Hold 'Em Poker

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Hold'em Poker is a revision of Sklansky's classic from 1976. It was the first authoritative poker book to actually give starting hands in hold'em. Sklansky arranged the hands into eight groups and gave recommendations on which ones to open with depending on position.

In this edition he has revised the groups and corrected some minor errors. For example, 7-6s was then both the #30 hand in Group 5 and the #53 hand in Group 8. That has been corrected.

In addition to being the first book devoted exclusively to hold'em, Sklansky's little gem is perhaps the best introductory book on hold'em ever written, and then some. Sklansky does a masterful job of introducing the reader to the game, pointing out how it differs from other poker games, narrows in on the community card essence of the game, and then, amazingly enough, gives the reader information and ideas of considerable value to even seasoned players. Even if you have been playing hold'em for some time, and even if you have read Brunson's SuperSystem, I still recommend that you spend some time with this book.

Sklansky writes in a deceptively terse style so that the ideas and concepts are plainly stated without elaboration. This has frustrated some readers because in some cases what Sklansky is saying is clear at first blush, while in other cases the text seems cryptic. There are three reasons for this.

One, Sklansky thought of himself primarily as a teacher and deliberately left out some explanations while inviting readers to work out the reasoning for themselves. Serious players who want to improve their game will benefit from this approach. Take out a deck of cards and deal out some hands if necessary. For example, near the end of the section on "Odds and Implied Odds" he explains why it is often correct to call with a small pair before the flop. He notes that you'll often "win a nice pot if your card flops." He adds without further explanation, "Get out if it doesn't, unless you make an open-end straight." He wants you to work that out. If you do, you will come to note (after some study) that a draw to an open-ended straight that figures to be the nut is enormously better than an inside draw to the bottom end. I would add that if you have two sixes, the board 754 is significantly better than 987. Sklansky doesn't mention it, but in this latter case, you should usually not draw, but toss.

Two, like all experts writing for a general readership, Sklansky unconsciously takes some ideas for granted since he himself knows them so very well, but doesn't realize that the less experienced reader needs more explanation. I've read many books by experts in all sorts of fields from cosmology to Scrabble, and I can tell you that this is a common phenomenon. What the expert needs when writing a book for a general readership is a very good editor who is less than expert him- or herself. So, yes, this book would benefit from the work of a top notch editor.

An example of Sklansky's not explaining something that would be cryptic to most players comes from the "Semi-Bluffing" section of the "Strategy" chapter. First he notes that "If you never bluff on the flop or fourth street, you are giving away too much information when you do bet." Then he writes, "Rather than try to guess when to bluff, it is much better to use your cards to randomize your play." He is referring to semi-bluffing situations described in the proceeding paragraphs rather than a seat-of-your-pants bluff when you feel you haven't been bluffing enough. However, his use of the word "randomize" recalls a technique some pros use. Say it is correct to bluff one-fourth of the time in a certain situation. Everything else being equal, how do you decide? Take the first card on the flop. If it is a spade, bluff, otherwise don't. That will randomize.

Three, the expert is always aware of his learned colleagues looking over his shoulder; and so to some extent writes for that readership as well. We can see this in Sklansky's almost exhaustive treatment of how to play heads-up on fifth street in the "Strategy" chapter. Sklansky is anticipating knowledgeable critics familiar with saddle-point ideas from Game Theory, which are applicable to heads-up decisions on the river. You might profitably skim this section and save its intricacies for graduate school! But be aware that the top experts understand it very well.

I found it strangely synchronistic in rereading this book to fall upon Sklansky's ideas about the pause as a "tell." As Internet players know, how long it takes you to respond may give your opponents some information about your hand. Sklansky writes, "If a good player does not pause at all after he has bet and has been raised...he is most likely on the come for a flush or straight if such a hand is possible. With almost any other hand in this situation he has to pause to consider either folding or reraising." This is exactly the sort of "tell" that still exists in Internet play, and Sklansky's reasoning is as sound today as it was when he wrote this in the seventies.

