Gambling Books

What an amazing story! This is one of those books you can't put down. Even if you don't gamble will find the book very interesting! When your setting in Jail I guess you can put A lot of effort into writing A great Book!

This book really captured my attention. I spent most of my time reading it with my mouth agape wondering what could possibly happen next. Adam's gambling exploits are so adroitly captured between these pages.

It is really a study of how an addiction really gets you in its grip and doesn't let go. I applaud Adam's wife Meredith for sticking with him all this time. I find it hard to believe he had fooled her so completely.

Adam finally hits bottom towards the end of the book after many narrow escapes along the way. I found myself rooting Adam on while at the same time hoping he gets what is coming to him for all his deceit.

The sacrifice his wife Meredith makes at the end of the book ripped my heart out.

This is a sensational book and I highly reccommend it to any and all inveterate gamblers out there.

I picked up this book after hearing about it on the radio of all places! The Talk Show host talked about the book with a sense of awe that anyone could do the things that Resnick did to feed his gambling habit. It is the sense of someone who is liable to the flash and celebrity associated with addition rather than the realities of broken families and broken lives.

Bust is a good story and while the people are real, I would suggest that readers look at this as a piece of fiction -- really a tribute to the incredible hubris of a person who is addicted to the action. The books prose works at a quick clip, the stories are almost too cute and perfect for the subject.

Resnick is an addict and in the book you get the sense that he has mentally internalized his problem, yet psychically he has not. In that regard it is a somewhat tragic tale until you realize that may be exactly what Resnick wants you to think.

Recommended as a first person study of the destructive effect of addition and the fact that it is always there even when you recognize you have a problem.

This book is a very well-written book that provides good entertaining reading while attempting to at the same time to reach out to people and family members in the need of help (to show them how ugly things can get when gambling takes over your life).

Hey "EyeInTheSky"? Do you have a life? Or do you just visit these postings daily and try to ridicule them out of angst, bitterness, and jealousy? You ridiculed Mr. Sanjay about being honest and telling it like it is; why don't you stop hiding behind your post-name and reveal your real name and insecurity as to your knowledge/involvement in Mr. Resnick's downfall?

This is supposed to be a self help book or a "cautionary tale" for gamblers and addicts looking to break the pattern. This book barely discusses the underlying causes for addiction and it reads (in my opinion) as a self serving and vile vehicle for the author, Adam Resnick to brag about his exploits (business, sexual, social) while offering no redeeming value to people with real problems. I would argue that this book makes James Frey's novel (which is clearly Mr. Resnick's model for this novel) look like a masterpiece in its' factual content.

Mr. Resnick seems to have delusions of grandeur and used gambling to obtain friends, fame and wealth. All he really is is a simple conman that got caught trying to complete his latest scheme. This book is a continuance of that life long need for self importance exploiting peoples' lives to sell a few books in hopes of paying back an enormous debt to the innocent customers of a small community bank. I hope Mr. Resnick takes his long days ahead of him to think about what he's done to those that care about him because writing a book like this shows he still has not learned his lesson.

Since the author and I share the same name I was sure the book would be entertaining and inmformative. It did not disapoint. The action is fast paced with a great mix of old wisdom and new perspectives. Great fun for all.

This is a poorly written, boring poker novel. Sadly I have to disrecommend it highly. Even "Broke" is better, and it's not even a novel.

You need to have a fascination with Texas Hold 'Em to really enjoy this book. Hughes is a very good writer and the novel is well-paced and highly knowledgable about both back-room and Vegas cash games. The action begins in Lubbock, Texas, where aging player Matt O'Malley spots his nephew, college sophomore Dylan, scoping out a private game and takes him under his wing. The location shifts to Vegas where both men separately and unbeknownst to each other have gone to play, Matt on one of his bi-annual forays and Dylan for the first time. On his first night, before spotting his uncle, Dylan loses $2,000 at two games and then falls for a sob-sister at his hotel bar and lets her accompany him to his room, wheere she drugs his drink and steals his remaining $10,000 bankroll. Spotting Matt the next day, Dylan is too embarrassed to tell Matt about the con, and asks him for a loan. Matt eventually agrees to grubstake Dylan, who gets on a lucky streak before a couple of bad breaks that still leave him ahead. Meanwhile, we get an encyclopedic knowledge of poker and Vegas from Matt, who eats and sleeps on the cheap and frowns on tips larger than a couple of bucks. After a few days both return with good winnings to Lubbock, where the book's plot shifts from paker to a noirish gambling parable that ends rather abruptly. It's all a great read and hard to put down.

