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 excelhighlighting the tactics some of the sharpest, most
consistent players today have already mastered. This is not a book
for beginnersit'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 em
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 thatbut 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 playersif 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 em,
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