This is not only a classic, but a book that almost thirty years after its creation is still very much worth reading. The fact that he devised his strategies originally for a game with only a single blind and an ante (the Las Vegas 10&20 hold'em game circa 1975) should be kept in mind. Yet the ideas and strategies are mostly still of great value. I played cards with Sklansky and I can tell you he is a very good player, but more than that he is a great theoretician who understands the game better than many world champions. Indeed they have learned from him.

Maybe my expectations were too high after reading the other reviews, but to say this book is good is an overstatement. While I won't disagree that the information presented in the book is accurate, the statements made in the book and by other reviewers that you need to study this book many times can only be because it is so poorly written.

First, there's a well known ranking of hands presented in the book. There's very little explanation as to why hands are ranked the way they are, except for a few obvious examples, so the only way to learn this is to memorize it. I would have preferred a more thorough explanation so I could figure these out on my own. In addition, it would have been nice if these had been presented in some graphical way to make the required memorization easier; in this case they are just a list.

Second, the book then moves on to "Flops you want" and a big table of examples of starting cards with Excellent Flops, Good Flops, and Fair Flops. Again, a nice table but no explanation to help a reader figure out WHY a particular flop is "Excellent," "Good," or "Fair." Again, a few obvious examples of Excellent flops are explained but it's up to the reader to figure the rest out (this is why you have to read it so many times to learn anything; you have to figure everything out on your own).

This pattern continues throughout the book. An idea is presented along with a fairly simple example, but little explanation is provided with each topic to help a reader understand why a particular concept works and most importantly, when a particular strategy is appropriate.

This book is like a flow of the author's thoughts that aren't presented in any logical fasion. He jumps from one example to the next in apparently random order so you just end up confused.

Maybe if I just keep reading it over and over I'll get it. Oh yeah, I remember once hearing that if a reader needs to read something over and over that's the author's fault; I think that applies here!

As a regular non-hold 'em poker player with friends with some success, I thought I'd see how the real thing was done. I read this book and played my first game of low limit hold 'em at a casino. 40 hours of playing later I'm even. The techniques in this book are excellent for 3,6 or 5,10 poker (especially when, as usual, there's at least three loose players at the table). I wouldn't recommend it for higher limit games or advanced players, the techniques are limited and there isn't enough advice on big pot hands. But hey, this book saved me around $500 from common sense alone, so it's ok with me. I'm still searching for a good book on pot limit or high stakes games, this isn't it.

This is an outstanding book on Hold 'Em! It takes some mental "work" to understand all of the nuances, but it's easier than the REAL work you'll have to do to replace the money lost through bad play. Most losses happen through attrition, not so-called "bad beats." Sklansky does a great job of teaching you to stop seeing the flop with garbage hands and therefore beating yourself. The low-limit games are great opportunities for making money if you'll follow the advice in this book and use DISCIPLINE. This book is not for the impatient. This book is for the person who wants to WIN! Others criticize Sklansky for being "arrogant," but he's right. Jack-ten suited is NOT the best hand, you don't HAVE TO CALL with top pair (when you know you're beat), and you need to get away from those small pairs when you don't get help on the flop. Want to win? This is THE book!

While experts won't get much from this title, I wholly recommend it for any player with a basic understanding of the game, as well as for more experienced poker players who haven't yet tried hold 'em. The author is thorough and easy to understand for the most part, offering plenty of helpful exercises and examples to help build good hold 'em strategy. I wish I could give this four and a half stars, because it is great with one exception- the claim "updated for today's double blind structure" means a few footnotes added to the text that don't offer much insight. A warning to beginners: you won't get rich against strong players simply by reading this book once (after reading it the first time I managed to break even over a weekend in a tough $5-$10 casino game), but you should bust up a relaxed Thursday night game without much trouble. To sum up, pay attention to the lessons in this book, and you'll be several steps ahead of the average poker player. Good luck!

