More Book Reviews
Best Selling Poker Books of 2014How did the new books compare to the old classics? Well, we will let the data speak for itself. Take a look at the list of the best selling poker books of 2014.Deal Me In and Eat Professional Poker Players Alive ReviewedThere isn't a clear path by which people become professional poker players. There aren't any good courses at the local vo-tech for a person to study. The road to becoming a poker pro is inevitably difficult, circuitous, and filled with setbacks. Deal Me In is a book describing the course by which twenty top poker players became professionals. Poker Winners Are DifferentThere is a big difference between what's typical human behavior and what is called for to play poker at a high level. There aren't a lot of people for whom maximizing their expectation in poker games comes naturally. Poker Winners Are Different by Alan Schoonmaker examines this conundrum. 
Play to Win: A World Champion's Guide to Winning Blackjack Tournaments
by Ken Einiger
Brooklyn-born Einiger is a tournament champion, having won the 2005 World Series of Blackjack on national television. Einiger takes you through the basic concepts can make you competitive in blackjack tournaments providing everything you need to become a winner. Includes 15-page listing of casinos in the U.S. with phone numbers.
Annie Duke Tells Her Story; Ken Einiger Tells How to Win
More and more women have been attracted to poker--in particular, tournament play in recent years so the new arrival at Gambler's Book Shop titled Annie Duke: How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted,
Howard Schwartz, the "librarian for gamblers," is the marketing director for Gambler's Book Club in Las Vegas, a position he has held since 1979. Author of hundreds of articles on gambling, his weekly book reviews appear in numerous publications throughout the gaming industry. Howard's website is www.gamblersbook.com Cursed and Won Millions (with Duke and David Diamond) ($24.95, hardbound, 260 pages) should inspire many more to play. The biography arrived this week, along with Ken Einiger's Play to Win -- A World Champion's Guide to Winning Blackjack Tournaments (160 pages, paperbound, $12.95).
Duke's book is a mixed bag of goods, although a good one. Part biography, part advice and somewhat a diary, the work shows that she and her co-author have a good grasp of what players want -- little bit of how she became a world class, winning, successful player and guidance on how to get the money. The sister of another world class player (Howard Lederer), she's acquainted with poker in a way few ladies of this generation ever have been.
This is a smooth read. In some ways an important one, because Duke dissects her own life on a personal level, while rebuilding her own skills and mental attitude toward the game of poker. She knows the game has changed because of the Internet and online poker and because television has attracted millions of new players.
"In the old days, you played against the sixty or so other best players in the world, and hyperaggression didn't work well against them. Great players are better readers, and they're going to play against you," she writes.
"These days you're playing against fields of six hundred relatively inexperienced players, who might buckle under pressure--or who might just be overly aggressive to prove their acumen. You're playing against six hundred completely unknown quantities...you put a lot of chips at risk. You assume control and take over the table. But sometimes sitting back and trapping the hyperaggressor is the way to go. You have to retool your game for all sorts of new players. I succeeded in retooling my game, only to get hit with a sledgehammer; my marriage imploded."
Overall, I like this book. It has a tone of honesty and humility to it--something many of the other poker books, supposedly written by world class players or "ghost-written" with professional writers, too often lack.
Ken Einiger has filled an important information gap. I know, because hundreds of people have asked me about tournament blackjack books. There were fewer than a handful available until now. His well-titled Play to Win is sure to attract a new wave of tournament players.
The book contains three major sections. The first explains the basic of tournament blackjack and how to find one to enter. There are different types of tourneys--entry fee types dominate (anyone can enter if they pay the fee, which can be anywhere from $10 to $5,000); the re-entry type (where you can buy in again to stay in contention); the wild-card format (where those who are knocked out of a tournament get a shot during the tournament because their names are drawn from a bin for a second-chance free seat if their name is drawn); the mini-tournament (entry fees of $20 to $l00).
This book is a true survival guide. It explains table manners (it's important to know you can't hide your chips; that bathroom breaks may not occur; that helping an opponent with a question may be hazardous to your bankroll, among other areas).