Growing up in a Mexican populated rural agricultural town we have what are called DICHOS. In other words, little rhyms or sayings that one should live by. They are often funny, witty, and just plain make you think. Texas Poker Wisdom by Johnny Hughes is able to weave dichos into every page of his book.

Comedy, love, sorrow, and suspense thriller are all in this book. Did I mention that it is a real page turner and it shouldn't take you no more than two days to read.

In sum, although the book is story with a lot of characters and emotions. In the end you will find yourself looking at your poker game from the day to day and with the lessons learned in this book you will probably tweak some of your practices

If you are a fan of Poker this book is a must read. The author takes us back to where it all started, in West Texas, with the illegal back rooms and colorful shady characters with their funny stories told with a lot of those wonderful Texas colloquisms sprinkled in.

He then flashes forward to present day Poker and the fancy legal poker rooms like Bellagio and also the not so fancy Vegas downtown joints like Binions or the mecca as he calls it, with new age players, a mix of the old timer grinders, sweet thing college girls and of course the young guns all told through the eyes of an old time gambler, Matt O'Malley, a hustler/con artist with a heart.

I can't believe it took me so long to discover Boyle. His prose is entertaining, even if by some chance the story doesn't grab you. There's a lot of variety here. And there's not a dud among them.
"The Swift Passage of Animals" brings the mechanism of evolution into vivid focus for a man trying to impress his weekend date;
"Jubilation" is black humor at a planned community in FL;
"Chicxulub" intersperses facts about meteors hitting the earth with the story of a couple's ordeal upon hearing their daughter has been hit by a car;
"Blinded by the Light" is set in Argentina where ranchers are confronted by the dire predictions of an ozone layer scientist.

Compared to some of his earlier collections, this one is smooth and mature, but he hasn't lost the edge and talent for making the bizarre plausible.

Boyle's extraordinary precision with language, dark humor and believable characters are always a savory treat. This collection features the usual drunks, barflies, hipsters and mid-lifers I love in Boyle's fiction and each story has a unique voice and tone. Very enjoyable read, highly recommended.

T.C. Boyle is so prolific it's insane.
This is both a blessing and a bane.

Boyle works on his craft constantly, so he can put out a quality story in no time; but this is a problem, because I don't feel like he takes the time to fully form his characters. Often different characters in different stories seem like the same person: they all speak in SAT words, they always seem to go to movies alone, they often speak with irreverent interjections while thinking to themselves. These drawbacks, especially in the stories with weak plot, produce a variable overall output, which is indeed also seen in this particular collection. TOOTH AND CLAW has some gems, but also some losers. Four of the fourteen stories I couldn't even make it through.

Another four I rated 7/10 or above -- they all had engaging plots, well-formed characters, and ringing metaphor. The best story of the collection was "Chcxulub," a tale of a teenage girl's night out and her parents' worry over her safety, with the parallel telling of the history of tragic meteor impacts on the earth. Another masterpiece is the title story, "Tooth and Claw." A young man's quest for a girlfriend is symbolized by his win of an exotic wild cat in a bar bet. When he loses one he loses the other. This is classic Boyle. (Yet, this young man, despite his participation in such a symbolic and well-told tale, goes to the movies alone. Couldn't he just do something different? Doesn't Boyle remember he used that personality trait in a different story? I guess not.)

Overall, a nice addition to one's library.

I am always a fan of TC Boyle. Sometimes I wish there were more happy endings for his characters but I keep reading him so it must not be an issue.

I greatly enjoyed some of the stories and only a few (very few) were disinteresting to me. I suppose that is the problem with all short story collections, there's an uneven mix of quality and topics of interest to the reader. For that reason alone I gave it only 4 stars.

The numbers are a little dated -- you can make $12 an hour plucking chickens nowadays -- but the principles still apply. And Zeke Feinberg (along with Sam Grafstein) is one of the great oldtime maestros of craps advice. You've gotta love the dedication: "This book was written IN SPITE OF MANY PEOPLE!" I know how he feels.

The author states in this book that the way to profits in craps is to make a little bit of money on a steady basis. I know, $12 an hour isn't too much but its certainly better than losing. He further states that the only way to do this is to use place bets and never make come or pass bets. He gives a lot of explanation for this, and it seems to make sense. He goes into great detail on how certain bets can reduce the casino's win percentages so they lose and you win. A very worthwhile book, well worth the price!

I got this book hoping to find a system. Something that would explain to me a systematic process of betting that would be backed by theory and evidence.

