Customer Reviews

No-Limit Texas Hold'em: The New Player's Guide to Winning Poker's Biggest Game

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I do confess I am a novice NL hold 'em player. I mean really -- what do I know about poker books? Still I have found this book an excellent source for laying down fundamental and basic NL strategy as well as answering a lot of the questions I had about the NL game (like, "how the heck do I know how much to bet??"). The negative reviews here seem to harp on the fact that this book is too basic. Well , let's see.....Wow, how about that?!?! It says "NEW PLAYER SERIES" on the cover.

Seriously, if you are a NL new player, I think this is a great place to start and build upon. I can't speak for more advanced players, but I imagine this book would be a good source for all levels. The book has a friendly, easy to read style and is filled with plenty of scenarios you might find yourself in at the table. You'll find all of the key concepts are pretty much covered -- starting hands, position, reading players, tournament strategies, All-in situations, etc.

The book is not without flaws: no serious discussion of pot odds and outs, virtually nothing on playing the turn and river [although you must realize must pro's want to win a pot pre-flop and/or on the flop. The whole point of NL is to make it too expensive for your opponent to see the next card(s).]

But overall this book provides the foundation for solid play. If you are new to the NL game -- START HERE!

This book is writen by two poker players one of which has published several of the biggest books in No Limit and Pot Limit poker. The book starts with a chapter for someone who has never played Hold'em poker at all. It's very quick and they recomend that if you know the game you can move past it.
Tom and Brad lay out not only the bacis ideas behind when and how to bet in a no-limit game but they explain why. They write in a basic style that is easy to follow. This allows them to help you think more about poker hands and how they recommend you play them. The book has lots of scenarios and they explain the varous poker plays that are covered. If you are a hands on learner this is your book. I recomend the book for anyone thinking about getting in a No-Limit game.

I am astounded to read the reviews below giving this book one star because it is "for beginners" or "very basic". Across the top of the front cover of this book is a banner that reads: "The NEW PLAYER Series". Below the title it reads: "The new player's guide to winning poker's biggest game". You would think people would rate a book high if it lives up to its premise. This book is SUPPOSED to be for beginners.

The first 25-30 pages are aimed at people new to hold'em, to bring them up to speed. After that, it is the basics of no-limit hold'em play, pretty much everything you need to know to get started.

Judging by how the majority of players out there (on the internet and in brick-and-mortar casinos) play, most people would benefit from a good fundamental understanding of the basics.

This book teaches you these basics. The only problem with some of the other literature out there on no-limit is that it assumes you are an experienced player. We needed a good basic text, and here it is.

Highly recommended advice from two great poker players, for the beginner and those experienced hold'em players making the move to no-limit.

I found this book to be very good for the beginner and advance no limit player. The scenarios in the book about how to play certain hands on various kinds of flops is excellent and very aggressive. The only problem I had with this book (I guess you need to know something about hold'em in order to understand this) is that there is no mention about suited connectors. The only thing McEvoy and Daugherty have you playing are premium cards which will eventually lead to being anted to death. Suited connectors are very valuable for their deceptive quality which can bring down large pots. However, there is no mention of this in the book (Except when they have you playing them for free on the big blind). Other than that an excellent book that will show you how to successfully play premium hands.

I found this book to be very helpful in giving insight to NL thinking. Being a limit player and wanting to improve my NL game, I found the text and examples very helpful. There is no mention of playing "suited connectors", while this invites that people who read this book will be very tight and aggressive it will make you a better player in the long run (the book never says don't play connectors it just states that in this type of game play them carefully). As in all poker games you also have to know when you are up against the type of people described in the various scenarios and be able to vary your play based on your observations. Overall a good "building block" book for the up and coming poker player.

I disagree with all the comments that it is only for inexperienced players. I thought many of the strategies had a lot of insight and 99% of the No Limit players I compete with could learn a lot from this book. It is well written and I recommend it.

The information in the book is very basic and primarily aimed at NL tournament play for the player wanting to move from limit to no limit. I believe it does what it sets out to do. That is making a new player feel comfortable with no limit. For the more experienced player i do not think it has that much value. But i suppose it wasn't made for the experienced player, hence the title ''The New Player Series - No-limit Texas Holdem''. Definitely recommended if you are a NL newbie.

If you are anywhere beyond beginner, this book will be of very little use to you. I am by no means an expert, but I found most of the information contained in the book to be very basic.

I also think some of the advice is terrible. Example (p. 182): it's fairly early in the tournament and you have plenty of chips; you call a small raise from a very loose and aggressive player preflop with AKs; flop brings 66Q, two of your suit and the aggressive player bets roughly the size of the pot. The book's advice in this spot? "With the nut flush draw and two over cards you have a very big hand." Go all in! Or, as an alternative "smooth call" to try to keep another player in the pot.

I have nowhere near the qualifications of the authors, but I can not fathom why anyone would want to put a ton of chips at risk at this point in a tourney with a hand that is, at best, a little behind and, at worst, completely dominated.

I know there aren't a lot of no limit books out there, but there must be some better than this.

This book is not at all geared towards cash game hold' em players. Most of the information contained is specialized for no limit tournament style play. There are many valuable poker playing tips such as starter hands, a tourney betting chart, as well as an entire section on tournament situations and how to handle them effectively. Overall a good book if tournament games are your thing, but as for me, I am going to return the book and purchase Doyle Brunson's "Super System".

Worst poker book I've read! If you've played any type of poker at all this book will be useless. It's strictly for beginners with absolutely no experience. 99% about tournament games, only 1 small chapter on table/ring games.... Teaches NOTHING about calculating even basic odds or counting "outs", instead it suggests dealing out decks of cards & counting the results to see how they would turn out. This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard & much more time consuming than learning a few very basic math skills.