Barry Shulman,  the primary author of this book,  is well known in the tournament poker world for his money finishes in major and minor no limit hold 'em tournaments.  He is also the owner and CEO of poker’s most successful magazine, Card Player Magazine  (for which I have written). Mark Gregorich works at Card Player as well,  has written a few articles in their recent issues, and is a winning Omaha 8 and No Limit Hold Em player.  So it was with great interest that I ordered this book from Amazon.com.

The book is not what I expected.  That’s at least partially my fault.

You see,  had I purchased the book in a bookstore I would have at least had an opportunity to look through it briefly and figure out that the subject was not No Limit Texas Hold Em,  as I had expected.  I would have realized that it was not about the high stakes tournaments like the ones that Barry and Mark had done so well in.  But since I ordered it online,  I could only judge the book by its cover. So I presumed,  incorrectly,  that the book would help me with my high stakes and tournament no limit holdem.

The cover is slightly misleading too.  There is a banner that reads,  “Special Bonus Section: No-limit Strategies.”  Had I thought about it,  I suppose I would have realized that if there were a special bonus section on no-limit then it would be fair to assume that the rest of the book wasn’t about no-limit.  But I just glanced at the cover briefly.  Shame on me.

This book is a primer for those who either don’t know how to play holdem or who need an introduction to winning concepts of low limit holdem play. Shulman begins with a brief introduction about the state of poker and hold em today and then follows with a rather lengthy chapter addressed to someone who has never played hold em before,  explaining the basic rudiments of the game.  The book proceeds with three universal concepts,  then chronologically goes through numerous tips geared to each stage of the betting action.  The final few tips apply generally to all stages of the betting.  The book concludes with a very short,  four-paragraph comparison of no-limit to limit hold em,  an appendix to help figure out odds,  and a glossary of frequent poker expressions. There is a table of contents,  no index,  and there is no bibliography. Have you ever been sitting in a Dealer’s Choice game and had someone introduce a new game and then try to explain it?  Ever had them get interrupted by someone else who also knows how to play the game?  Between the two of them jumping in with examples and explanations,  it’s almost impossible to understand what they’re talking about,  yes?  I’ve rarely read or even heard a clear explanation of how to play a card game.  You just want them to start dealing the cards because you know you can figure the game out once you start to see how it’s played.

The initial chapter in this book should be ignored even by the beginner.  Learn how to play by watching.  It will take you only a few minutes.  And try not to hold against the authors this cumbersome,  painful at times,  attempt to explain literally how to play Hold Em.  If you’re a beginner and you give up on the book because of the unsuccessful first chapter you’ll be missing something worthwhile.

The tips,  displayed in helpful summary form at the beginning of each of the 52 chapters,  are actually quite good for a beginning player,  although they are not a substitute for the more comprehensive texts on low limit hold em by Lee Jones or Lou Krieger.  The tips get better as they progress.  I found the weakest tips were the universal ones that begin the book.  The tips for post-flop play were,  in my opinion,  the best.  And there were enough nuggets of solid poker advice throughout the rest of the book to make the purchase worthwhile.

Although the  “chapter”  comparing no-limit to limit is quite scant,  there are a few useful pointers in it.  It left me hungry for a book full of additional comments about no-limit.  Maybe Shulman’s and Gregorich’s next book will contain just that.