What I got is a sales book. This book is nothing more than a prelude to the Mega-Charting book that he has written. When I buy a book I want that book to have closure. I don't want to buy a book read it and realize that I have to buy 3 more books of the author to actually get to the system.

He repeats everything about 3 times. So the book is 190 pages, but only 63 pages of true information. Oh btw: Zeke if your reading these that is really 63.3333333333, but for this review purpose I rounded to 63. Sounds like the book.

So what did this book do for me. HMMMM! Let's see. I sit here with the following information. Use Place Bets when your charting tells you to. If you ever feel like the 7 is coming then take your bets down. Buy my book on charting.

I am really disappointed in this book.

Really proved for me that place bets were more profitable and more flexible than pass line or come bets.

What a good easy to read book! I finally learned why I keep losing money betting on the come bets and pass bets all the time. There are many VERY interesting chapters in this book, I especially like how he writes about how COMBINING place bets will give you an added advantage that you don't have with just single betting. Another VERY intersting part (which I havent seen anywhere else) is how to calculate your insurance factor when you play. He also goes into pre-sets and charting. Of course there is a lot of stuff that shouldnt be here and repetitive but all in all this is a wonderful book, it will change your mind about the best ways to play. I would have been happy learning just one thing from it but there were lots of new systems and ideas, well worth the money.

I liked this book. Not quite a 5 star offering but pretty close.

Fun stories about crazy gamblers!

Get a copy.

If you're a poker player looking for another purely instructional manual --- save your money here. If on the other hand you'd like entertaining stories of today's & yesterday's most successful pros and what made them that way then you will thoroughly enjoy this book. It gives profiles on some of poker's all-time best players past and present while managing to deliver the "nuts" using specific examples from their successes at the table. The main message of this book is that there are as many ways and strategies to win at poker --- particularly Texas Hold 'Em as there are players, REALLY! The best lesson it gave me was to figure out which of these many players' "style" of play best fit my own and go to school learning. Additionally, at the end it gives brief summaries of pokers most popular games along with a poker dictionary of terms. I really think the beginner as well as the expert can take something valuable away from these pages.... The profiles of the players are every bit as informative as they are entertaining and insightful. So pick up this book and get a "read" on some of the games greats to improve your game!

This is a great poker book. But be warned, it is not a book on poker strategies. It is, however, a wonderful book with each chapter detailing a bio on a different poker player(s). The read does provide a glimpse into the style of the different players. But it does not go into great depths on specific strategies and so on. This suits me just fine considering that there is now a mountain of poker books covering strategies.

So if you're interested in getting a broad feel for how some of the elite poker players slugged their way to the top, this is an excellent book. If you enjoy literature and poker, this will make an excellent read when you need to pass the time (e.g., airplane ride, can't sleep at night, etc.) ...

It was an entertaining read but it just did not deliver on its titles promise of providing any "million-dollar strategies". It also has a very dis-jointed feel to it-start, stop, start again. Well, after reading it through, that minor annoyance makes sense. This is a collection of articles written by the two authors put into book form so the flow is uneven and a little distracting. I enjoyed reading about the great gamblers and poker players, but it just left me a little disappointed having bought it with different expectations.

One of the consequences of the big poker craze is that books are coming out a million on the subject. Aces and Kings is a perfect example of the fad, but it bares none of the hallmarks of quick production. The prose reads very much like what one would expect to find in a mainstream magazine; which is not surprising as several of these chapters appeared first in places like Cigar Aficionado. The book, on the whole, is quality and chocked full of details. It's main focus concerns those who try to make an easy living in the hardest way possible, i.e. the professional players. With ESPN and The Travel Channel, they have ever-increasingly become the focus of the public's attention. Aces and Kings attempts to inform readers about the poker life by analyzing its biggest names and figures. Many of these cardsharps have become celebrities overnight. Their mini-biographies are extremely interesting and are told over the course of 15 chapters. Three of them, "Web Kids," "The Women of Poker," and "The New Superstars" concern, groupings of players rather than individuals. In this, I think that they made one major error because Daniel Negreanu deserves a chapter of his own. That guy's personality is big enough to fill a warehouse.

