Rating: 
Summary: took my game to a new level
Review: Before reading this book, I was a decent NL holdem player, playing up to the $2/4NL games. I was a money making player, but i found that i was often playing extremely inconsistently, often losing my entire initial 400 buy-in, then having to climb the ladder back up, which i was usually able to do, although with much anguish and lack of patience.
This book took me to the next level. It clearly explained differences between starting hands in nolimit holdem and reasons why other hands (ie k/j q/j a/j) are trash. Although i had won plenty of money playing those hands in the past, i found that those hands were "leaks" in my game, as i would sometimes lose everything with them. I found that i was playing too many hands and overvaluing certain other hands like a/k.
Another aspect of this book that is not usually covered as well in other books is how to play your monster starting hand after the flop; how to be creative with your hands against different types of players; how to extract that last dime from yoru opponents.
As johnny cash puts it, "You got to know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away..."
Rating:
Summary: REPRINT WARNING
Review: Great book but it is a reprint. Wish I had known since I already had it. Woof.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I bought this book several months ago and was diaapointted by it. It is heavy on poker "war stories" but light on actual practical advice. He could have just as easily written a pamphlet for as much useful information as it contains. It can be distilled down to play really tight and know your opponents moves.
If you really want to learn no limit hold 'em buy Dan Harrington's new book, you be much better off.
Rating:
Summary: Please don't read this book
Review: I bought this book. The book is written in a very informal style. However, the first day after I read it I finished 6th out of 1600 in one tournement in which I never finished higher than 400 in before. This guy knows his stuff, but do you have the discipline and patience to follow his advice? This is not a formula book, as in play this way, and this way only. TJ goes into the real aspect of NL tourny play, as in playing the player, and not making mistakes. I would rather you not read this book because I don't want anyone who follows it to play against me. But if you do read it pay attention, TJ's style is understated to say the least, but he lays out a system that will win you tournaments.
Rating: 
Summary: Great once you cut off the fat.
Review: I purchased this book because it's one of the few that discusses specific strategy in No-Limit tournaments (it also addresses Pot-Limit Hold'em, but I don't really know how many people use that style for Hold'em... Omaha and Stud, maybe, but not Hold'em, usually). Now, before you all buy it as the definitive guide to winning your buddy's weekend $15 buy-ins, just be aware that this book is addressing high-stakes tournaments against tough opponents who are thinking the same way you do. Most home games involve people who want to gamble and have fun. This book isn't for those kinds of games.
The book turned me off at first. McEvoy and Cloutier spend many pages talking about their wonderful careers and, as great as they may be, I'll buy a biography if I really want to know. Eventually, they get to the good stuff. Now, they continue to throw in personal experiences, which work a lot better as examples of strategies rather than "look at me I'm great" chapters.
Cloutier is a very tight tournament player, a style used by many players because it works. Because of this, he only goes into detail about playing premium hands: AK, AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, and KQ. He doesn't bother much with other hands that most people play because he doesn't feel that they hold much value when the betting gets so high. This might seem a little narrow-minded, but Cloutier does such a good job breaking down how to play each hand that you won't even notice. If you don't know how to play any of the above hands after reading this book, then you have problems.
Unfortunately, some of the other sections involve a lot of, "oh, this is real important", but how to do it is never addressed. For instance, Cloutier stresses over and over again how important it is to "read" your opponents and pick up on their tendencies so that, when they raise, you know exactly what they have. However, he never really explains how to do this. No tips or anything, just "hey, make sure you observe your opponents". I think we all know this, but we need guidance as to what the best approach is to gaining this information. Many hands never make it to a showdown, so you need other methods of reading players. My assumption is that you can either do this naturally, or you can't. Cloutier can, and very, very well.
One good thing Cloutier does is keep a strong, consistent theme throughout his section, emphasizing the need to protect and build your chips over time, not in one hand. Amateur players seem to have a hard time understanding this, instead they try to double up every time they get a half-decent hand. Cloutier's super-tight style might be a turn off to some, but he shows you why it works. You don't have to follow it, but you can't argue with the results.
Overall, definitely pick up this book if you plan on playing in tough tournaments. It's a hit-or-miss style that many people won't find particularly interesting, but those who want to play at a high level will find the advice invaluable.
Rating: 
Summary: Play really tight
Review: I think maybe I have read too many books on poker now. I didn't see anything new here. Basically, it says know your players and play really tight. They don't like suited aces, suited connectors, or overcards suited or not, I would like to watch a tournament from start to finish to see if Cloutier plays just aces.
Rating:
Summary: Play really tight
Review: I think maybe I have read too many books on poker now. I didn't see anything new here. Basically, it says know your players and play really tight. They don't like suited aces, suited connectors, or overcards suited or not, I would like to watch a tournament from start to finish to see if Cloutier plays just aces.
Rating:
Summary: Don't know why this book gets high reviews
Review: I'm a good limit and decent NL player, winning at both regularly. I wanted to take my game to the next level and this book did not help. There are no tricks or even organized suggestions in this book. It is a bunch of chat basically about being tight. I also bought Internet texas hold'em by Matthew Hilger and that book taught me tons. In fact my NL play improved as much from that book as it did from TJ's. Overall this book is a huge disappointment. It is repetetive and full of chatter which is interesting but can't improve your game. Send me $50 and I will tell you not to play KJ and Q10 in a NL game.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not the best poker book you could buy
Review: I've read a few poker books before this one and I play alot of weekly games with buddies and tournaments that consist of 50-150 people every week in no limit holdem. Every other poker book I've owned was never specifically geared towards no limit holdem so that's why I purchased this book.Against other books I've read, this book is ok, but really doesn't teach you how to be agressive or anything you'd need to know to actually win a 100 man tournament, nevermind a 2000 man tournament like the WSOP. The problem with this book? Well TJ tries to teach you to be a "tight" player...only play premium hands in certain positions. That's great, he wants to try and get people to play smart tight poker, and that's a good style to play. But he always assumes that you've got an amazing hand! How many times per 4 hour session are you going to get pocket AA's? Once? Pocket KK's? Once? Never? He teachs you how to play with 5 of the best hands in the game and then for the rest you're on your own. For the amount of hands he wants you to play to be successful you will almost always be blinded to death and get knocked out of a tournament. I don't want to presume to be a better player than him, I'm obviously not, but he doesn't teach you more of the important things you need to know. What am I talking about? He never teachs you about the different player types. The scared players, the maniac players, the cash cow players.....it's mainly just him telling stories about "one time I played 7 - 2, and I flopped a full house"...thats great, but how does that help me. Here's the book I reccommend VERY HIGHLY (!!!!) : Killer Poker Holdem Handbook: A workbook for winners by John Vorhaus. I can't stress enough how great a book it is and how much it personally helped my game and completely changed my style. It may be geared towards limit holdem but the mental things that you get taught in that book can be applied to all poker games whether it be limit or no limit. I found it to be a far better book than this book by TJ. If you want a book on how to win with the best possible hands in the game, buy this book, if you want a book that will teach you how to win with absolutely nothing, buy John Vorhaus's book.
Rating: 
Summary: Some funny stories, but not densely packed with good advice
Review: If you occassionally find yourself playing hands other than AA, KK, or AK, there isn't much instruction in this book that can't be summed up with the usual "play tight, be aggressive". Certainly mastering it will not allow you to quit your job and play poker full time.
Some pretty funny stories, though.
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