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Internet Poker for Dummies
Product
Winning at Internet Poker for Dummies
Hits
- Very basic
- A good place to start if you know nothing about online poker
Misses
- Very basic
- If you want a real poker strategy book you'll have to look elsewhere
- Content somewhat dated, e.g. no mention of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)
Review
It should come as no surprise that Winning at Internet Poker for Dummies is, indeed, geared toward dummies.
Written by Mark "The Red" Harlan and Chris Derossi, Winning at Internet Poker for Dummies is touted as the fun easy way to take poker online and win, and while you may not win that much at first, the book does set you on the right path. However, it's more a preparatory read for the truly uninitiated than a useful guide for those with even a little experience under their belt.
The book is separated into four sections:
Part 1: Internet Poker Basics is an introductory look at what it's like to play poker on the Internet. The chapter advises you how to determine which poker room would suit you best and how to accustom yourself to playing with a keyboard, mouse and virtual cards.
Part 2: Taking Your Game to a New Level - Cyber Level talks about strategy and what to expect from your online opponents. The online poker world can be a very aggressive place for anybody who's used to playing in a real casino, and the book does a good job of illustrating the type of play you can expect online.
Part 3: Taking Over Tournaments goes into more detail about using the nuances of online poker to your advantage. For example, it explains how to use the average chip stack function that most online poker rooms feature for tournaments to decide your course of action. It's all basic but some of it is useful.
Part 4: The Part of Tens consists of lists of the top dos and don'ts of online poker. They're presented in the popular For Dummies format and some of the reference items are interesting, but because poker is so context dependent the utility of these resources is limited. Ironically, the last chapter of Part 4 supplies hints for switching your online poker game to live tournaments.
All in all, the book is a decent way of familiarizing yourself with online poker. It's worth noting that Winning at Online Poker for Dummies does nothing to actually teach you how to play poker. In many ways it is merely a supplement to Wiley's other poker book, Poker for Dummies.
The actual online poker strategy content in this book is rather anemic. For the most part the book is more a description of online poker than a guide to winning at it. Probably 70% of the content is dedicated to getting the player used to playing with a mouse and keyboard and to using poker software. If you want a strategy book, check out Harrington on Hold'em or Theory of Poker .
Surprisingly, the book is of little help when it comes to actually picking an online poker room and getting a good first-deposit bonus. There is a brief summary of the different poker rooms but it is by no means a comprehensive list. Rather than rely on this section, it would be smarter to just visit one of the numerous Web sites (like, yes, PokerListings.com!) that can get you started with room reviews and bonus information.
Another thing that is strangely absent from the book is any mention of Razz. Although the book covers online Hold'em, Omaha, Stud and their Hi/Lo variants, and even the slightly obscure Crazy Pineapple variant, it doesn't say a word about Razz. Razz is not a popular game by any means but it is played at the WSOP and it's more common than Crazy Pineapple so the omission is slightly bizarre.
Winning at Internet Poker for Dummies of course adheres to the tried-and-true Dummies format, so if you like dipping into a book at random and reading assorted sidebars and reference items, you've probably just found your preferred introduction to online poker.
For what it sets out to do - familiarize neophytes with the logistics of online poker playing - this Dummies title is adequate, but if you're in search of a strategy primer, check out some of the other titles reviewed in our Editor's Pick section.
Details:
- $16.99
For Dummies
