Customer Reviews

Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time Volume I

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was in the process of reading another poker book when this one arrived in today's mail. A quick glance made it clear that "One Hand at a Time" should be read first.

The book is organized in four sections, one written by each of the three authors and a fourth in which each gives his analysis of a hand that had been played by Matthew Hilger. I think this organization is great in that it lets the reader vicariously enter the mind of each player and experience thinking about hands with the style of that player, then the different playing styles are brought into (sometimes) stark contrast in the final section where each of the three gives his take on a Hilger hand.

It is tempting to compare this book with Gus Hansen's recent book, the "Hand by Hand" books of Neil Myers, Johnny Chan's (with Mark Karowe) account of the playing of various hands, or others of the same type. I have read several books of hand descriptions and have learned from them all.

However, "One Hand at a Time" stands out because of the collaboration, and the organization. Each hand description is organized in sections titled:
..Setup - giving the tourney type, buyin, info on other players, etc.
..Pre-Flop - Describes the preflop action and thinking.
..Flop - Describes the flop action and thinking.
..Turn - Describes the turn action and thinking.
..River - Describes the river action and thinking.
..Outcome - Describes in a single sentence the outcome of the hand.
....Actually this section does not exist -- BUT IT SHOULD!!!!

Immediately following the title of each hand section the pot size is given, making it much easier to follow the action than many books of this type in which you have to keep track of the pot size yourself. Others writing books of this sort - or those reprinting such existing books - would be well advised to adapt to this format. The graphic depicting the table is superior to those you'll see in most books, making it easier to focus on the logic rather than having to keep re-deciphering the table layout. Most of the hands described were successful for the author though some bad beats and questionable decisions are included. I didn't attempt to tabulate the win-loss ratio though I'd expect these players to win many more hands than they lose - my own record in successful vs. unsuccessful tournaments suggests that should be the case.

An index would have been helpful and I hope the authors and publisher will view this as a necessity for the upcoming Volume II. One index I would like to see would be based on the type of hands (i.e. "Top two pair with flush draw on the board").

I've come to believe that anything Matthew Hilger, the publisher, is involved in is to be respected. This volume only reinforces that belief.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone willing to take the time to read it carefully and think about the hands. Seeing the logic explained so coherently will certainly improve your tournament play. I'd also recommend for those who do purchase the book that they read it with notepad in hand and that as they progress through the book they create their own indexes of the type I mentioned above. Read it to learn, create the index to turn it into a valuable reference.

I just finished this book up last week...first thought is what an easy read. The book really moves through and organizes everything well.

Rizen and Pearljammer are a good contrast since Rizen is a looser player while Pearljammer seemingly makes some impossible laydowns. The best part of this book is that it goes through the thought processes that true pros go through during a hand. It really helps you out when you're thinking through a hand in a tournament.

I thoroughly enjoyed the organization of the breakdown on the thought processes. It shows you what they were thinking during the setup, pre-flop, flop, turn, and river individually. It also updates the pot size accordingly, which most books I have read in the past do not.

"One hand at a Time" was a great read, very informative, and actually has improved my tournament play already. I would highly recommend adding it to your collection as soon as possible.

This is a good book. I guess it reaches a market of poker players who are not watching online training videos - because this really is just a written text version.

The three authors each explain their thinking pre-flop/ post-flop/ turn/ river, for real hands they played online (194 in total).

Essentially, the book is a demonstration in ABC poker - including continuation betting, the odd bit of stealing, and way less bluffing than most poker players think must be used.

This book would introduce a number of new concepts to less experienced players (like reads, puting your opposition on a range, playing the player, considering stack sizes/tourney stage, table image, etc..)

For me it was re-inforement of good solid poker play.

Each hand is laid-out well with logical explaination of their actions on each street - and also includes the result (which does not always go in favour of the hero).

Note that this book only covers hands up to near the bubble of a MTT. A planned 2nd issue will cover hands played during the money to final table stages of a MTT.

Any online player is familiar with these 3 great players & has probably already ordered this excellent book. It is chock full of the thought processes that are used in almost all situations that might arrive in a poker tournament. You aren't just presented with theories and hand charts, but with the real "nuts and bolts" of how to think through the situations that most often occur and are puzzling to even advanced players. John "PearlJammer" Turner's section is the best part of this book, but you will learn plenty from all the authors.
If you are a brick and mortar player make sure you buy this book.
This is Required Reading & should be a part of any Poker Library.

