My sister knows nothing about poker...

[WhoIam]

Does Getting Started in Hold 'em have extended discussions of EV and reverse-implied odds or anything? There's no way my sister would want to have to deal with anything like that, at least not until she was more advanced.

I want to get her a book rather than just teach her because although I'm confident I could turn a bad or mediocre player into a solid winner at SSNL, I wouldn't even know where to begin with someone with no experience at all. Basically I can coach her if she figures out basic stuff like QT isn't a very good hand.

To whoever suggested SnGs, this is an excellent idea. I think for Christmas I'll get her a book and make her an account with $25 or so in it to play $1 SnGs.

[Gelford]

[ QUOTE ]
You think the book should be doubled in size?

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The book is a story book,

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually what I mean is that the book should stick to telling stories and not trying to be a strategy book, as it does not succeed in giving any strategy at all (except for psychological stuff perhaps) and the strategy stuff just interrupts the story.

That was basically my point about the Matros book.


My second point was that you probably could write a killer book in that format, but it would take a lot of more pages.

Still imagine a good player slowly describing his progress as a poker player introducing concepts one after one illustrating with hands and stories of events and session. I think it would be awesome, something in the chess tradition, grandmaster tells stories and shows games. That is a book that could contain a lot of pages If both analysis and storytelling should contain quality.


That was all ....

[phydaux]

[ QUOTE ]
Does Getting Started in Hold 'em have extended discussions of EV and reverse-implied odds or anything? There's no way my sister would want to have to deal with anything like that

[/ QUOTE ]

GSIH will take someone who knows nothing about hold'em and teach them just enough to were they can play breakeven in the low limits.

It starts out with an introductory lesson on poker hands, what beats what. Then it gives an example hold'em hand, followed by an exercise in board reading - If you're delt these two cards and the board is these five cards, then what hand do you have?

Next comes an exercise where you have these two cards, your opponent has these two cards and the board is this - Who wins?

The next exercise is identifying the nuts - If the board is these five cards, what hole cards make the nuts?

Then come nine example hands where Ed takes you through common situations and concepts - playing in early position, playing in late position, playing big pocket pairs, playing suited connectors, stuff like that.

For less than $20.00 it's a bargin.

[mothmandan]

I started with Small Stakes Hold'em and then after taking about a year away from poker (I caught the travel bug) I decided to take a step back and read Getting Started In Hold'em. Both of these books are concentrating more on Limit poker, but GSIH also has a NL section. Learning to identify the nuts, read the board, know which hands to fold, how to attack the flop, and tons of other info is all there.

In my opinion, as a small stakes player and a B&M dealer, you need to keep the literature simple because if it gets too confusing it tends up on the shelf with a bookmark halfway through the book (my Mother did this with a book on blackjack theory because I wanted her to stop throwing her money away on slots). You are a 2+2 member so support the team. If she wants to keep reading after GSIH and is playing NL maybe Harrington is the author to look to, but take it one step at a time.

Dan's 2 cents

[Self Made]

Another vote for GSIH. I've read the reputable first poker books and that's the one I recommend.

[Bill Haywood]

A good, basic, and short introduction: Poker Tournament Tips from the Pros: How to Win Low-Limit Poker Tournaments by Shane Smith.

Texas No-Limit Hold'em by McEvoy and Daughtery is clear and readable.