Poker : The Real Deal

Rating:
Summary: Great 1st Book for your Collection
Review: I've read other books which talk about position, odds, and outs, and it was over-whelming. Phil really breaks it down so it is easy to understand and comprehend. I received this as a gift and was kind of skeptical, because I hadn't heard of it before. Once I started reading, I didn't want to put it down. It has made me a much smarter player, and has helped quite a bit in online poker as well. It helps you steal blinds and pots, after reading this book I usually can predict what the other person has in their hand based on their betting or raising. A great first book, and would be very beneficial for those who are playing low limit hold'em and want to dominate their competition. It gets your mind-set ready for middle level games, and is really worth the time and money. Should be part of any poker player's collection!

Rating:
Summary: Poker: The Real Deal is The Real Deal!
Review: If you are new to the game of Hold'Em or an experienced player this book is definitely worth the time and money spent! Unlike the "advanced" books on poker, Phil Gordon did not mean for this to be a textbook, instead it's an introduction to the poker lifestyle. This book will help anyone take their game to the next level and I love Phil's humor as well as his other poker text recommendations. =)

Rating:
Summary: Worth Every Dollar!
Review: If you're an intermediate player, this book really has nothing to offer you. The writing is ok, but there's very little drama and very little theory. Maybe Phil Gordon, whom I respect as a poker player, will write a substantial book on his trade in the future, but this isn't that book. Don't waste your money if you already know how to calculate pot odds.

Rating:
Summary: Take Your Game to a New Level
Review: Make sure you have the book "Hold'em Poker For Advanced Players" by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth by your side along with a highlighter. They go hand in hand to make your game complete. Phil's book makes you think like a poker player when you play. He gives the mathematics of poker in such simple terms that I could even follow them. I now can calculate pot odds vs the odds of my dawing a winning hand and know when to stay or fold. Before Phil's book, I was always guessing and winning or losing solely based on how lucky I was that day. If I won money, I quit before I lost it again. No More. I took two weeks off poker and studied Phil's and Slansky's books and have been consistently winning ever since. I play a more aggressive game, but a much smarter game and do not play as many hands or make stupid calls to see if my opponent is bluffing. I play pot odds and calculate odds for every card. Slansky will give you the pre-flop plays, and Phil controls the thinking after that. This book is a smart, common sense sense approach to poker. But you must calclate your odds at each stage. If you do, you will be a confident raiser or folder, and a consistent winner.

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book, and you will too.
Review: The Pros:
- Really Fun Book
- Great Stories and Examples
- Exceptionally Well-Written
- Good Strategy info for beginners woven throughout
- "Defining Moments" at End of each Chapter are great

The Cons:
- None.

Bottom Line:
I loved this book, and so will you. What are you waiting for?

If you're looking for some thoroughly enjoyable light reading, but don't want to stray from the subject of your favorite game, look no further than Poker: The Real Deal by Phil Gordon.

There are dozens of excellent strategy books you can buy that will help intermediate players hone their skills towards expert play, and others that will teach a beginner the basics... but Gordon takes things in a totally different direction. Sure, there's excellent strategy information to be found here, but this is a lifestyle book. This is a book about the WORLD of poker, rather than the game itself. It provides an insight into the personalities, the crazy stories, and even the seedy underbelly of the game we all love.

I really enjoyed this book. When someone asks me why I like playing poker, I recommend they read this book-- it does a better job of explaining the allure of the game than I ever could.

Phil Gordon, known mostly as the co-host of Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and as a champion on the World Poker Tour circuit, is an excellent writer. I'm impressed that someone who knows how to play poker so well can also effectively spin a sentence. The book is entertaining, informative, and a genuinely fun read. If you can put it down before reading it in a single sitting you're a better man than I.


