Comment on Greenstein Rating

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Everyone:

I have several friends who are very good poker players and who have now read the Greenstein book. They all like it a lot. But there are now reviews, some of which have appeared here, that are quite critical of it and I can't dispute the complaints these reviews represent.

I think the problem has to do with exactly what you, the reader, were expecting from this book as opposed to what this book is. One problem is that it is subtitled An Advanced Poker Guide. In many ways it is, but in other ways, with the possible exception of the hand examples, it's not. Ace on the River does not step you through detailed strategy. It mostly deals with those psychological holes, and in many cases not in extreme depth, that stop pretty good playes back from beginning great players.

Since these are areas that are rarely discussed in the poker literature, this book will have a lot of value for some players. But if you're a relatively new player who is still trying to figure out the basics of correct strategy, as Barry said to me, "Read a Two Plus Two book for that."

So all in all I still recommend Ace on the River. But a more accurate rating might be 8 + or -2 depending on what exactly you are looking for in the book and what An Advanced Poker Guide means to you.

One criticism that I do reject is the "too many pictures and not enough dense text." The book is 316 oversized pages. If Greenstein would have gone with normal size pages (such as our books use) and perhaps only had 280 pages by using less pictures, this comment would go away completely.

Best wishes,
Mason