The Most Comprehensive Holdem Book Ever Written?

[PDosterM]

My wife doesn’t play poker, so I consider myself quite fortunate that she understands why I do. She also supports the time I spend getting better at the game by studying, discussing, watching and practicing.

She was recently in California visiting a friend when she came upon a book she was pretty sure wasn’t in my poker library and, bless her heart, she bought it for me. The book is Ken Warren Teaches Texas Hold ‘em.

And an impressive book it appears to be – thick and heavy with 416 pages devoted to the single topic of Texas Holdem. Emblazoned right on the front cover are the words, “The Most Comprehensive Book Ever Written on Hold ‘em.” Surely this is a scholarly treatise of the first order.

Maybe not. The first thing you notice when you flip through the text is that there are, on average, three blank pages between each of the 34 chapters. That’s about 100 pages – a quarter of the book – with absolutely nothing written on them. The writing itself still takes up 300 pages but it’s not because the author has that much to say; rather it’s the publisher’s use of large print and super-sized margins that is to blame. Fully five pages of this book’s text will fit onto two pages if a reasonably sized font were used. Then there are these strange repetitive sections that can only be there to take up space. Warren spends eight pages (pp. 258-265) laying out an exhaustive table in order to demonstrate that a pocket pair is a about a 4-1 dog against a higher pocket pair. Earlier (p. 238) he uses a full page to show that there are 45 ways to take 10 things two at a time. (Why not simply point out that 10!/(8!2!) = 45?).

If it weren’t for these tricks, the book would be a seventy-page pamphlet. One can still get much useful information into 75 pages, but alas, that is not the case here. The book is filled with errors of both fact and judgment. Inexplicably, he states (p. 73), “If you have absolutely no information about a player’s hand, you know that odds are sixteen to six (or eight to three) that he does not hold a pocket pair.” Even the most casual observer of the games knows the correct answer is 16-1. What makes this error so bizarre is that he does the correct calculations (in a different context) a few paragraphs earlier.

Warren correctly points out that the most effective style is tight-aggressive. This must be a hitherto unknown use of the word, aggressive, because on page 111 he advocates meekly calling pre-flop with a pocket kings behind several limpers. He then states unequivocally (pp. 115-117) that limping with AKo and AQo is correct. When I get these hands, particularly in late position, my heart rate rises as I fling a raise or a re-raise towards the middle of the table.

In his section on tells, he claims when a player reaches for his chips prior to you making your bet, that the player has a good hand and will call (p. 198). My experience is just the opposite; not only does the player not want you to bet, but he will likely fold if you do.

The only way this book can be deemed comprehensive would be based on the number of topics. But the shallowness in which they are covered guarantees the book contains new information to only the most rank of beginners. I can think of no reason to buy this book unless your plan is to accidentally leave it behind in your local cardroom in the hopes one of your opponents will take it home and read it. Otherwise, save your money and use it to raise next time you have pocket kings on the button.