The Smarter Bet Guide to Poker: Texas Hold 'Em, Seven-Card Stud, and Other Popular Versions (Smarter Bet Guides) [Paperback]

Basil Nestor (Author)

Book Description

Series: Smarter Bet Guides | Publication Date: December 23, 2003

You've got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them--and these professional strategies for winning at the poker table will show you how to handle the cards, beat the odds, and win. Success at poker is a matter of mathematics, and the tactics are easy to learn with this clear-cut advice on starting hands, profitable table conditions, dangerous card combinations, techniques for reading opponents, and much more. A triumph at the table begins with the fundamentals, such as understanding the difference between luck and skill and being able to rank the hands. Find out exactly what separates private from casino poker; insider tips on betting, raising, and folding; and information on poker economics, the "flop" (when five cards are revealed), and poker variations. "Smarter Bet Factoids" appear throughout, providing at-a-glance poker wisdom. Possible scenarios that might occur at the casino are revealed, with suggestions for dealing with them.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (December 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402709625
• ISBN-13: 978-1402709623
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,875,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Card Games > Poker

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb and informative!, June 4, 2011

By 

Kpenn - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Smarter Bet Guide to Poker: Texas Hold 'Em, Seven-Card Stud, and Other Popular Versions (Smarter Bet Guides) (Paperback)

This book was new and I received it in excellent condition. It is pocket-sized, but the information contained will really help your poker game. I will be buying from this seller again in the future.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hold 'Em Basics On the Cheap, March 3, 2010

By 

D. Kamal "shipwreck" (Marietta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Smarter Bet Guide to Poker: Texas Hold 'Em, Seven-Card Stud, and Other Popular Versions (Smarter Bet Guides) (Paperback)

I'm a slow learner when it comes to poker, especially Texas Hold 'Em. I started off playing a little less than a year ago. I played every hand and expected it to work out with little-to-no concept of odds of any sort. I just new that I needed to pay to make a good hand win. Since then I've learned a lot from playing live and online, watching the WSOP, and talking with fellow players. But there comes a point when you need a book. That's the trouble with my poker game: I'm more an intuitive, literary sort who doesn't have a lot of interest in calculating and trying be more mechanical. I like to feel things out.

This is partly why I love poker and Hold 'Em especially: I learn something every game and, sometimes, every hand.

Nestor's book puts the game in terms that are simple to understand for we commoners. He is a great writer and so he knows how to address his audience. Unlike various poker stars and math gurus who create poker books for technical university graduates, Nestor's is definitely a "guide for the rest of us". It is a crash course from poker basics to advanced strategies in succinct terms that anyone can grasp. There is no extensive work book or quiz at the end of each chapter but what he presents is enough for the beginner/novice poker player to chew on and learn from. I like to think of it as a stepping stone for more advanced books like "Harrington on Hold 'Em".

Harrington's book is a phenomenal resource for a poker player who wants to advance his game but can be a bit intimidating. He doesn't hold your hand. Where The Smarter Bet will talk you through something, Harrington will toss you into the middle of the felt, put a gun to your head and say, "What do you do?!".

At $5 it's a bargain. You will learn things here from books four-times the price. The design is nice and colorful, it's an easy read, and if you take the ideas to heart it will vastly improve your poker game. Then, like I said, you can tackle something like Harrington or Phil Gordon.