Issue 90
May 28 - June 3, 2002
Volume 3
page 3
 

New Sklansky Tournament Book and Unique Omaha Odds Book
Arrive at Gamblers Book Club

By Howard Schwartz

Continuing the timely arrivals of vital poker books (with Binion's World Series of Poker running through mid-May in Las Vegas), are David Sklansky's TOURNAMENT POKER FOR ADVANCED PLAYERS (236 pages, paperbound, $29.95) and Bill Boston's OMAHA HIGH-LOW (Play to Win With the Odds) (162 pages, 8x11 plastic spiralbound, $19.95). Each arrived at Gambler's Book Shop (Gambler's Book Club) in the past few weeks.

Sklansky, author of a dozen great poker other gambling-related titles, has designed this new work to help the tournament player adjust and excel‹highlighting the tactics some of the sharpest, most consistent players today have already mastered. This is not a book for beginners‹it's for the serious, going-for-the-gold player who must clearly differentiate how to play in a tournament situation compared to a side game.

Three are five major sections to this book, with the final two reviews in the form of quizzes, questions and answers to reinforce and review material covered earlier.

The first section explains how a tournament works and how tournaments can vary. The Tournament Theory section follows and includes an explanation of prize structure and their implications for the player; how chips change value as the tournament progresses; hourly rate considerations; recognizing when your table may break up; observing the implications of large or small stacks; being aware of when the blinds are due; the all-important all-in strategy. Plus: the last table; getting down to two players; understanding re-buy tournaments; satellites.

Other Topics is Sklansky's third section and it discusses freezeout implications; making deals; no-limit situations like how strong is an A-K; when it's ever smart to fold Aces. The quiz section covers situations you may eventually encounter in either Hold Œem or Seven Card Stud tournaments, including shown hands where you must make a decision on whether to fold, call or raise.

Chris Ferguson, winner of the 2000 World Series of Poker at Binion's calls this "The best poker tournament book ever written." Only time will tell on that‹but it's bound to improve the game of those already interested in the tournament format. It's already one of the hottest selling titles on the bookstore's shelves in years, and if I know poker players‹if one player's got it in hand, all others must and will follow to know what their opponents may know.

Bill Boston's Omaha High-Low poker book is based on analysis of more than 5,000 hands. It's a statistical analysis separating Best Hands from Worst Hands while underlining what hands to avoid and showing more than two dozen "ace-less hands you can play for profit." Boston used the hand analysis function of Wilson's Turbo Omaha High-Low Split software. He selected "tight players" (who would select only the best starting hands in a 10-handed $10-$20 game. His statistics are based on hands which are double-suited, suited and non-suited. Since it's possible to make a flush in only one suit, Boston says discussing all four suits is not necessary, but he says "every hand dealt in Omaha high-low can be found" in his book, with its relative ranking and hand value.

Remember compared to about 45,000 possible hands in Hold Œem,

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there are 270,725 hand combinations possible in Omaha high-low.

Other sections of the book, which is packed with tables from page 55 on; are: Reading Other Players; Table Position; Hand Selection; The Flush Factor; Playing Connectors; Playing The Turn; Playing The River.

With so little previously in print about this very popular poker game, Boston's study and analysis becomes a valuable tool in improving all players' game and way of approaching the game.

Any book reviewed here is available from Gambler's Book Shop, 630 South 11th Street, Las Vegas, NV 891901. The store, located two miles from downtown and about the same distance from where The Strip begins, is now in its 38th year. You may order any book by using a MasterCard, VISA or Discover card (no American Express please. Call 1-800-522-1777 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Saturday. Books shipped the next working day. You may also order via the store's Internet site at www.gamblersbook.com anytime and use the designated credit cards. The store's complete catalog in 30 specific areas of gambling are included on the web site, including computer software and videos. Ask for a catalog (80 pages) if you wish a hard copy mailed to you.


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