Poker Strategy: Proven Principles for Winning Play

Rating:
Summary: Old School approach definitely worth a read
Review: A.D. Livingston gives some sound poker advice for a variety of games, from Stud to Hold `Em to Anaconda. Originally published twenty years before this updated 1991 edition, this is kind of an oddball poker book.
The terms are antiquated, and even seem old by the standards of the 1970s. Hold `Em is quaintly referred to as "Hold Me Darling," and the community cards in that game are called the "Widow." But these old school terms don't invalidate the advice that is presented. Livingston discusses bluffing, analyzing your opponents, dealing with cheats, and bankroll management, and it's obvious that he is speaking from a lifetime of experience. He then goes on to discuss the mathematical principles of play, and tells aspiring players exactly how to calculate whether the odds are in their favor.
This advice, while hardly revolutionary, is very solid, and is a great beginning for building a winning poker strategy. Players looking for the advanced techniques that experts use in high-limit hold `em will be disappointed. But this book can improve their hold `em game by teaching them some fundamentals, and underscoring the right way to think about pot odds and drawing possibilities.
The book is of even more use to those who are looking to beef up their play in their home "dealer calls" game. A player who studies this book will know what a good starting hand is in a five handed stud game, and will learn a good strategic approach to Cincinnati High-Low.
One note on the writing: it is by turns colorful, and boring. The more techical discussions can sound like appliance assembly instructions, but as a rule, the writing is more than adequate, and very clear.
Today's poker world is obsessed with specializing in different aspects of Hold `Em. It's nice to get a little retro, and go back to the basics of what poker is all about. The serious hold `em player might benefit simply because this approach is "the road less traveled," and therefore might give them the edge against an opponent who has studied the mainstream books that everyone owns.


Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time!
Review: This is the worst poker book I have ever read. The author has some sound advice, but you can find any other poker book, and just about any other book will be better for your money.

I don't intend to say that Texas holdem is the only poker that anyone plays, but it is a very prominant game these days, and is probably the most played game in the world. Given these circumstances, the fact that holdem is barely mentioned, and is called "hold me" by A.D. Livingston, I don't give him much credit as a poker player.

The other books he has written are about fishing. He may be good at writing books about fishing, but he definately doesnt know much about poker. He uses lowball to explain almost every concept in the book, and doesnt give definitions for many of the poker terms that he uses when explaining things.

Basically you need to know a lot about poker to understand what he is trying to tell you, which circumvents the fact that he is trying to explain basic poker strategies. If you understand what he is trying to explain, you will definately already be a better poker player than this man.

I would reccomend you use the money that you would spend on this book playing in a game, and use the experience gained from that game. This would be a better use of your money, than to buy this book.