Position or order can be vital. The person who bets last on the last hand has a significant advantage, and Einiger explains why.
Parts Two and Three of the book focuses on the author's experiences at the table in tournament play--his wins, losses, mistakes, what the learned the hard way. He discusses the mathematical approach; money management; unorthodox play; the use of the surrender option should you be able to use it; and a very important factor--equity--meaning the percent of entry fees which will be returned to players in prize money.
One key section lists tournament rules worth remembering.
Knowing the game of blackjack is one thing. Knowing how to survive early rounds and prosper, later qualifying for final tournament table play is another. For the price, this book has value. It's a must-read for anyone even thinking of entering a blackjack tournament.
Howard Schwartz, the "librarian for gamblers," is the marketing director for Gambler's Book Club in Las Vegas, a position he has held since 1979. Author of hundreds of articles on gambling, his weekly book reviews appear in numerous publications throughout the gaming industry. Howard's website is www.gamblersbook.com Cursed and Won Millions (with Duke and David Diamond) ($24.95, hardbound, 260 pages) should inspire many more to play. The biography arrived this week, along with Ken Einiger's Play to Win -- A World Champion's Guide to Winning Blackjack Tournaments (160 pages, paperbound, $12.95).Duke's book is a mixed bag of goods, although a good one. Part biography, part advice and somewhat a diary, the work shows that she and her co-author have a good grasp of what players want -- little bit of how she became a world class, winning, successful player and guidance on how to get the money. The sister of another world class player (Howard Lederer), she's acquainted with poker in a way few ladies of this generation ever have been.
This is a smooth read. In some ways an important one, because Duke dissects her own life on a personal level, while rebuilding her own skills and mental attitude toward the game of poker. She knows the game has changed because of the Internet and online poker and because television has attracted millions of new players.
"In the old days, you played against the sixty or so other best players in the world, and hyperaggression didn't work well against them. Great players are better readers, and they're going to play against you," she writes.
"These days you're playing against fields of six hundred relatively inexperienced players, who might buckle under pressure--or who might just be overly aggressive to prove their acumen. You're playing against six hundred completely unknown quantities...you put a lot of chips at risk. You assume control and take over the table. But sometimes sitting back and trapping the hyperaggressor is the way to go. You have to retool your game for all sorts of new players. I succeeded in retooling my game, only to get hit with a sledgehammer; my marriage imploded."
Overall, I like this book. It has a tone of honesty and humility to it--something many of the other poker books, supposedly written by world class players or "ghost-written" with professional writers, too often lack.
Ken Einiger has filled an important information gap. I know, because hundreds of people have asked me about tournament blackjack books. There were fewer than a handful available until now. His well-titled Play to Win is sure to attract a new wave of tournament players.
The book contains three major sections. The first explains the basic of tournament blackjack and how to find one to enter. There are different types of tourneys--entry fee types dominate (anyone can enter if they pay the fee, which can be anywhere from $10 to $5,000); the re-entry type (where you can buy in again to stay in contention); the wild-card format (where those who are knocked out of a tournament get a shot during the tournament because their names are drawn from a bin for a second-chance free seat if their name is drawn); the mini-tournament (entry fees of $20 to $l00).
This book is a true survival guide. It explains table manners (it's important to know you can't hide your chips; that bathroom breaks may not occur; that helping an opponent with a question may be hazardous to your bankroll, among other areas).
Position or order can be vital. The person who bets last on the last hand has a significant advantage, and Einiger explains why.
Parts Two and Three of the book focuses on the author's experiences at the table in tournament play--his wins, losses, mistakes, what the learned the hard way. He discusses the mathematical approach; money management; unorthodox play; the use of the surrender option should you be able to use it; and a very important factor--equity--meaning the percent of entry fees which will be returned to players in prize money.
One key section lists tournament rules worth remembering.
Knowing the game of blackjack is one thing. Knowing how to survive early rounds and prosper, later qualifying for final tournament table play is another. For the price, this book has value. It's a must-read for anyone even thinking of entering a blackjack tournament.