Harrington on holdem is pretty good so far.

[steamboatin]

It came in the mail yesterday and so far it is really good. I suck at tourneys but love to play and Harrington on Holdem is going to help.

[kalooki45]

Do you think it would be a good book for a beginner, or over the head?

[rickw]

I am a relative beginner--been playing for about 4 months--and I find it readable and interesting so far. Even after the first 15 pages, I am thinking about tournaments very differently. (Hasn't made a difference in my results yet though [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img])

I think it would help if this were not your first poker book (I've read SSHE once) but I'll bet if you read carefully and pay attention you'll get something out of it.

[KKsuited]

Not to be rude, but I would think any book with a pro talking about his advanced strategies would have to be over the head of a beginner. I'm sure a beginner thinks he understands it, but how would he know.

Until you have experience and have seen the many different ways to play the game, how could you understand what a pro would be telling you to do?

If you've never made it deep into a big tourney, how would you understand what's it's like and what you need to be thinking about?

These are just honest questions. I could be wrong. To me, it's like reading a book on how to play in the NBA, but you've only played in the local church league so far.

[morgan180]

It really is a great book and well written. I'm about half way through. I love his thoughts on raising, getting in and out of pots, controlling volatility, everything. The guy is good. Of course some of it is more applicable to big buy-in events where proper aggression will get people out of the pot. In some of the smaller buy-in satellites, freerolls, etc. online proper aggression will get you killed by someone who doesn't get what you are representing.

I can't wait for volume 2.

[marley81]

I think you are correct. Nothing beats experience. I read a few books, but when i was in a multi with 36,000 chips and already in the money, I had no idea how I sould be playing. I lost my chips pretty quickly, but learned so much from it. No book can completely prepare you to succeed in these tournaments, because when your put in a situation that you haven't been in before, you will most likely start to play differently.

[steamboatin]

I respectfully disagree. If you suck at tournaments as I do, then this book is going to make a significant difference. The explanations are very good. I don't know any of this stuff that people talk about like managing your stack size and many other strategies important to success in tournaments. This book explains them so they next tourney I play, I will be a little less clueless. That has to be a good thing.

There is no substitute for experience, but this book is good.

[Lloyd]

I've had pretty good success in both online and B&M NLHE tournies. I think this book will help me, and anybody else, greatly. It is by far the most advanced book on NLHE that I have read, and I have read most of them. When I mean advanced, I don't necessarily mean that it will be over the head of a beginner (although you might want to start out with McEvoy/Daugherty's New Player book first if you are a true beginner). What I do mean is that this isn't a by-the-book "how to" type of read. You will rarely find something like "always do this when this happens". The greatest aspect of the book is the numerous actual hands that are presented along with Harrington's thoughts on how he would play the hand and how the person actually played the hand. In most situations there are always arguments to be made for various choices, and Harrington goes through a lot of the thought process that should be involved in making the most profitable decision.

All in all, an excellent book and well worth the read by any serious tourney player.

[MrLob]

Great book. I'm about halfway through and am really enjoying it. Haven't had any "aha" moments yet, but the book is full of info that many people figure out but only after a lot of play. This is a great book for someone with experience looking to improve their game.

[sketchy1]

until you've been in the spots he is talking about, a lot of things won't make sense nor will you understand them. i have a LOT of NLHE tournament experience online and in live play and i've seen a lot of hands. this book helps delve into some stuff i already knew and some stuff i didn't know and makes what i knew clearer and clarifies what i've thought but never said before.