Sklansky does a excellent job of explaining the game. Although his theory may be complicated and confusing, this book is well worth the read. If a player studies this book, and I mean study, not just read, they will be able to do well enough in nearly any game they enter. I started playing hold 'em a little over 2 months ago (gotta love rounders) and after studying this book I can confidently play in any mid range limit game with the knowledge that I am skilled enough to make money.

Sklanky may be a good poker player, but he stinks as a writer. The book is confusing and offers very litte in the way of helping a novice to understand his terms. Someone just picking this book off the shelf with no prior poker knowledge would be lost. If however, you already have some poker knowledge, and don't mind muddling through his poor examples and confusing writing style, then you can get some good advice out of this book. However there are books out there that have the same information that are better and more clearly written.

"Hold'em Poker" by David Sklansky is about as good as poker books get. This is not a Johnnie-come-lately effort trying to cash in on the new found popularity of Hold'em Poker. This is a solid classic that has been around for a while.

Even though this book has some age on it, the odds and probabilities in Poker haven't haven't changed, and neither has the value of this book. If you are going to play Hold'em for money, this is an essential book.

This is an fundamental background work, necessary homework for serious Poker players. It is not a simple, entertaining read. It contains real information that requires serious consideration.

Failure to read and understand this book will put you at risk of being a "producer". One losing session will cost you many times the price of this book.

I found this book very hard to read. The information was poorly presented. I estimate that I read this book three times actually, when you consider the amount of time I spent re-reading the passages trying to understand them. The editor took a month off, I think.

The most frustrating aspect was the conflicting information that was presented. Often times Sklansky would teach you a certain way to do things, but then offer alternative scenarios which require the opposite tactic. All this information would be contained in one paragraph. So I was never really sure what the actual advice was.

I did, however, also happen to have a copy of Sklansky's "Theory of Poker" which I found to be very easy to read, well-arranged, and organized. I suggest you purchase Theory of Poker. It contains all the information in this Hold-em book anyway.

Sklansky has great advice to give. You just need to make sure and buy the right book.

This is still the 1st best book to read for anyone wanting to play Texas Hold Em. This covers a lot of the basic strategies in simple and clear language. These days you can figure that everyone out there playing Hold Em has read this book or knows the information in it so it's an essential read. After reading this book and playing with the strategies presented, players will probably want to pick up the sequel to this book, Hold Em Poker for Advanced Players. Note: these books are primarily geared toward "ring" play or money tables, not tournament play (although concepts can apply to tournament play). If you eventually feel like you want to try out some hold em tournaments, beware of Sklansky's "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" book as it tries to cover playing in Texas Hold Em, Omaha, and 7-Card stud tournaments all at once. The information is very general and a little scattershot because of its broad scope.

This was the first poker book I read and boy was it a mistake.

First off 2+2 needs to update their theories on Holdem to today's game. Instead of having foot notes saying "this" or "that" doesn't apply anymore "so ignore it". Why not just re-write parts and print new editions?

Second, while I have no doubt the book is chuck full of great poker theory, it is hard to understand the way he presents it. I had read a few reviews above expressing this opinion and purchased this book anyway. I'm sorry I did.

All in all, maybe a book worth reading if you have allready read Doyle Brunson's "Super System" and Lee Jones's "Winning Low Limit Hold'em" and still want more.

A good editor would have been the spoonful of sugar Sklansky's book needs. Priceless information is contained in this volume for beginners. However, the format it's written in is cryptic and it's appended with useless asides, footnotes and references to other points in the book that are so obvious they are distracting such as p.30's "See the probability chapter". Who would buy the book and not read one of the most important chapters?

If you buy this book, it will be too difficult to finish and it will sit on your bookshelf and you'll continue to lose money at the poker table. Buy Lou Krieger's book instead of this one and you'll get the same information for half the effort. You'll learn more about the game in less time and you'll find you're also winning more often.

I'm not knocking Sklansky. I'm cheering for the beginner to intermediate poker player who just wants to learn how to play better. An editor would have made this book a much easier read and much more visually appealing. Sklansky's gamble at remaining the only name to receive payment from its sales sorely degrades the overall value of having this book in your collection. A good re-write would make it a much better read and a more popular book. And he probably would have made more money in the end with his publishing career.

