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Tournament Poker And The Art Of War (Paperback)

by David Apostolico (Author)
Key Phrases: chip accumulation, player under the gun, uncontested pots, Player One, Player Two (more...)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Lyle Stuart (March 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 081840647X
ISBN-13: 978-0818406478
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #152,871 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
chip accumulation, player under the gun, uncontested pots, short stacked, playable hand, chip stack, play unpredictable, big blind, weak points and strong, pot odds, limit tournaments, everyone folds, play for the pot, chip lead, flush draw

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Player One, Player Two

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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	67% buy the item featured on this page: Tournament Poker And The Art Of War 3.8 out of 5 stars (12) $10.36
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The proverbs of poker, April 19, 2005

By	R. Alvarez (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If every single poker book that was ever written were assembled into a bible-like book, David Apostolico's Tournament Poker and the Art of War would fall under Proverbs. Apostolico takes a very different approach to expound the many subtle strategies that any successful poker player should implement by using Sun-Tzu's Art of War as the basis to approach a No-limit Texas Hold-em tournament game. The book is a very quick read and I have prospered greatly from the wisdom that oozes. The book is well written, but contains one fundamental flaw that is easy to get around. Despite this flaw, I will highly recommend Apostolico's Tournament Poker and the Art of War to any student of the game.

The book begins by outlining 10 principles that are gleaned from the Art of War and applied to tournament strategy. This 30-page section on the 10 principles is easily the strongest part of the book and I have read it and re-read it many times. It is worth purchasing this book for this section alone. I briefly summarize the 10 principles below:

1: Understand all of the potential consequences of your actions
2: Play each hand for maximum value and minimum risk
3: Eliminate your opponent the first chance you get
4: Accumulate chips at every opportunity
5: Mix up your play
6: Know thy enemy and know thyself
7: Use your strength to exploit your enemy's weakness
8: Do not wait for pocket Aces to make a move
9: Adjust your play with changing situations
10: Poker is an art of deception

In the remaining chapters of the book, Apostolico does his best to incorporate the teachings of Sun-Tzu by integrating excerpts from the Art of War into the text of the book. It sounds like a good idea, however there are so many excerpts integrated into the text that the book suffers from giving the reader too much information. It is very difficult to remain focused on the topic because there is an interruption after every paragraph. The vast majority of poker players are not academics and this style of writing may not appeal to a broad audience. I have found that this issue is easily overcome by skipping over the Sun-Tzu excerpts and focusing on Apostolico's writings.

I have read many books on poker. I love Sklansky and am not a big fan of Brunson the author. Although I skipped all of the Sun-Tzu excerpts in the latter part of David Apostolico's Tournament Poker and the Art of War, I find that this book remains strong nonetheless, and holds a top spot in my list of recommended books on poker strategy.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Reflection. , August 26, 2005

By	Bernard Chapin "Ora Et Labora!" (CHICAGO! USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

When I first heard about this book I could not help from thinking what an excellent idea it was. It could succeed in bringing the maxims and philosophy of Sun Tzu to legions of people who had previously never heard of him. Apostolico summarizes the arguments of Sun Tzu from The Art of War, and then applies the concepts to tournament poker. Many times, however, the author stretches the similarities existing between poker and war. He does, quite responsibly, point out in the beginning that his work is in no way intended to minimize the seriousness of war by comparing it to a game. Yet, strategy for one can be juxtaposed with another to a certain extent.

The only real problem that I had with this book is that it was tough to get through, and it was not a result of the subject matter or the austerity of Sun Tzu's writing. In actuality, Apostolico did not use enough specifics and examples in his text. He's a tournament player, and I think, from a readability standpoint, he would have done better to include more scenarios from his experiences to illustrate each individual tenet. What we have instead is page after page of generalities. Most of the arguments and suggestions are helpful, but they are dry and fail to captivate.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In 15 seconds, June 15, 2005

By	J. Boucher "The Butcher" (Flat Rock, KS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In 15 seconds, you have to make a decision online or the card room, each of the 10 principles must be thought about and your decision entered, your tournament life is at stake.

Excellent book for the players who think they need cards and luck to win, this read will be an eye opener. they will begin to see what is REALLY happening at the table.

Excellent book for the players who understand position, pushing chips, and table domination. This book will bring to the forefront and reinforce the principles of tournament play that you already understand. You will discover and add more power to your game.

This book is NOT a novel, each paragraph brings strategic ideas to light, that must be thought about and replayed in your mind. When you understand and can implement all of the 10 principles your tournament game will never be the same.

The action is to you, in 15 seconds you must make a decision that will affect the rest of your tournament life, do you have all the information you need?

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars A great idea for a book but very poorly executed.
This book was a waste of time and (fortunately very little) money. The reviewer that said "mostly fluff" was right on the money, except that he still gave it 3 stars. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Bruce V.

5.0 out of 5 stars great book
wonderful. apostolico is a great writer and this book is really different from the tons of books published in the last years...

Published 22 months ago by Davide Lorenzoni

2.0 out of 5 stars Tournament Poker and The Art Of War
I would say this book was decent but not a must have. If you have read any book on tournaments then there is not need for this one.

Published on March 12, 2007 by Edward W. Sulecki

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much fluff
A lot of this is saying the same stuff over and over just in different ways

Published on February 18, 2007 by Nathan

3.0 out of 5 stars Lost in translation...
Although this book has an interesting concept, I do not recommend it for any player except for the beginner. The writing is repetitive, and somewhat shallow. Read more

Published on July 30, 2006 by Mister Owl - Poker Great

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid concepts and well-written
This is a good book for people that don't play poker all the time. Poker pros and "serious" poker players (those who do play all the time) wouldn't get a lot from it. Read more

Published on May 22, 2006 by M. R Turner

5.0 out of 5 stars If Sun Tzu Played Poker, He'd Play Like This!
This is the Number 1 poker book that has totally transformed my game. I had the basic knowledge, and even the advanced from what Skalnsky and Harrington had written but this "New... Read more

Published on November 4, 2005 by Mathew Benjamin Scheeren

4.0 out of 5 stars good direcction for chip command
the book was great on how to use your chips in a commanding way. showed how to properly use dealer button placement to take control of chips.

Published on September 12, 2005 by Robert J. Miller

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh approach
This book is different from any other poker book I've read. It takes age-old war strategy and applies it to no-limit holdem tournaments. Read more

Published on March 12, 2005 by Cardcatcher

› See all 12 customer reviews...

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