Rating:
Summary: Great Place to Start
Review: The thing I like about this book is that it doesn't try to teach you how to play every situation. Rather, Phil opts to give you a general style of play and directs you to other books for the minutia and theory. As a beginner, I feel that I have a much better understanding of the game now than I did when I started reading the book. I also have a wish list full of must-read poker books. I also like how he caps every chapter by putting you in a Defining Moment situation, which may or may not have a clear-cut answer. He gets you to think about what you would do in that situation. Improving at poker is about getting that thought process going, not just reacting to cards. I feel that this book will pay for itself a hundred times over. I give it 5 bets on my 5 bet rating scale.

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Place to Start Your Poker Education
Review: There's no debating that poker is a hot topic these days, and because of it, there's a lot of interest in learning about it. In this quest, lots of people will head straight for the "... For Dummies" series because it's familiar - they'll be making a bigger mistake than going all-in on a 2-7 offsuit.

"Poker: The Real Deal" is a well-rounded, very informative, easy-to-read and immensely entertaining book for the poker newbie. It covers a wide range of topics on poker, from the development of its variations throughout history, to the basics of strategy, to the lingo and customs needed to not look foolish at a casino or home game. This breadth of topics make it worth reading even if you're a moderately experienced player, but the true value is held for the novice.

Strategy is what most people will be looking for, and the strategy section is a definite strength, discussing the calculation of pot odds, the importance of position and the basics of valuing your hand strength vs. your read on that of others at the table. Does it cover strategy as in-depth as Sklansky and Malmuth's books or the classic "Super/System"? Of course not - that wouldn't be appropriate for the book's core audience. But the great thing about this book is that it contains very helpful passages from those books and points you to them if you'd like to get more information. Let's face it - most of us are just looking to keep up with our home games and occasional casino vacations, and this book works as a single-volume bookshelf that more than fits the needs of such a player. But again, if you envision yourself flipping the boss the bird and staking your claim as the next Greg Raymer, then "Poker: The Real Deal" will help you find all of the additional information necessary to start.

Online play is also covered, and while it's a good chapter, it's also (understandably) rather biased toward's Phil's affiliated website.

Many will buy or give this book based on Phil Gordon's recognition from Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown", and that's fine. His personal anecdotes add a lot to the readability of the book. Finally, it's even a physically attractive book printed on quality paper, even if it is a screwy size (very tall and narrow, making it more difficult than usual to hold open at the very beginning and end). Do you really want to host your first home game and have someone spot that atrocious yellow-and-black "Dummies" book on your shelf? Of course not.

If you're among the many who recently discovered poker via TV or the Internet but are buffaloed by the numerous books on taking your game to the next level, then your search is over - this is THE one book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Humor, Thought, and Poker...What More Do You Need?
Review: This is a book which is at once funny and thought-provoking. Phil does an excellent job of explaining how Texas Holdem is played in a way which clearly describes the game to the novice, while not talking down to those who are more experienced at the game. In addition, he includes fun chapters on the history of the game, of Phil's own journey from poker novice to poker champion (I got a mental image of Phil going to the ATM at 3 in the morning that made me laugh), and of the various differences in the game of holdem. The wealth of information he included in the book is very suprising...he picked through numerous poker books and included the best ideas from each (crediting the authors for their work), and it was done in such a way to make you want to buy their books as well. One of my two favorite parts of the book, though, were the listings of websites for home games, websites for more poker strategy, the best poker rooms in the world, and the website created by Phil and his poker friends (tiltboys.com). My other favorite part of the book was the reader's hypothetical run in the World Series of Poker, and of the, well, idyllic way it ended, proving Phil has a VERY creative imagination too. All told, Phil Gordon writes as well as he plays poker, and smart poker players will buy this book and discover this for themselves. Thanks, Phil.

Rating:
Summary: Worth Every PENNY!
Review: This is an easy read and is a good book for beginning players to use. Phil Gordon is one of the most successful players in the world and he knows what he is talking about. Be advised though that Gordon became a millionaire(he's probably worth more than any other pro player alive at about 32 million dollars) through his internet business in the late 1990's, and then devoted his time to becoming a true champion. But he is certainly a reliable voice and some of his advice can be really worthwhile, especially the stuff about table etiquette.