Until recently I was a devout 7 card stud player, but now that I have been playing and learning texas hold em.. I am hooked.

Sklansky, the author of this great book, once worked as an actuary. Basically, it was his job to figure out all of the probabilities for insurance companies and limit their risk. That's almost exactly what he does for the serious hold em player with this book. He teaches you how to limit your risk and play the best hands time and time again. Anybody can sit down and play a few hours and get lucky... But, it takes a diciplined skill set and a solid knowledge of probabilities to win consistantly. Sklansky tells you how.

Until I read this book, I was up and down a lot. Now, I am playing a much more stable game. My losses are smaller and my wins are a little bigger.

Read this book to get a good solid foundation for hold em poker and then go out there and bust up some fish at the tables :^)

This was the first keen analysis of the game AND Sklansky's first book. Many of the ideas in this work were crafted into his later _Theory of Poker_. The book is somewhat dated in that D.S. undervalues the importance of position and underrates the profit potential of smaller pocket pairs. His writing style is stiff, not languid, and does not lend itself to easy reading. Many gambling pros speak their thoughts in an abrupt, abbreviated fashion and D.S. carried it over into his written product. He describes pot odds he anticipates at the close of betting as "implied odds", a phrase copied by other writers. If they are anticipated odds why shouldn't they be called that? D.S. seems to derive less of his income from the tables and more from author's royalties and consulting fees (he has advised casinos to abandon the three for two bonus on naturals in twenty-one). He has also stated that no one had published any insightful word on poker prior to 1976 (his book). His notoriety has gone to his head. This is a gratuitous slight to Herbert O. Yardley's _Education of a Poker Player_ published in 1957. However, this revised 1976 book is still worthwhile reading, for Hold'em and poker in general, and not reading it would be a mistake.

Of all of the books out there on the subject (and it does seem that anyone who has ever appeared at a WPT final table has their own book), Sklansky's is simply the best.

Read his books in this order:

The Theory of Poker,
Hold'Em Poker
Tournement Poker for Advanced Players

and you will have as much or more knowledge than the sum of all the other books you can find on the subject.

David Sklansky has made a name for himself in the world of poker for a good reason. He knows what he's talking about.

This book is an excellent book for beginners. There are many different levels you can read it on. No matter how many times you've read it, you will always pick up something reading it over. It's not wordy, it's not long, it's just plain good poker basics.

Many have said that Hold Em Poker for Advanced Players is a better book and not much harder to understand. I agree.

But this book still has some punch. I particularly like the sections on pre-flop strategy and giving/getting free cards. The one area this book is a little light on in my opinion is probabilities. This is a beginner's book and I'm sure that Sklansky did that intentionally. Some people are scared of numbers.

In either case, invest in this book and it will pay dividends.

This book is close to unreadable. Mr. Sklansky may be the authority on poker, but he sure can not write. There are better books out there which are much easier to read. This book will put you to sleep after giving you a massive headache.

David Sklansky clearly knows his poker, this book is quite authorative (as all of his books are), and will teach you a great deal if you work through the book slowly. If you are just starting out, however, a little more hold handing may be necessary, and a book like Winning Low-Limit Hold'em by Lee Jones may be a better book for you -- then come back to Sklansky once you learn the basics of proper play.

I have been playing poker all my life but just started playing Texas Hold'em a few months back. This book gives outstanding information for playing Hold'em. It not only helps you with the fundamentals but it helps you to start thinking of the advance playing strategies. I recommend this book, that is, unless your playing at my table.

This books is not wrong about anything. This book is right about almost everything. Mostly though, this book is great for the beginner. If you play poker for fun, and want to learn more about how to play holdem, this is where to start, and after a while, move to its big brother, Holdem for Advanced players. This book has starting hand requirements that work for most levels of games, and is one of the most in-depth books about how to play that still allows comprehension of the lessons in the book by the layperson.

