Product Details

• Actors: Vince Van Patten, Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, Chris Moneymaker
• Directors: Bryan Perraud
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Ultimate Poker Company
• DVD Release Date: December 15, 2004
• Run Time: 45 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00075K84Q
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,186 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Chris Moneymaker, 2003 World Series of Poker Champion

Once you learn the concepts, you can sit down with a World Champion and beat them that night.

Product Description

Introducing Ultimate Poker, the step-by-step guide to the hottest, poker game today - Texas Hold'Em. Whether you're brand new to the game, or ready to battle the pros, Ultimate Poker has everything you need to bring the excitement, and the challenge of Texas Hold'Em... Right into your own home.

Ultimate Poker includes three easy-to-learn, easy-to-follow videos hosted by Vince Van Patten of the World Poker Tour, and the best-selling poker writer today, Ken Warren.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite for beginners though, January 23, 2006

By 

Max "nnnn" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winning Texas Hold 'Em (DVD)

As instructional videos go this one isn't bad at all,, if you have some basic understanding of the game and lingo involved. Trying to explain poker in about an hour is akin to playing as good as Tiger Woods on your first day out. Though the format of the instrucional aspect was quite good the tendency was to speed over to quicky the many facets of the game in order to package an " instructional " video. I would conclude a beginner watching this video with limited knowlwdge of the game would leave not really knowing anymore. Another downside to this video is the fact that very little is spoken about "bluffing" the opponent and the different techniques used therein. Furthermore I would have enjoyed it more if they went into detail about different psychological patterns or signals to know when possibly someone is bluffing or semi bluffing. This was glossed over. I think what makes learning poker so fun is the bluffing part of the game and even that was alluded to in this video. Even still it was given little attention. Overall it was a little dry and academic but not a bad effort none-the-less.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short, but sweet!, August 23, 2007

By 

Poker Face (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winning Texas Hold 'Em (DVD)

PREFLOP (Intro):
By the way, I also watched the "Beat the Pro's" Dvd, in this "Ultimate Poker" series, as well. I'd only give it 3 stars, not because it's bad (Vince is still as smooth as ever), but mostly because all the stuff it explains can be seen each week on any of the poker tournaments that air on television. If you don't watch a lot of poker on tv, or read many No-Limit or Limit books, than rent it as well, otherwise, only the short-handed play information was slightly above average. Also, virtually all of the information covered in that Dvd, applied to both No-Limit and Limit Hold 'Em--stuff like, dominated hands, etc.

THE FLOP (Wow! I flopped a flush!)
I can't believe how much information about Limit Hold 'Em is packed into this 44 minute Dvd. That's right, even though much of the information can be applied to the No-Limit game, Vince states right from the beginning, that he will focus on Limit Hold 'Em. Annie Duke's Dvd's, however, do a pretty good job of explaining both, such as, why playing low pocket pairs usually will work better in No-Limit, rather than in Limit Hold 'Em.

Vince Van Patten has to be one of the smoothest talkers around. He is virtually flawless and pleasant to listen to. This is a good thing, since you only get very brief statements made by poker pros: Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu and Kenna James, so Vince is the star of this Dvd.

Yes, the first 20 minutes of this Dvd contain very basic information, but the rest of it will also help out intermediate Limit Hold 'Em players. It's filled with some rare, but important stats, that will definitely help you to better understand Vince's strategies for playing some of the recommended hands he suggests you play. For example, hands like A-K offsuit, Vince usually likes to limp in (call) with it, preflop, rather than raise, since he knows that he won't flop an Ace or King about 75% of the time. Now, if there's a raise on the flop, it's easier for him to get away from the hand and fold, if he thinks he's beat. Yes, he'll sometimes raise to steal blinds or push some players out, depending on his position, and the type of players in the hand, but usually based on computer simulations and his experience, he prefers to limp in with A-K offsuit, before the flop.

One of my favorite statistics, is the one that explains why it's dangerous to play pocket tens. The odds that you will NOT flop another ten, and that there WILL be at least one overcard (J, Q, K,or Ace) on the flop, is 60%. I've seen that stat before, but the one I haven't seen, was that even if an overcard doesn't come on the flop, there's still a 57% chance that one will come on the turn or river (sure, even though it took me less than 30 seconds to calculate this for myself, I had never thought to do so, until now). This is one of the reasons why, this hand plays so much better in No-Limit Hold 'Em. There, you can just make a very large preflop bet and get most, if not all, of the players to fold. If that doesn't work, you can try another big bet after the flop, if only one (preferably not an Ace), or no overcards appear. Also, this type of hand plays better against one opponent; which is something that's harder to come by in Limit games.

He even throws in another hand selection system, so you can play about twice as many hands. Hands that total 20 or 21 (Ace=11 points, Facecards=10, a Seven would equal 7 points, etc.), all pocket pairs, suited aces, can usually be played in many situations-that he doesn't go into, but suggests you'll learn by playing more poker. Yes, I've seen this theory before, and even many of the wonderful statistics, but I think it's great that it's all included, anyway. There are still many more important stats that are NOT included on this Dvd, but it's still a great way for beginners to get a head start in the fine art of playing the odds, and for the intermediate players to perhaps alter their play, based on some of the interesting statistics that ARE discussed.

THE TURN (Useless trivia, not found on this Dvd):
Did you know that Vince Van Patten (co-host of "World Poker Tour"), used to be a professional tennis player, and won the 1979 ATP Rookie of the Year award? He even beat John McEnroe in a 1981 match and later won the tournament. As well, one of Vince's brothers used to be married to the lovely, Shana Hiatt (former "World Poker Tour" interviewer, and now the host of NBC's "Poker After Dark").

THE RIVER (Summary):
Because there are so many interesting poker stats (at least I found them interesting) included here, and they are all used to better illustrate the reasons behind Vince's style of Limit play, I'm suggesting that at least all beginners, should watch this Dvd! Even if you hate Limit Hold 'Em, the wonderful stats that are incorporated within the lessons, will most likely save you many hours of searching through poker books or the internet to find them. It's also a great way to keep some of these otherwise dry stats, locked in your head for much longer than usual. For a so-called beginner Dvd, I was very impressed. Thanks, Vince!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Foundation for the Beginner, August 22, 2005

By 

R. L. Johnson (Lewisville, TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Winning Texas Hold 'Em (DVD)

This DVD is a good foundation for the beginner in Texas Hold'em. It is hosted by Vince Van Patten of the World Poker Tour. You are walked through all steps of the game and it is a DVD I have gone back to many times to 'remember the basic'. No DVD can take the place of a real live game but this will give you information to understand what is happening during the game.