Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2747 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 381 pages

Synopsis
Provides poker strategies for every phase of tournament play, covering the early phase where the stakes are small to later tactics such as bluffing, flops, scare cards, playing shorthanded, loose games, and endgame play.

Customer Reviews

Excellent
I thought this was brilliant, and a fitting climax after the other two volumes in the series, which I have also enjoyed. There is stuff here to learn that I have found so useful in my own game. The sessions on bubble play in particular have helped me a lot. A fun way to learn that builds up to the climax - how you scored and Harrington's rating of your skills, and finding out where you need to concentrate your learning. As ever only use your learning against the good player. Against random internet low stakes players, your new knowledge will not help you quite so much. A frustrating fact of life I'm afraid.

Good facts, but the play is too tight for the lower leagues.
I cannot fault the factual information in this book, it is fairly well laid out and well explained (although the exercise diagrams, text and questions are split over several pages, which makes for frequent back and fourth).

But the truth is since reading this book, my game play has gone worse. Harrington is coming from the angle of 200-1000+ player tournaments, where you should sit and wait for suited connectors, pocket pairs and premium overcards. Unfortunately like most people I know, I play online and in pubs. Games contain 50 players or less and have rapid blind increases which means you have to make moves sooner rather than later. And whilst you are sitting around waiting for these super cards, a few chancers with some guts have cleaned up the table and are sat with a big stack waiting to grind you down.

In short, his style of play is too tight for the games I play in, and most of his advice and exercises uses the aforementioned hands as a starting point, which leaves the advice slightly vague and your high-tech plays completely lost against average opponents (usually landing you in the muck).

I've played his game a few times on the higher denomination tables, and you do start to feel some of the benefit. Buy this is you are ready to step up to the big leagues and play people who are one step ahead, but if you are looking to improve your game against your mates and turn a few extra quid on small value tables then this book will do you more damage than good.

Tournament Poker Sorted!!
Well as Gordon Ramsay might say if he was a poker player,Harrington on hold em:expert strategy series is tournament poker DONE!! From total beginner to advanced player anyone and everyone can learn from these books.Harrington leaves nothing untouched as he takes you through every aspect of tournament poker from what hands to play in what posistion,against what kind of oppenents,to pot odds,to how to bet,when to bet and why to bet in different situations.I have all three in the series and can not put it any more simple then buy,read,improve,read again,improve some more.If you want to know what tournament poker is all about well you will not find better then this.