It is not the best book on the subject, but it is by far not the worst. This might be the best first-book on poker for someone, as it is a very good introduction towards the style of most noteworthy poker books, and it doesn't really have too many flaws (in regards to detail).

In the areas where this books lacks, just get the Advanced player book, after fully digesting this one, and you will have plenty to chew on.

Holdem Poker is a great beginner's guide to limit Texas holdem. Sklansky is recognized as the authority on limit play. His straight forward technical approach in this book not only teaches you the fundamentals, but this book alone can make you a winning player! This is the most popular game being played online, at casinos, and in local card rooms. Learn this game and you can make a living anywhere in the world, online or live!

Very Good Book for someone wanting to learn about the general strategies of hold'em. It's not better than hold'em poker for advanced players, but it is still pretty good. In my opinion Hold'em poker for advanced players is the best book ever written on poker..so anything close will be a great tool for you to use. Also, this book does not address no-limit very well....and with all of the televised tourney coverage.....everyone loves no-limit and tournaments..so this book is not the best for those two aspects of the game.

very beginner level book, not woth it if you know anything about hold'em

David Sklansky is very smart. David Sklansky knows it. He makes excellent points as you gather information, and form a style of your own. I would not recommend playing exactly as he says, for others know this style now. Use it as great insight, from which you may draw better insights in time. Listen to him. He knows what he's talking about. "Luck is a constant" Paul "Big Fig" Newton

Although the ideas presented in this book are interesting, I think a person would be better served reading a more lengthy book which presented a little more insight into hold'em.

This book (more like a booklet, actually) gives a quick yet firm foundation from which one can start building his/her own Hold'em strategies. It was originally written when the single blind game was the norm then updated, but the "update" consists mostly of footnotes at various pages. Some of the concepts aren't exactly explained as well as they could have been, but they're good enough to understand what the author is trying to get at - it's the overall wins you care about, not the game you're currently playing, and encourages you to look at the long-term probabilities of winning rather than the individual game.

The book discusses almost exclusively the limit hold'em games, not the no-limit hold'em games. It's not for those that are not familiar with the rules of a hold'em games but it does touch up on the variations of the limit hold'ems and the differences between the limit and the no-limit games. The reader will likely want to read other books after reading this one. It's a fairly easy read that focuses on concepts more than the exact numbers, but some probability calculations and tables are provided if the reader is interested in them.

This was probably an awesome book when published in 1976, but the book has not been really updated since then, in spite of being reissued in 1997 as a new edition. The only real updating as far as I can tell is the addition of footnotes here and there explaining that some of the specific advice for certain situations may not be valid for the modern double blind structure. This book has a lot of very worthwhile ideas, but most of them are better explained in more detail in Sklansky/Malmuth's Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players, which I highly recommend. Another awesome Sklansky et al book is Small Stakes Hold'em, which I find extremely useful since I don't play in the big leagues. Overall I would rate Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players as much more valuable book than this one, even if you are not yet an advanced player.

A decent introduction to hold-em, but you can find a better written, and more current, book easily. This book was written in 1976 and updated in 1997, although this reprint is from October 2004.

Although a lot of the hand ranking and strategy is probably still applicable, the outdated nature of the book shows through at several points. The author freqently refers to the "new" system of two blinds, and in the "Note to 1997 Edition" says that this is usual at "bigger games." All hold-em games in casinos, at least in any casino I've been in, use the two-blind ("big" and "little") system, and the typical reader will only encounter those games in 2006. Sklansky also admonishes the reader not to play "no limit" games at several points in the book - well, in 2006 "no limit" is the most common game in casinos, and you'll be pressed to find a "limit" game in hold-em. Last two times I was in a poker room, there were no "limit" games even listed for hold-em. If you want limits, play Omaha.

This is a significant limitation to the book, because as I understand it, no-limit makes a significant difference in how you play. The book also does not address the differences in strategy between tournaments and cash games.