Nearly all of the pros have lives that make for good reading, but, in my opinion, the most fascinating entry was the one concerning Chris Ferguson. In case you might not recognize his name, he was The World Series of Poker 2000 champion and is one of the most recognizable players in the game due to his Black Bart cowboy hat and huge Oakley shades. We discover that his appearance, just like every aspect of his persona, was carefully calculated in the hopes of discouraging his opponents from perceiving just how mathematically oriented he actually is. Ferguson has a PhD in mathematics/artificial intelligence from UCLA, and has spent years forging his probability based approach to the game. His huge black binders are brimming with statistics and determine how he will play hands and scenarios. The results, as we know, have been fantastic. What impressed me most about him was that he went on a severe cold streak in 2002, but did not get discouraged as he "recognized a statistical deviation" when he saw one. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and, even if you are not a huge poker fan, the plots within are about as interesting as something written by Nicholas Pileggi.

This book had me from the begining! I was pulled into this book until she started to go back and tell you how everything happened. I would not recommend this book to anyone b/c when she went back and told you everything I started to lose interest in the storyline. I'm sorry Ms. Monroe, but try again with this one! No I did not read the other story by Victor McGlothin!

Borrow Trouble was both refreshing and exciting. Mary Monroe really knows how to keep you wanting more. She took a simple vacation and turned it into something that can easily happen to anyone. Victor McGlothin on the other hand kept my attenion and painted a vivid picture. I felt as though I was there running right beside Baltimore each step of the way.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and Sister, "Bad Luck Shadow" by Victor McGlothin introduces us to Baltimore Floyd. If you thought Walter Moseley's Easy Rawlings was the man, look out because Baltimore is in the house. Baltimore comes at just the right time. Walter Moseley now has Easy in current times as an old man and Victor takes us right back to a time when Men were men and ladies are ladies. Back to a time when men wore brims and were dressed to the nines. Baltimore doesn't need Mouse as a side kick or to do his dirty work, the brother has no fear. Victor thanks for Baltimore and I'll be standing in line waiting to hear what Baltimore is up to next. RIP Easy Rawlings and move over Walter Moseley, Baltimore Floyd and Victor McGlothin are on the scene.

This book keeps you hanging on the edge! I have always loved Monroe, but had never heard of McGlothin. McGlothin is my next new author. This book keeps you hanging until the end and then craving the next one.

The two novels were very closely related because both gave kudos to friendships which were outside of a husband and wife relationship.

Mary Monroe's novel keeps you flipping pages one right after the next; there's never a dull moment with poor little innocent Renee's life. Inez was Renee's true friend to the end; and that's exactly how the story ended, with Inez being there for Renee in the end; even more so than Renee's husband. With friends like Inez, who needs husbands like Leon?!

Victor McGlothin's novel, contrary to Mary Monroe's, started out extremely slow; so much until I almost stopped reading; but it eventually turned around. Victor's character Baltimore Flynch was very detailed in description. Baltimore was a southern hustler (so to speak) with good looks and an even better conversation piece. Baltimore's theory for living was "kill or be killed," and the ladies loved him for that. He routinely put his life on the line for his close friend Henry. Although Baltimore was exceptionally fiercely driven, he had a soft side as well; and his kind heart may have been just the thing to save his life...

Thank you for a great guide to the spades game....I found your instructions and approaches to be most helpful and easy to apply to my game....it's nice to be able to recommend your book to those who might be looking for a helpful guide....

"The Complete Win At Spades" has elevated my game to a level where I feel I can be competitive. I play frequently in the zone. The new strategies I have learned from this book have helped me immensely. Joe Andrews is an accomplished spades player who has taught many players the finer points of the game. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional I recommend this book strongly.

This is a book on spades, with that I will agree with Joe. Beyond
that it contains numerous errors on the few examples it gives, playing
the way Joe suggests will result in you losing games you may otherwise
win. (In my opinion) Spades is
not his game and it is reflected in his books. I have read them all,
and was throughly disappointed in each of them, I expected competent
at the very least, this is a book I would give to my opponents, that
would at least help me win more games.

A MUST READ for all levels of spades including beginners. Great tips to learn and have in your back pocket while in play. Very well explained are some great spade techniques including the nil bid. I play spades a lot and read a lot of spades material including books writtin by Joe Andrews and would recommend this one for sure along with the other great books written by Joe Andrews.

The Complete Win At Spades is a classic and has stood the test of time. Joe Andrews clearly explains all aspects of the game. This book is intended for all levels of play, without the overkill of too much technical information. Many useful conventions are described and several illustrative hands help to explain strategy and technique. His wit and humor make the reading of this book very easy and enjoyable. The book is endorsed by U.S. Playing Card Company and is highly recommended.

i am not poor at hold'em.
but i am a master of hold'em after i read this book.

