Mavericks Guide to Poker

The cover of the book makes this book look like trash. This is unfortunate because the book is not so bad at all. If you just want to get some quick advice about Poker and not get into the serious studying then this is a good book for you. Also, if you are just looking to pick up a decent afternoon?s read about Poker ? go ahead and read the book. This book was never meant to be to sharpen the skills of the already experienced Poker player ? it?s just a small booklet for the average Joe. It gives you the basics and a little bit beyond.There is just one segment in the book that some may find confusing. The author states that in some Hoyle books straights don?t count in 5-card stud. The author says that the reason for this rule is obvious because "in 5-card stud straights are often result of accident or of bad play." He says this but does not elaborate. I can see how some novice players may find this confusing. Why would straights in 5-card stud be results of accident or of bad play? Although the author does not explain it ? this is because in order to get a straight a player must play a hand that should be considered junk. In other words, any good player would fold a hand that may lead to a straight because if a player plays the odds then the odds are against him/her. Therefore only players who leave too much to chance would ever go through all the betting rounds to get a straight. Tight players would consider this foolish gambling and not smart play. Again, the author did not explain this at all.

If you're a big fan of the original TV seris from the (1957-61 staring James Garner and Jack Kelley) you'll love the book. (The book, BTW, was written in the early 60's to capitalize on the success of the original TV show, not the silly Mel Gibson movie in 1994 or the various TV sequels staring Charles Frank or James Garner again.) Like the original seris, the book is very entertaining and offers a cornicopia of wisdom and lessons that can be applied not just to Poker, but to Life (Relationships, Women, and Work-lot better than recent pop psychology junk now writtem). One of my favorite quotes from the book is "My pappy always said you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time. Those are pretty good odds!"Book's also great for the novice poker player, but not really for serious or exerienced players.