Finally, the author's use of the badly outdated terms "fourth street" and "fifth street" is just annoying - except for one twit on TV (either WSOP or WPT, I forget which) who has an idiotic affectation for referring to the turn as "fourth street", NO ONE uses these terms any more - it's "the turn" and "the river." It doesn't affect the instruction, but it really grates on the nerves almost immediately, and probably confuses the rank beginner who turns on the TV and hears different terminology used. It would have taken no time at all to change this before the 2004 reprint, if not earlier.

In short, a useful book, but you can do better for the money.

I read this book as a Beginner and found it very hard to follow. David Sklansky may be a great poker player but he is a lousy author. Beyond the basic rules of the game, trying to understand the concepts are too much of a chore. I think you would do better buying a more recently written poker book. The recent boom in pokers' popularity has brought many other well written books on strategy and instruction to the market, and you don't need to waste your time and money trying to plow through this short book.

Excellent beginners book that I have read over and over. All meat no fluff. I was able to hold my own in Vegas sitting at a Holdem table for the first time on the strength of this book and playing poker simulations. Highly recommended.

This book is a quick course to playing good poker. I am sure all the topics he writes about will make you money. The problem is that he give too little information and examples to fully know how to put the knowledge in to practice right. I really got a headache going through this book and still i am second guessing myself if I am making the right plays. What I think this book lacks is: 1. information about how to deal with certain players 2. how to recognize what kind of game you're in (just talks about loose or tight)

If you have the patience to fully understand this book it may be for you.

Not a book for beginners!!

This book is one that you will want to keep on your shelf throughout your poker playing years. It has an excellent hand ranking system as well as easy to understand text and philosophy. This is a necesity to any poker player, beginner or advanced.

Is the finest book on Hold em' that I have ever read. It has clear tables and info on the odds of improving a hand and money management as well. I highly recommend the book for all serious players

Incredible book! David Sklansky is probably one of the most versed authors on the subject, and has a great series of books on Holdem. I increase my winnings by 150% after implementing the simple system presented in his books. Doyle Brunson's Super Systems has a run for its money as the "Bible" of holdem against this book!

If you want to win consistently, you MUST have this book!

I picked this one up because in my search for a poker book I kept running across Sklansky, and where better to start than the book that started it all? At least it was the first to the starting gate, the rest is up in the air. I've been playing for about four years now and have a good grasp on poker itself, but wanted to get a little deeper to see if I can propel my game play that much further. So I started with the basics.

Sklansky gives some very good tips on strategy on various different types of hands, positions, chip stacks and so on. I lot of this was intuitive for me but I had never actually sat down and tried to understand why I did those things, such as raise in order to get the free card in case I don't hit it, or raise if you are one of the first to act just to feel out the players behind you. Sklansky did a great job in describing why many of these steps are taken and explained why it is important to do them. For that I felt I have learned a lot.

On the flip side though he mentioned a lot of ratios and odds and never went into how he did that. He would throw numbers out there and I had no way to relate to it and understand how he came to the math that he did in order to apply it myself. Perhaps that is something intuitive and I just can't grasp it right away, but some explanation would have been good. Also this is a rather basic book on Hold 'Em. Obviously, being 108 pages, it only had the chance to brush up on the basics, but I wish he could have went a little deeper (of course you can also buy his other book with advanced techniques, always a businessman in the wings to get more money out of you).

Over all this was a decent book and help me understand a lot of the basic moves I have already been doing and help with knowing why it is important to do that move and so on. But there is more that I wish he would have done better with, such as some of the math or gone in to more detail. I would still recommend.

3.5 stars.

An outstanding book texas holdem. If you are looking for something that is a little less technical than holdem for advanced players, then this book is for you. It is typical Skalansky, packed with knowledge and great strategy.

The book is good, but the Theory of Poker and other books of his covers everything within this book and it only cost a few more dollars. This book has ~107 of text total, focused on limit hold em 10/20. The advices are outdated that he wrote *this is no longer the case with the double blinds structure.

Save your money and get other books of his

I bought this book as well as No Limit Hold 'Em Theory and Practice. I mainly bought this book just to refresh my memory on the basics. This book covered a lot of good notes on how to become a good Hold 'Em player. I wanted to read a book that showed the basic strategy and not get to complicated. This was definitely the book for that.

