Winning Low-Limit Hold 'Em

Rating:
Summary: All good so far...
Review: Well, I went to a casino (to play poker) for the first time last Saturday and entered a hold'em tournament- $40 buy in x 10 players, top three chipholders after 30 hands get prizes $150, $90, and $50 respectively. Finished about 5th the first time, 2nd the second time for a net profit of $10 (minus toke). Not bad for my first time! Now if only I can find a regular live game... Your results may vary, but my background is less than 6 months home game experience, this book, and "Thursday Night Poker" by Peter Steiner (another great book). I can honestly say Jones' book has given me a solid foundation to playing holdem and I feel comfortable at any low limit table. It's as good as the other reviews say- I still reread it constantly. I can't say enough good things about it- buy this book! As a side story, during this first trip to the casino I was dealt this fortunate hand- I was in the big blind and dealt 27 offsuit. The betting was called around, so I got to see the flop for free, which fortuitously came 777 :) With three players chasing full houses or whatever, this one paid off. I promise to fold 27 in all other situations without a second thought, but this one gives me a moment of pause :)

Rating:
Summary: A good start
Review: What I found particularly remarkable about this book was its approachability (It was in english, with a glossary for terms you may not find familiar, and I read the whole thing in about two hours). This book at the outset claims that it will not make you some sort of champion player, but it instead gets you to think the way you need to in the particular niche of low-limit hold-'em, and in that realm it has been infinitely useful to me as a foundation text, preparing me immediately for the game it describes, as well as allowing you to begin to understand what it takes to be successful in higher stakes games.