12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phil Gordon is back, and in better shape than ever, October 14, 2011
This review is from: Phil Gordon's Little Gold Book: Advanced Lessons for Mastering Poker 2.0 (Hardcover)
In my opinion, Phil Gordon is the best poker writer out there. He writes in a straightforward, clear language, which is really easy to follow. I've read all his previous three books and also his DVD, and I was really afraid that he had given up writing, since his previous book was released five years ago. I am glad to say that Phil Gordon is back, and in better shape than ever.
In his private life, Gordon had gone through a quest of improving his own game, since poker players have evolved quite drastically in the past few years. And it is rare to see a poker expert publicly admitting that he had to step back and re-study the game. The Gold Book is the result of this quest.
The book starts with lots of math that will make the head of most readers to spin. But don't give up. Soon enough things will get clear as the author shows tools and techniques that will for sure improve your game. While some of them were already featured in the author's previous books (such as the "squeeze" play, a.k.a. "fish'n'chips"), this time he explains more in depth the math behind them.
This is a book that you will have to re-read several times to be able to get everything it has to offer, especially as your game improves. In the end, it will make you to completely re-think your game. And that is why this book is so good.
The only "negatives" I can see with this book is that this time the author didn't put a lot of jokes in the text. You see, the typical Gordon jokes inserted inside the book (e.g. "feeling like the time I had bad shellfish in an all-you-can-eat buffet in Kansas City") help me to memorize the concept he is explaining. Also, even though there is a chapter with some hand examples, I'd prefer to have some real examples after each concept is explained. He did that here and there, but I wanted to see more! I hope Phil Gordon writes a follow-up book only with real hand examples, just like he did with his Blue Book.
On a more serious subject, for a book released after "Black Friday" and the demise of Full Tilt Poker, I think the author should have re-vamped the parts he talks about online poker and Full Tilt in particular. For example, he mentions that Chris Ferguson was able to create a $126,000 bankroll starting from zero and that Phil Galfond also has accumulated an on-line bankroll of same magnitude, but didn't say anything about what happened to player's online bankroll after "Black Friday."
BTW, around 20% of the book is dedicated to PLO (Pot-Limit Omaha).
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book will take your poker game to whole new level, October 19, 2011
This review is from: Phil Gordon's Little Gold Book: Advanced Lessons for Mastering Poker 2.0 (Hardcover)
I have been playing poker on and off for many years and have read a number of poker books. I thought I had a good grasp of optimal poker strategy, but boy was I wrong! It is mind-boggling how much the tactics and strategies have progressed at the highest levels of poker in just a few years.
Phil Gordon does an amazing job of walking the reader through the new mind-set and approach that is required to be a top player in today's game. Without question, the pros truly do play on a completely different level than us amateurs. There is a bit of "new math" that has to be learned to digest all of the concepts in this book, but I found that it was not too overwhelming or intimidating.
Most importantly, Phil Gordon's writing style is simply a pleasure to read. This book easily could have read like a dry encyclopedia (many of the other poker books I have read were painful to get though), instead it reads like a good book with a plot. It is clear that Mr. Gordon is not just a great poker player, but a very good writer too. I particularly liked the sections in which he recounts the private lessons he received from some of the world's top young poker pros.
I can't wait to try my newly learned skills out at my regular home game!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phil's best and among The Best, October 18, 2011
This review is from: Phil Gordon's Little Gold Book: Advanced Lessons for Mastering Poker 2.0 (Hardcover)
My poker shelf has around 100 books on it,
but this one will be among the 3 or 4 that
get re-read, underlined, highlighted and
referred to over and over.
I think it's the best book Phil's written, and
I've considered all the "Little" books good.
Within the poker writing universe, Little Gold
Book goes into more depth than just about any other,
and likewise has a lot of breadth for one book.
And while I consider most poker books to be
targeted at the beginner turning intermediate
(including Phil's previous writing), this book
does a great job of covering the ground from
intermediate well into advanced.
As usual in Phil's writing, he speaks conversationally
and is easily understood, even when digging into
somewhat involved mathematics and advanced concepts.
Another aspect of his writing that I really appreciate
is his ability to look at a topic from several angles,
rather than covering the obvious points and moving on.
In Gold Book for example, he'll often make the
mathematical case for a given play, work out the logic
in great detail to prove his point, but then take it a
step further by reminding you of "meta considerations"
and opponent psychological factors that you can't overlook.
For me, I find this helps keep me out of the mode of
just "playing the numbers" and lets me visualize the other
factors while reading and while playing.
Perhaps Phil's strongest skill as a writer, and
one that Gold Book shows off more than any of
his prior books, is his ability to group and classify
information into easily remembered collections.
Going beyond the obvious groupings of hand types,
Phil further classifies things like board texture,
opponent style, tournament situations, etc.
This gives the reader a huge advantage when trying to
apply the material; it's much easier to remember and
learn and then apply it in real time at the table.
I consider myself a non-pro advanced player, and
I learned a ton from this book that was new to
me and I'm sure will be valuable. I'm glad Phil gets
satisfaction out of giving away (well, for 15 bucks
anyway) his hard earned lessons!
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