This book contains a lot of the information for the old version of Hold 'Em. Most of the information still holds up to today's Hold 'Em games but for No Limit some of the strategy has to be changed. Towards the end of the book, it contains information on how to read hands. In my personal opinion this was one of the best sections throughout the book as it all came together how poker professionals become good at what they do.

Overall this was an easy read, and a book for beginners.

This really is a solid book for beginners. However, as Sklansky writes in the introduction, "Those readers who haven't played any kind of poker at all would be wise to pick up a book such as the Fundamentals of Poker [...] before continuing with this book."

In other words, this book is not meant to teach you the basic mechanics of a poker game. Furthermore, Hold 'Em Poker does not contain a complete "system" that will tell you when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

This book takes the novice poker play to a point where he or she can begin to see WHY it's good to hold certain hands and fold others. Sklansky introduces the reader to the concept of outs and pot odds, and explains the idea that poker is not about breaking even or winning pots. Poker is about making money over the long run.

Furthermore, Sklansky, like any good teacher, gives you homework. At several points in the book, he writes, "I urge the reader to deal out a few hundred hands himself." If that sounds like work to you, it is.

If you are a complete beginner when it comes to poker rules, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a complete system, this is not the book for you. However, if you are serious about becoming a better hold 'em player, this is a great book.

This book provided great insight into how to analyze your opponents hand(s) and, consequently, when to holdem and when to foldem. After applying the recommendations my game was greatly improved. Really good info on how to play before the flop.

Although this book is rather short, it has some very heavy information that can be useful if studied and practiced thoroughly. However, the information in the book only pertains to limit Hold 'em, not No Limit. Furthermore, the book is a little out of date. However, it does have a lot of good stuff in it, and I would recommend it to any novice player.

He's not as good as he seems to think he is. This book was not at all helpful.

David Sklansky, the dean of poker writing, picks up where he left off on the Theory of Poker. It's more practical than his theory book, in that it focuses on one game, but it's less relevant to what many people play - No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. Very useful book, but not the Be All End All of poker playing.

very cool book. Sklansky is extremely analytical and this book goes a long way to help players learn the game from the theoretical perspective

This was one of the great books that started much of what is considered today the prevailing method of playing poker properly. I enjpyed reading it just from the historical perspective. most of this book can be found in other books and even exanded upon...but it is a nice start. Also - realize that this is sklansky writing and it is not going to be easy to read.

I can't say how good the advice in `Hold'em Poker' is. I haven't tried playing for real yet. There's no way I'd risk money with just this book for preparation. It's hard to read and sometimes doesn't make sense even with repeated readings.

Great Book. This was the book that started all of the detailed analysis of playing poker "correctly"

The book has obvious merit for its analytics and description of theory but the writing is difficult to say the least.

I have read it twice and find this too tough to digest. Compare it to Warren's "Texas Hold Em Poker" and it s night and day.

If you are fairly new to Hold 'Em Poker, this will definitely help your game. The ideas are easy to grasp and easy to read. Good graphics with cards helps a lot. The advanced book gives more details on each setup, but you still might want to read this book first -- better introduction and coverage.

This is very good. Probably a 4.5, so going with 5. Really liked "Poker Nation" and just started playing Hold' Em. This book was a good intro to strategy and I also picked up the advanced book. I agree that you should read this book first.

This is a book for beginners, respectively. It can only be concluded that he or she who posted the "confusing" review is either one who has not grasped a basic grounding in poker theory him- or her- self or is illiterate.

Notwithstanding the fact that this is the first book ever to be written on hold'em, and thus can be expected to be slightly outdated, it is still a book no serious poker player I know is without. I strongly recommend it to be the first text read on the subject for the aspiring hold'em expert.

Just reading it once through will not be enough. You'll find that this book can be studied over and over. Fom Sklansky's famous hand rankings to the concept of the free cards, this text gives the reader something to look forward to. I definitely recommend it.