{REVISE]I was spoiled by reading Every Hand Revealed right before this book. If I had not, this would have ranked as my favorite poker book of the year.

Considering that this covers online tourneys and EHR covers a live tourney, this is a necessary book if you play poker tournaments online.
However, to learn to play in a major live tournament against the pros, Gus Hansen's book stands in a class all by itself.[END REVISE]

The main part of the book presents each of three authors going over random hands they played. This is ok, but how much more fascinating would have been a Hansen-style replay an entire tourney! The authors display that special mix of aggression and caution (ie. "I don't what my opponent has here, but too many hands beat me.") that pro poker players have. In one hand, Rizen pushes allin on the river with one pair and top kicker. His opponent folds revealing a lesser hand. One small problem -- both straight and flush draws have hit. This sounds like my last hand of any tournament!

The book could have been better organized by starting from the overall themes and giving examples to illustrate correct play.

There is a section of all three players analyzing the same hands. This is far better as it really highlights the differing approaches. They explain their strategy clearly and sometimes have opposite tactics for the same hand. This reminds me more of Harrington's discussion of key tournament plays. But Harrington's play is way more conservative than Rizen's, for example. In contrast, Pearljammer makes some spectacular laydowns. As this is not TV poker, I can't say if they were good reads or overly cautious folds.

After reading Volume II, I gotta say I prefer that book over this one simply because my own in the money play is weak, really weak. For you see, Volume II covers ITM play exclusively and explores key shove/fold thinking.

I am relatively new to poker, but I've read the Harrington's and the Phil Gordon's etc. etc.

Those books teach you the basics and then go on to teach some strategy.

Winning One Hand at a Time is strictly strategy driven. You're shown a hand, and then Rizen, Pearljammer or Apestyles breaksdown how to play the hand. It sounds pretty simple, but it's cool to see how these internet greats play their hands.

It's well formated, and easy to read. The writing is clear and easy to follow. I think any fan of poker, or anyone learning or studying poker will enjoy this book.

I can't wait for Vol. II.

I was really happy with the though process of each players thoughts during a hand. Keep in mind they know the results ahead of time (its their own hands), so there is the possibility of a results oriented remarks. For instance, if the hero calls with T6 and hits a straight, he can claim he had odds, and if he loses all-in with AK, he can argue that that player was tighter than he thought, etc.

Lastly, I bought the kindle version and regretted it. You will constantly want to keep going back and forth to see position and stack sizes, difficult to do on the kindle if the setup is 3 pages back. Take the extra day and $2 and get the actual book.

I bought volume 2 physical.

Great book and one of a handful that go a long way in describing a winning players thought process, however, there is a huge draw back.

Simply, 99% of the hands mentioned are from buy-ins averaging $100. You take this information (which is fantastic) and use it in your $11.00 tourneys or Sunday qaulifiers and it simply can't work. It doesn't work for teh same reason Doyle's "super system" doesn't work for the vast majority of us. Doyles talks about shoving on draws and giving opponents tough decisions for 25k to make the call. You take that advise and shove your $50 in on a draw and your getting called by top pair-period! And that is teh problem here. The opponents that are referenced in this book are, to somewhat degree, thinking players which are able to lay down hands, those at the £11 buy-in don't. I'm hoping the 2nd volume will be more applicable to my buy-in level as when "in the money", generally (but not always) most of the fish are gone and you are left with thinking players that you can play some poker with.
Don't get me wrong, I love this book, it's just it's targeted at a larger buy-in, better player. Any yes I know that donks play at all levels but generally speaking the higher the buy-in the better qaulity of opponent.

I highly recommend this book for those who are playing a solid game of tournament poker, but want to take their game to a new level. The authors spell out how, and when, they use their position and perceptions of other players to amass chips when they don't necessarily have the best hand. I had to reread the book several times for everything to sink in.

I've got a lot of poker books, and this one is my favorite. I can open it to any page, study the hand scenario, and think how I would play that hand. Then, I can see how it was actually played by a professional player with their comments on what was going on in their mind.

I know of no better way to improve your game than with a book of this nature. Each poker hand shown is a test you can take, and then review the author's opinion of how the hand would be played by them. The book engages you, and tests your own competence. It reminds me of chess tactical puzzle books, which are also the most effective way of improving ones chess game up too around expert level.

The last section is my favorite. All three players give their own takes on how to play the same hands. They don't always agree.

It's about time for Volume 2 isn't it?