Editor's pick

A Book for the Newbie Players

Product

Poker For Dummies by Richard Harroch and Lou Krieger

Hits

  • Starts with very basic poker rules and hand rankings for the novice players
  • Includes nearly anything related to the game of poker you can think of
  • Easy to follow advice and instructions in the typical For Dummies format

Misses

  • Too basic for intermediate or advanced players

Review

The For Dummies series of books has helped people learn about a wide range of topics, from health issues to investments and tax preparation, to HTML. The series is well-known for organizing information in a way that makes it easy for the reader to learn.

Now the series has applied that technique to the game of poker with Poker For Dummies. Richard Harroch, a World Series of Poker competitor, and Lou Krieger, a poker columnist, have come together to cover everything about poker from the basic hand rankings to the different variations and even tournaments and video poker.

This is definitely a good book for a very, very beginner player who needs to learn the basics of the game and the popular variations. There are also some solid strategy tips given for the different games.

However, a person isn't going to go from complete novice to poker genius with Poker For Dummies alone. This is a great book for a green player to pick up, but it should by no means be the only book a poker player reads to improve his game.

The authors recognize this fact too and include a section on resources for players to learn more about the game, even going so far as to suggest other books for players to read depending on what level of player they are.

Every For Dummies book ends with Top 10 lists, and Poker For Dummies is no exception. There are plenty of things in the book the reader can flag for easy reference later like the hand rankings and the glossary, but the Top 10 list section may be the best place to jump into the book for random nuggets of advice and poker knowledge with its following lists:

  • Ten Ways to Read Your Opponent
  • Ten Poker Legends
  • Ten Keys to Success
  • (Almost) Ten Things to Consider Before Going Pro
  • Ten Ways to Improve Your Poker Today
  • Ten Real-Life Poker Lessons

An advanced player isn't going to get much out of this book beyond the entertainment value of the random stories and bits of information thrown in, but Poker For Dummies will make a great reference for a beginning player - one they can keep coming back to while building a firm foundation for their poker skills.

 

Details:

  • $16.99
    Paperback
    For Dummies
    298 pages