Secrets the Pros Won't Tell You About Winning Hold'em Poker: About Winning Hold'em Poker [Paperback]

Lou Krieger (Author), Sheree Bykofsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2006

"It takes a special book to take a player to the next level, and this is that book." -Amy Calistri, Poker School Online While other highly touted books on hold'em poker offer enough tips to turn a committed beginner into a moderately successful player, none offers the strategies needed to turn an experienced player into a consistent winner-until now. This guide even goes one step further by exposing exactly what the pros don't want you to know. "My only worry is that they have given away too much information." -Matt Lessinger, author of The Book of Bluffs Revealed within these pages are the actual techniques-equally effective for virtually all poker games-that professional gamblers use to win consistently. You'll find out how to quickly recognize and capitalize on betting patterns, how to develop a table image that pays big dividends, advanced bank management techniques, and why the cards you hold are often less important than the way you play them, plus: Why folding more can lead to winning more How betting limits dramatically impact the way you should play your hands Why women have an innate edge Telltale signs to look for when choosing a casino table Why it's smarter to be the one who bets and not the sucker who calls "Easy to understand, helpful, and fun to read." -Dave Scharf, author of Winning at Poker Take that next step-armed with the secrets of the pros! A popular columnist for several magazines, including Bluff and Fifth Street, the newspaper The Nevada Sunday, as well as the author of seven top-selling books on poker, Lou Krieger is one of gaming's biggest names. In 2000, he was dubbed "one of the most influential gaming writers of the past hundred years" by Casino Journal-an honor bestowed on only four others worldwide. Sheree Bykofsky has been the winner or first runner-up in hundreds of poker tournaments, both in casinos and online, and won a seat as a participant in the 2004 World Series of Poker. She is also a literary agent and the author of more than twenty books, as well as countless articles on a variety of subjects, which have appeared in major magazines and newspapers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sheree Bykofsky, the founder and owner of the Sheree Bykofsky Literary Agency, has written and represented hundreds of successful titles over her long publishing career. She regularly teaches university courses on publishing and speaks at writers’ conferences across the country.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Lyle Stuart (February 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0818406593
• ISBN-13: 978-0818406591
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Secret -- Great Book, March 7, 2006

By 

Ashley Adams (Roslindale, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets the Pros Won't Tell You About Winning Hold'em Poker: About Winning Hold'em Poker (Paperback)

Have you seen all of the poker books at any large bookstore? Five years ago there were three. Now there are nearly 80. Can any new book really add anything to the voluminous poker literature that fills the shelves?

The answer is an enthusiastic YES!

Secrets The Pros Won't Tell You About Winning Holdem Poker is a welcome addition to the short list of truly excellent poker books available. Novices, intermediate, and advanced players will surely profit from the many nuggets of insight presented by Krieger and Bykofsky.

The authors presume a basic knowledge of the game of Texas Holdem.

It is not a telling of poker stories, as so many books are these days. This is no glamorous look at the rich and famous of the poker world. Thank goodness for that.

But Krieger and Bykofsky provide us with dozens of nuggets of useful and profound insights. The best part of the book is the beginning and longest chapter entitled "Basic Concepts and Play." In it the authors present and explore dozens of ideas such as: what makes a good poker game (for the player), how to get a read on your opponent's hand, where to sit to increase your profit, how to play against maniacs, weak players, or good players; how to use your image to your advantage, why and when you should bet on the River, how to read opponents' betting patterns, and the difference between value betting and bluffing.

Each of these concepts alone is worthy of an entire book. They are presented clearly and concisely -- sufficient for the typical reader to grasp their importance, understand them, and then apply them to his game. In that sense the presentation is masterful and efficient -- so much power in so little space.

Chapter Five, entitled "Money," addresses commonly asked questions about bankroll requirements, money management, and simple ways to minimize your losses while maximizing your wins. Chapter Seven is an excellent, if brief, exploration of winning tactics for online play. Especially useful was an explanation of how to best use the notetaking features available only to online players. There is a rather lengthy chapter on the minimal math of poker and a few brief ending chapters on tournament play.

The book is not without its flaws. Most significantly, the reader needs to be aware that although the book is presented as if it were covering both limit and no limit holdem, it chiefly addresses limit strategy. No limit and pot limit strategy are very different from limit. The authors clearly recognize this and point it out from time to time. But when there is no mention of the game being no limit, it's important that the reader -- especially the young or new-to-poker reader who has only played no limit -- recognize that Krieger and Bykofsky are talking about limit holdem strategy.

This is especially important in the sections that talk about bluffing, betting on the river, and raising. Although they are spot on when talking about how to play limit holdem, viewed through the lens of no limit poker, these sections would be inadequate for failing to address the different strategy that results when considering both the size of a bet and relative stack sizes. For example, the authors' excellent advice of generally calling on the River in a limit holdem game (because of the excellent pot odds that are generally being offered by the time of the final betting round) is definitely unsound advice if the game is no limit and your opponent makes a pot-sized bet at the end.

There are other small errors that do not detract from the fundamental soundness of the book. There is some redundancy between the chapters (implied odds are explained well in one section and not-so-well elsewhere). And although the two math tables are generally very helpful and clear, I did not understand the statement at the bottom of one table: "Two unmatched cards will make a split pair 2.2 percent of the time."

These small detractions not withstanding, the book is a powerful tool for any player looking to learn the basic concepts for winning play and for every player who wants an edge over his opponent.

The true test of the usefulness of a poker book is how it will add to the reader's bottom line. There's no question but that Secrets will help the beginning, intermediate, and advanced player make more money (and for the most careful reader, much more money) at the poker table.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where are the secrets?, June 20, 2006

By 

M. Pfeiffer (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets the Pros Won't Tell You About Winning Hold'em Poker: About Winning Hold'em Poker (Paperback)

I have to agree with one of the previous reviews. This book has the most misleading title I have ever seen. There is not one "secret" or subject on poker in the whole book which is not already in any of the other well known poker books.

Somebody must have thought about how to squeeze some bucks out of the poker community and came up with a fantastic idea:
Develop a promising title for a book, put in some standard poker knowledge and then ask some buddies to write positive reviews on Amazon.

Their plan worked. They got my money and that of several others.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy something else, May 31, 2006

By 

Cp Reeves (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets the Pros Won't Tell You About Winning Hold'em Poker: About Winning Hold'em Poker (Paperback)

This book's title has to be the most misleading book title I have ever encountered. "Secrets the pros won't tell you about winning hold'em poker" doesn't contain any insights that are not contained in dozens of other poker books. It is not a bad book, it just doesn't add much to the world of poker literature.

If you want to read an authorative book about poker try Doyle Brunson's Super Sytem for some really detailed advice. Super System has the advantage of being written and endorsed by someone who is clearly one of the best players in the world... which can't be said for either of the authors of this very average book. (Also try Barry Greenstein's Ace on the River, another very interesting book by written by someone who has actually achieved great success as a player)