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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!, March 10, 2005
This review is from: Play Poker Like Johnny Chan, Book One: Casino Poker (Paperback)
I've been playing poker for a while and I think that this is an excellent book. One thing I liked in particular is that it was very enjoyable to read and I learned a lot at the same time. A lot of books that teach aren't all that fun to read, but this one is an exception. Another thing I was impressed with was the quality of the book. As mentioned by some other reviewers, it is produced on very high quality paper in full color and has great graphics. Maybe it will raise the bar for poker books in the future. It also seemed to have something for everyone in it. The first part should be very helpful for players that have little or no experience because it explains all about what to expect in the casino. If you have a friend or spouse that hasn't played a lot and is interested in poker, the first few chapters alone would make this an excellent gift for them.
The other chapters start out simply but continue into some pretty involved stuff. I've read the No-Limit section a few times and picked up something new each time. Johnny really explains his philosophy about No-Limit, which is that you need to play the players instead of the cards. He talks a lot about his style and explains why it works for him. I especially liked his explanation of how he decides how much to bet against various hands he determines his opponents have. He talks about what percentage of his opponents chips he would bet in various situations and also how he might make the same bets if he were bluffing and thought his opponent had either a weak hand or an unmade draw. He also mentions why his bets put the other player in a difficult situation.
The limit Hold-em section covers similar stuff to what is in some of the better poker books and perhaps could have included a bit more material. It does discuss things like what hands to play in what positions, how to alter that strategy when someone has raised the pot in front of you, and how to play unmade hands that are actually the favorite to win the pot. It talks about free cards and how dangerous they are to give and when to try to get them. There are a bunch of examples of good and bad flops to various hands and it explains why they are good or bad. The book also mentions in a few different places how important it is to get maximum value on your hands. It tells you to be aggressive in getting value because in limit play that is one of the most important things. There are a few spots where I was missing bets and what I read should help me in that area.
The Seven Stud section is excellent and to the point. It explains how to select your starting hands well and stay out of trouble. It does a good job of distinguishing how the selection of what hands to play changes according to cards shown in other players hands. It then goes on to talk about how to play each of the streets and how to get the most value out of your hands.
The Seven Stud Eight or Better and the Omaha Eight or Better chapters have a ton of information. I have the least experience in those games and the book pointed out a lot of mistakes I've been making so I'm going to re-read it a few times to make sure I understand all the information. One part I liked in particular that I was never quite clear on was how to play the high hands and this book covered that material very well. It also explained starting hand selection very well. It pointed out a lot of situations where it doesn't pay to continue with draws that look good, but may end up costing you money in the long run. I usually play the nut low draw very fast, but the book explained a lot of situations where that is not necessarily a good idea. It also explained the difference between how to play in multi-way pots as opposed to how to play short-handed pots. Another interesting thing it pointed out was how vulnerable a set is in Omaha Eight or Better. It gives an example of flopping a set of Kings to a deuce-five-King flop with a couple of reasonable low draws out against you. In that example any of sixteen turn cards will scoop you unless the board pairs. The graphics really made things a lot easier to understand.
I also liked the chapter about all the high limit players and the center section with the photos. This book is very easy to understand because it's so well written, but when you really stop to consider what is being said a lot of it is pretty deep stuff. It gets right to the point and explains how to avoid a lot of mistakes you see people making all the time. All in all, I would say this is a great book.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic, September 21, 2005
This review is from: Play Poker Like Johnny Chan, Book One: Casino Poker (Paperback)
Saw this book on amazon.com and figured, what the hell, I'll buy it and see what happens. Got it a week later, read the section on limit hold em first, since that's about the only game I play well, and was surprised my gameplay was very different to what was mentioned. After reading it and trying out the different techniques, I was pleasantly surprised to see my profits increasing. Well worth the price and the time to read. Have since read through the other sections and am finding myself getting some good earnings in Omaha and 5 card stud as well, although 5 card stud is a bit tricky.
I definitely believe this book is good for beginners and advanced players alike. Well written, easy to read, clear illustrations and excellent presentation overall.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wide-ranging strategy guide by a poker pro, November 6, 2005
This review is from: Play Poker Like Johnny Chan, Book One: Casino Poker (Paperback)
This a beautifully produced, pricey paperback covering the poker games that Chan plays. Of course, he doesn't just play, he wins big. By my count, he's won ten WSOP events.
The book is something of a scrapbook of poker photos, with strategies on many poker games: basically stud, omaha, both high and high low, as well as limit and no-limit Texas hold'em. He describes his thinking as a hold'em hand progresses -- very useful.
By the way, there is little math in book, so if you're looking for the clearest expression of pot odds, implied odds, look elswhere. (For a book that leads you safely through the odds jungle, see Weighing the Odds in Hold'em Poker by King Yao.)
Remember the list price is $30. The qualiy paper and color photos cost more. In fact, even the hands are shown in color photographs.
This is a worthwhile book with insights from a successful player, covering too many kinds of poker to be the ultimate in-depth guide to any one of them. Yet it scores in readability way above the serious classics by Sklansky, Malmuth and others.
It's not the best first book on poker as it's too advanced for a beginner, but it may well be the best second one.
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