading hands (of course, its hard to read hand of a microlimit FISH but the principles of reading your oppontent is critical so dont worry if you get a bad read, learn from it and move on)

Things that could be better or added to complete this book
playing microlimit (since most people start out at lowest stakes possible)
- playing online
- limit tourney play

If anyone can recommend any good texts or sites that discuss the areas above (ie playing micro online and limit tourney play) please post a review.....thanks

This is a terrible book. I am shocked to see the average rating of 4 stars. Even if i changed my mind and said this book is OK, why would you purchase it when you can buy GREAT poker books instead? For absolute beginners, get "Poker for Dummies". Then if you want to learn more, move on to learn Limit hold'em. I suggest Lee Jones' "Winning Low Limit Hold'em" or Ed Miller's "Small Stakes Hold'em". Then move onto No-Limit hold'em, i suggest Dan Harrington's "Harrington on Hold'em" series of books.

I've just started playing Hold 'Em in big casual games. I can play competently but have no knowledge of advanced strategies and odds and everything that makes you an actual good player. So after a quick persual of the selection of books I bought this one. Within 10 minutes of reading it at home I knew I had made a mistake. The first red flag was when I was reading the author's introduction...this man has no championship credentials whatsoever. The most impressive claim they can come up with is "He has been asked to not play in tournaments to give other players a chance to win". Uhh...great.

Second, the book claims to be the most comprehensive Hold 'Em book ever written, but it pays pretty much no attention to the complete begginner.

Third, and most seriously, No Limit Hold 'Em is not addressed at all. This should have been much more clearly communicated on the cover.

I can't speak to the validity or usefulness of the concepts in this book, just know what you are buying.

This book covers absolutely EVERY angle of texas hold'em. A must for anyone wanting to improve their poker skills. I've read many books on hold'em and this book incorporates all of the other books into one title. I highly recommend for all poker players.