Phil Gordon's Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Texas Hold'em

Well-written, easy to read. This book covers the math, the tells (a little bit), and why players play the way they do. Also, I love the examples of tournament plays and things the players did to elicit calls. I love Phil's anecdotes which are part of the book's teaching. These are as informative as the lessons. The book covers a lot of material concisely, and in a friendly manner. The chapters are very easy to read and again the anecdotes ILLUSTRATE the principles the book expounds. Phil Gordon is modest and admits his book is not definitive (whose is?). I loved this book for its mathematics, tells, methods, and examples by player.

You can never be too rich or have too much information in my opinion; Gordon has both in excess if you know his story. I decided to get the audio version because I drive between 500 and 600 miles per week. Absolutely excellent. Of particular interest and value to me is his analysis of playing AJ for all your chips against the probable calling hands(AK,AQ,AA,KK,and QQ ) and playing 87 suited against those same hands. The AJ rates to win about 25% and the 87 suited about 32%. I have always hated AJ and now I have another reason. It is this kind of analysis that makes this book so interesting and thought provoking. He covers so many ideas and aspects that this is a book to be read in small doses many times rather than all at once. No one could possibly remember all he has to say. His "Don't tap the aquarium" is a favorite because so many misguided players berate the bad players into leaving and missing out on relatively easy money because they suffer a drawout or two. His section on "Sick gamblers" helped me to see them in a different way; where I used to not play my best against them, I feel better now in playing them as tough as anyone who is taking a shot at my money. Overall a very good book filled and overflowing with many nuggets of great poker wisdom. Gordon is a likeable and effective teacher but also admits he is not the best in the world. He is a winning player who developed over time and shares much of the information which has helped him to elevate his game. Definitely recommended.

Phil Gordon is not only a successful professional poker player and poker commentator (from Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown"), but with his "Little Green Book," he proves he is a master teacher of poker as well. With the advent of online gaming and televised Texas Hold'em tournaments, poker has seen an explosion in popularity in the last three years. To meet the demand for poker information, many pro players have written how-to books. Some are too basic for the experienced player, others too complex for the beginner. Gordon's book is the 12th poker book I've bought, and I rank it at the top for both style and substance. The Little Green Book is patterned after Harvey Penick's Little Red Book on golf, and like Penick's book, it covers its subject with clarity and detail, and without pretense. Beginners and experience players alike will benefit from Gordon's book. I think it was Tommy Smothers who joked that he was going to write a golf book called: "The 39 Most Important Things to Think About at the Moment of Impact." Reading golf books can cause a player to overanalyze and, consequently, worsen a player's game. The same can be said of some poker books, but not Gordon's. While the book is simple and an easy read, it is also comprehensive. It covers play on every round of betting, the math involved in no limit hold'em, the psychology of the game, and tourney play. The book also includes starting hand charts and "tells," the body language of poker that gives opponents clues of a player's hand. It's no stretch to say it represents the only no limit hold'em book a player needs to master the game. I highly recommend the Little Green Book for those who want a rock solid foundation in no-limit hold'em.

The Phil Gordon's Little Green Book is, in my view, the second or third best book on no-limit. In my view, nothing beats the Harrington books, which are more comprehensive, particularly on tournament strategy (although they are useful for cash games too), and Doyle's chapter in Super System is still must reading. But having said that, Phil Gordon's book is right up there with these classics--heady company. It is conversational in tone and easy reading, but not unsophisticated. The sections of the book dealing with post-flop play are excellent, and somewhat reminiscent of the approach used in Super System, as Phil analyzes how he would play some commonly-occurring post-flop situations. The sections on pot-odds, implied odds and hand match-ups is clear and surprisingly comprehensive--he really gives you everything you need to know. Phil gives some useful starting hand charts and includes a useful and insightful discussion of some common pre-flop situations. I wish Phil had spent a little more time discussing how he plays hands when he is not first in the pot (and expanded on the starting-hand charts at the back of the book), as well as more time discussing how he views the tactic of raising (or calling a raise) with small pairs and connectors (based on an implied odds argument)--he does mention the tactic, but I think there is more to be said on the topic. His discussion of play from the small blind and button is excellent, as is his discussion of blind-stealing. I was fascinated by his discussion of maintaining an appropriate ratio between steal raises (which you would generally have to fold to a reraise) and raises with a real hand in order to maintain a profit (i.e., winning enough when you have a real hand to compensate for your losses when you have to fold to a reraise)--I have not seen that kind of discussion elsewhere, and the calculation can be fine-tuned to match table conditions as well as applied to a variety of other situations when you are contemplating a move. Phil says that he is not the best player in the world, but notes that he is a profitable player. I would add that he is a generous player and author also--Phil is generous in sharing his knowledge, and does not appear to be holding much back (too bad Barrry Greenstein didn't right a book like this rather than the non-substantive coffee table book on poker that he actually wrote--talk about holding back!). Based on listening to Phil's Podcasts on the WSOP, watching his DVD and reading this book, it is apparent to me that Phil enjoys sharing his knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the game with others. He is a natural expositor and gifted teacher.

Just because somebody is a great skier doesn't qualify them to teach the sport. Likewise, a big winner in poker isn't necessarily a good teacher. However, in Phil Gordon we get both. A proven winner and a great teacher. His ability to distill complex ideas into simple explanations is second to none. Buy this book and win money! It paid me back many times over in my first session after reading it. And I hear he is going heli boarding up in Canada for a week and there are spaces for 30 others at $5k the week...I'm tempted to do that as well and pay it off in the first session back...lol