Championship Hold'em

[The _Grifter]

Anyone read this book who would care to give an opinion it ? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[Mason Malmuth]

Here are my reviews of the two editions that they produced.

Championship Hold ’em by (1) Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier. This book is so bad it’s hard to know exactly where to begin when writing a review. But here goes. As I see it, there are two main problems. First, is that it is filled with much specific information that is just plain wrong and contradictory to other advice given in the text. For example on page 30 the authors write “Several poker mathematician types mentioned that you should average a certain number of bets per hour when you play poker. I think that notion is erroneous.” But two pages later the text states “If you’re a serious player, you have to figure that your time is worth X-number of dollars per hour and you should play in a game that will compensate you accordingly.”

Other ridiculous advice includes not to call in multiway pots with big-little suited cards such as K[img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img]6[img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img], why it’s better to play low connectors unsuited rather than suited, why when you have the kill you should never let the money you post influence the way you play, why you should not bet J9 (because of your bad kicker) when the flop comes J32 and you are in the big blind against four limpers, why in a jackpot game “you must constantly try to overcome the disadvantage of having all kinds of players take the flop with bad hands so that virtually any strong hand is going to go way down in value,” why when playing a flush draw in a multi-way pot “it had better be the nut flush draw,” why when you have a hand like A[img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img]K[img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img] on the button and five or six players are in you should check after the whole field checks and the flop is J[img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img]T[img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img]2[img]/forums/images/icons/club.gif[/img], why the size of the pot should never influence your last bet (particularly if it is a calling bet), and finally why you should often fold a set on the turn when there is a four flush on board.

But there is also another problem with this text. It is simply that the basic philosophy of how to play limit hold ’em is wrong. Timid players do not do well in this game. It is also true that some players are overly aggressive, but always being afraid of better hands when you don’t hold the nuts and adjusting your playing strategy because of this should prove very expensive. You will allow free cards to beat you, won’t extract the maximum whey your hand is best, won’t knock other players out when it is right to do so, and will fold hands that you should be continuing on with. I don’t believe that anyone can win playing like this unless your opponents are extremely weak and limit hold ’em should be a very frustrating (and expensive) experience for you.

Championship Hold ’em by (3) Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier. (This review is for the revised edition: January 2002.) The first edition of this text was without a doubt one of the worse poker books ever written. If was filled with much ridiculous strategy which had to be highly embarrassing considering how well known the two authors are. Well, with a little help from some others, this version is basically a cleaned up reproduction of the original mess. Gone is most of the erroneous advice and what is left is a rambling conversation between the two authors as they talk about various topics.

However, the conversation is still a problem. The authors are unable to stay focused and at times you’re not even sure the book is about limit hold ’em as they talk about no limit and even Omaha on occasion.

Another major problem is that they, like many tournament players, don’t seem to have a good understanding of how to play multiway pots. For example, they don’t discern how being suited can add much value to your hand, they state that “when playing a flush draw in a multiway pot, it had better be the nut flush draw,” and they have you automatically folding bottom pair being totally unaware of the size of the pot in the “rammin’ - jammin’ games” that they constantly refer to.

The tournament section of the book is much better. Now their strategies which address players who are playing tight because they can’t buy back in if they lose a couple of hands are far more accurate. In addition, this section is written more concisely than the rest of the book.

So in summary, even though this revised version is a significant improvement over the original text, I still don’t recommend it. This is especially true considering the $40 price tag that it carries.

[The _Grifter]

Mason,

I do like reading your reviews, but with all due respect, you gave " Poker Farce and Poker Truth " a 9 . The book, quite frankly is garbage.

You also gave " Winning Low Limit Hold'em " a 4, which again's a terrible rating.

When you're writing reviews, I suggest for the sake of giving ratings, forget for a moment you're a publisher . [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img]

[Mason Malmuth]

I understand that not everyone likes PokerFarce and PokerTruth, but keep in mind that it is not a strateg book. As for Winning Low Limit Hold 'em my current review of the current edition is a 7 (and it has been posted on these forums). That's because this is an improved effort than what was originally put out.

MM

[Ed Miller]

Having read several of McEvoy's limit Holdem strategy articles in CardPlayer, I would not pay a dime for a book full of his advice on this game. He simply doesn't understand limit Holdem.

[The _Grifter]

Majorkong,

I liked the book. I don't agree with everything in the book, but there's some good information and something to be gained by reading it. The price tag is a little steep, but both are proven winners in both limit and tournament play. When was the last time Sklansky won a tournament ? What was his best finish at the World Series ? I'm not taking anything away from David Sklansky, The Theory of Poker's one of the best books written on the game, however, he hasn't proven himself in tournament play. That means a lot.

" Show me a coach who can beat me and I'll take lessons from him " - Lee Trevino

[chaos]

What does the fact that the authors are proven winners have to do with how good the book is? Nothing.

They may be winners and they may be nice guys but they certainly are not good at writting poker strategy books.

The book stinks. It is very poorly written. Why it is not even written at all. It is just a bunch of transcribed conversations. I think it is probably the worst poker strategy book I've read. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

[For what it's worth I only read the first edition.]

[The _Grifter]

" What does the fact that the authors are proven winners have to do with how good the book is? "

.... If 2+2 published this book, you'd all be on the band wagon.

[Homer]

".... If 2+2 published this book, you'd all be on the band wagon."

True, but that is only because 2+2 books don't suck.

-- Homer

[The _Grifter]

" True, but that is only because 2+2 books don't suck."

...So I found the one person who liked " Poker Farce and Poker Truth " [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]