This is a great poker book. I did have to return it since it was a duplicate of a book my husband already had but it is a good book to learn about Texas Hold'em.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a beginner and would like to learn how to play texas hold em. The author does a good job of explaining all the basic principles of the game and by utilizing this information, anyone can walk into a cardroom and play profitable poker. This book is not for advanced players.

This is a decent book on low limit Hold Em. Note that Low Limit is a 2/4 or 3/6 game, not the $30 blind games in Vegas or the big CA tournaments. The psychology and right moves in low limit are very different from no-limit or tournament style play, and it is important to read a book directed at where your play is.

Burton gives you very little of the theory behind poker, the odds, the "whys" of the best move. Now, for a beginner low limit book, you don't want to get too bogged down in that stuff, but personally I find it easier to remember, "I should do XX because the odd of getting YY are so much better than the odds of ZZ." Figuring out the basic odds isn't too hard, but it is treated only briefly in this book, and Burton doesn't really drive the point home.

Frankly, this book has a lot of info, but it doesn't boil it down into strategies that you are going to remember when you are at the table. You might get frustrated because you be paranoid about remembering everything that is laid out in a very verbose format.

Personally, I didn't find this book as useful as the one by Lee Jones (Winning Low Limit Hold Em). If you only buy one book, go for Jones's, because he really breaks down the hows plus the whys of each move, and every chapter concludes with a cheat sheet for you to remember your new Hold Em "rules."

There are a a lot of books available to the beginning student of poker. If you are just taking up limit poker, I'd advise buying Lee Jones' book instead of this one. At best, I'd buy this one as a supplement.

I absolutely agree with Uncle Trick's analysis of the book -- especially regarding its lack of depth. The problem can be highlighted by comparing Burton's treatment of Ace-Jack offsuit in early postion with that of Jones.

Burton simply says "(AJo)is playable in early position, but if you're raised you may be in trouble. You have to consider who's doing the raising." In fairness, these statements are basically true, but I find them pretty superficial.

In contrast, Jones devotes a lengthy and thoughtful paragraph to AJo, concluding that inexperienced players should probably fold it in early position. I took up poker about three months ago, and did not fully appreciate all of Jones's thinking when I first read his book. But I have found myself rereading paragraphs like the one in Jones on AJo and gaining understanding on second and third readings. It's a very valuable resource.

Burton's book is relatively inexpensive and does provide some useful information for the beginner. The tables of starting hands are about as good as any, and there are tables of odds stating, for example, the probability of hitting a flush given two suited cards. If you find this kind of thing useful, you may want to have the book in your library. But you won't find yourself rereading this one often!

Don't buy this book thinking it will teach you some magical trick on how to win at roulette because it won't. It will give you some basic strategy, some history on how you could win 20 years ago, and some basic do's and don'ts.

The book is well organized and mainly has a statistical approach, which is not enough when talking about getting "the edge" of roulette. Although the author is sincere explaining that all systems will fail in long run due to the house edge, he misses an important aspect of roulette: the mathematical side. The topology of the bets, the probabilities of the complex betting systems, all this mathematics stuff is missing or is touched vaguely. I found Barboianu's book far superior on all counts.

This is a good roullete book, have alot of winner systems in long term,
i want more information about the writer to contact him.
Uchimata

excellent book.....
few months ago i was trying to develop a part time source of money.........and now i have developed it......just bcoz of this book...thanks a lot DOCTOR SPIN......!!!!!!!![...].

First of all, it is true that the house has a big (> 5 %) edge in the game of roulette IF the results of the spins are truly random.

It is also true that the results of a roulette spin are depenedent upon the actions of a human being. Furthermore, it is also true that a roulette wheel can never be perfectly balanced nor stay perfectly balanced while in use. Given these facts, it follows that the results of any particular roulette spin will not be completely random. As Pawlicki explains very well in this book, it is this lack of complete randomness which might make it possible to predict a roultette spin with enough confidence to overcome the house edge. The trick is to, first, recognize a wheel/croupier combination that is producing results that are predictable enough to be useful, and second, to use that predictability is such a way that you can overcome the house edge.

No, you will not be able to implement Pawlicki's strategies immediately. Like anything else in life, they require skill, concentration and practice. If it were easy to do, then ANYBODY could do it and the casinos would change the game so that it would be significantly more difficult for the player. However, to say that it is impossible to overcome the house edge under any circumstances is patently false. It can be done if you can find a favorable wheel and croupier and if you can take advantage of that. Pawlicki gives a number of examples where he has done just that. If a wheel/croupier combination is producing results that are very nearly random however, then no, you cannot beat the house edge over time no matter what.

