Customer Reviews

Stepping Up: The Recreational Player's Guide to Beating Casino and Internet Poker

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

 

 

i hadn't heard of this guy before so was a little skeptical. he's not exaclty a famous author. but it has made a 100 percent difference in how i apporach my favorite game, hold'em.

differences between this and other poker books: first, the writing is ten times as good so everything is extremely clear, second, you learn not just what to do but why. the chapters on reading hands and players are sensational and i say this eveno though i own 4 or 5 hold'em books alone. also the odds chapters are very clear. the only reason i don't give it five stars is you
do need other poker books besides this one, for hold'em maybe the lee jones or kreiger books. like roy west says in the intro this is a thinking man's poker book to improve your overall game.

i would say try it out and see what you think but if you are like me, a low-limit player trying to get good and move up, it's well worth it. it's better than pokertracker for helping, and that's saying a lot!

While there are excellent beginner books on playing tactics, this is the first I've seen that focuses on the other aspects of poker. Concepts like tailoring your play to specific types of opponents and types of games, reading hands, odds and outs, tells and tilt and even addiction to poker are generally dealt with in more advanced books and at a level that assumes you already know something about them. This book introduces these concepts, which are critical to winning and includes some excellent hand-reading examples. It also recommends the best basic strategy books, Web sites and other resources. I don't think a very advanced player would get much from this book, but for anyone who's played mostly in home games or who has played for fun in casinos a few times, it's a winner.

I noticed that this offering got savaged by a reviewer below. Let me address that criticism right away, Stepping Up is a worthy read but it is in no way a complete poker book. By itself, it cannot teach you the game. It's an accoutrement for intermediate rounders. Of course, the author admits this truth in the very beginning. He also recommends reading Small Stakes Hold Em and Theory of Poker before buying his contribution to the poker world. The thing I found most valuable about it is that Burgess is a regular guy who played the small limits before rising to the high stakes levels. He did this via effort and study, and he really does provide some inside-"been there, done that"-type of advice. You also learn quite a bit about the lower limits in a brick and mortar setting as so many of us play online exclusively. His references to stud were educational as well. I definitely got something out of Stepping Up, and I think that you will too if you view it with the right perspective. If you haven't studied the big important manuals already, pick them up first.

This book takes a different approach then your typical beginner to intermediate level guide that teaches you how to play (memorizing starting hand requirements, basic and intermediate strategies like raising for a free card, raising for value, isolating loose raisers, blind stealing, etc.). What this book does do is focus on the factors that you need to master, especially for online play where you are isolated from other players physically. The psychological aspects... the game within-the-game, etc. are factors that are magnified for online play. You are your own worst enemy (and since the same applies to your opponents), understanding theae nuances are key to a successful transition from live to online play. Good read and recommended.

I bought this book because it had four ratings of 5 stars. This is the first review I have ever written, and I'm doing so to warn others that this book is TERRIBLE. It is poorly organized and has very little meaningful information of any type. The author repeatedly trashes almost all other poker books, calling them "garbage". I've read ten poker books now, and only one of them is truly BAD. Guess which one.