Product Description

Poker is hotter than ever. Tens of millions of people shuffle up and deal, log on and play, and tune in to watch televised tournaments on a regular basis. No Limit Hold'em, known as the 'Cadillac of poker', is widely considered to be the purest form of the game and is by far the most popular, given that it is featured in the World Series of Poker and on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown. In PHIL GORDON'S LITTLE GREEN BOOK, world-class poker player and co-host of Celebrity Poker Showdown Phil Gordon does for poker what Harvey Penick did for golf, sharing both his technical expertise as a seasoned veteran of the game and his insights as one of poker's most visible teachers. He provides players of all levels with invaluable tips, expert advice, and bits of poker wisdom. Gordon's accessible explanations, conversational approach, and easy-to-read diagrams make LITTLE GREEN BOOK a must-have reference for anyone interested in learning No Limit Hold'em as well as the millions of players who have already gone all-in.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25856 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

About the Author
Phil Gordon is the co-host of Bravo's hit show Celebrity Poker Showdown and a world-class poker player. He has won more than $1,200,000 in tournaments in the last three years, including a first place finish in the World Poker Tour in 2002 and a fourth place finish in the 2001 World Series of Poker. The author of POKER: THE REAL DEAL, Gordon lives in Las Vegas.

Customer Reviews

Very good read
There has long been something of a shortage quality literature on poker (With the exception of 2+2 publications) and more specifically, a shortage of literature about No Limit Hold 'EM. Phil Gordon's LGB book goes some way to addressing this and should be of use to both tournament and cash-game players alike.

Despite being a relatively short book, it provides a treasure trove of advice and tips on all aspects of NLHE, organised through a series of general thoughts and musings rather than any the step-by-step approach seen in many books. While the book does work through the traditional Pre-flop/Flop/Post flop sequence, this is merely a way for Gordon to organise his miriad thoughts on all aspects of the game. The short to-the-point and easy to read chapters make this ideal bathroom reading and it's conversational, rather than deeply analytical style will lend it's self well to begineers.

It's more informative than instructional, it's not going to make a poker player suddenly start stomping games but it will take someone who knows a little about poker and make them much more comfortable, while also offering the advanced player some food for thought.

Looking forward to his Little Blue Book.

Good and very readable NL hold'em book
I really like this book. It's easy to read yet very informative at the same time. It's not a deep theoretical / mathematical book like the ones Sklansky, Miller et al put out. It's also not as poe-faced and intractable.

Phil covers the whole game not as a course but as little expositions on each part of the game. You don't learn to play a system but learn how to think about each aspect. Specifically you learn how Phil thinks and plays. Having said that you probably get more specific practical advice in this book than most no-limit books. He does have suggestions on how to play say top two-pair in early position etc. He also outlines some of his favorite plays. This makes the book very useful to the beginner IMO. You can play like Phil does as a starting point and you will be playing a reasonably game that will stand up at low level stakes and free your mind up for thinking and learning. This is in contrast to say "No Limit Hold'em: Theory and Practice" which is so theoretical and mathematical that I find it very hard to put into real play. If you are like me, you can only take one new piece of information to a poker table at a time or you just get confused. Phil's format works well in this respect. You can dip into the book, pick up an idea, and try it out.

It's also a nicely produced hard-back book that will last for years.

In need of translation..............
I am sure this book contains much wisdom, the only problem is a lot of it is hidden behind terminology and phrases that may be fine for the seasoned player who "talks" poker all the time but for someone trying to get into the game the prevalence of (what I assume is) poker slang renders much of the content unintelligible. From the word go, phrases such as "on a draw", "double gut-shot draw", "on the bubble", "smooth-call", "the nuts" etc are used with little or no explanation. Even if you resolve to try and decipher the terminology as you go along, words such as "Trips" and "set" (which I assume refers to three-of-a-kind) seem to be used interchangably just to prolong the process of interpretation.
If Mr Gordon had seen fit to include a glossary or gently introduced these phrases with some explanation along the way then I am sure I would have got far more from the book for less time and effort.
I am sure that if I persist with poker, then in years to come I will be able to pick this book up and use it as it was intended but for the moment it remains a potentially confusing prospect for the complete beginner.