It is true that this book does not cover random play, nor should it. If you're intent upon playing a wheel that is producting nearly random results, then you're going to lose and there is no sense discussing any stratgies for such play.

Pawlicki makes one other salient point. If you do happen to beat the house you will eventually draw the attention of the pit boss and the casino will try various things to "discourage" you from winning, such as changing balls or reversing the rotation of the wheel. In such situations, it's probably best to take your winnings and take a walk. The last thing that you want to do is alienate a croupier or a casino, else you'll always get special attention whenever you visit that casino. The trick is to try to win while keeping as low a profile as possible.

When I first started playing poker, I had difficulty whenever someone called my pre-flop raise. An interesting piece of advice from Chan himself was to do a continuation bet; in short, to always bet on the flop if you raised preflop, with the exception being when you flop quads or a straight flush. I had not been doing this, so I employed it and I can safely say that it was a highly effective strategy.

Now, I'm not claiming that this advice is exclusive to Chan, or that he made it up or that it's some big secret, but to a new player just learning and having difficulty, employing this advice and at times against my better judgment revealed that it's very effective, and because I got this advice from Chan, I got this book (years later) because in my eyes, Chan was 1 for 1 on good advice given to me.

At first I was a bit disappointed in that many of the tips and advice I had already learned for myself. However, Chan goes on to give strategies, once again, that I had overlooked. Advice on "second best" hands where you trap yourself is rock solid, as is the advice on mid-range suited connectors. I deliberately and intentionally applied the advice on suited connectors which had been previously contrary to my play style and ended up winning 2 tournaments and numerous additional hands by following his advice. The book paid for itself in one session. I can absolutely guarantee that I would not have won these hands in question without Chan's advice.

Having said that, the book tries to be all things to all games and suffers from not having the depth that Chan is more than capable of exploring. All sections are a minority and are largely unrelated. I have no use for advice on Omaha or 7stud so there goes 44 pages I don't need. I don't play 8 or better stud so there's another 18 pages. People that Johnny has played with and giving shout-outs to doesn't help my game... that's another 28 pages. What to expect at a casino (I already know) that's 9 pages. You get the picture.


In spite of this, the advice on NLHE is short, but sweet. There are a couple of good tips, and they alone have potential to substantially increase your revenue. In the end it hardly matters if 20 pages of solid game improving advice is shorter than 900 pages of solid advice; if your play is improved and it makes you money, then it's worth it.

But rather than to add filler outside of specific playing advice, Chan makes good points about playing when you're winning vs. when you're losing. I'm not talking about tilting, but rather Chan's consideration of factors to your play that you're not aware of, and how to exploit these unknowns even if you don't understand them. I appreciate how Chan is sensitive to the notion of factors that one may not be aware of but can recognize as having impact on play by their results, and how to counter or capitalize on this depending upon how you're affected.

This is a 5 star book, but I give it four stars simply from my own perspective in that I learned everything the book could teach me in my experience, all in one sitting. I know Chan knows a lot more, and could have included a lot more, but for an intermediate player (especially HORSE players), this book has a lot to offer even if too diverse to be elaborate on a single subject.

This a beautifully produced, pricey paperback covering the poker games that Chan plays. Of course, he doesn't just play, he wins big. By my count, he's won ten WSOP events.

The book is something of a scrapbook of poker photos, with strategies on many poker games: basically stud, omaha, both high and high low, as well as limit and no-limit Texas hold'em. He describes his thinking as a hold'em hand progresses -- very useful.

By the way, there is little math in book, so if you're looking for the clearest expression of pot odds, implied odds, look elswhere. (For a book that leads you safely through the odds jungle, see Weighing the Odds in Hold'em Poker by King Yao.)

Remember the list price is $30. The qualiy paper and color photos cost more. In fact, even the hands are shown in color photographs.

This is a worthwhile book with insights from a successful player, covering too many kinds of poker to be the ultimate in-depth guide to any one of them. Yet it scores in readability way above the serious classics by Sklansky, Malmuth and others.

It's not the best first book on poker as it's too advanced for a beginner, but it may well be the best second one.

This is the best beginner/intermediate book that I have seen. It covers all the popular poker games of the day plus general tips on all the games and how to play at a Casino. John also discusses some of the great players he has played against. I must mention the paper is excellent (no cheap stuff here) and the illustrations (photos?) of the cards make it very easy to use. Highly recommended

A solid "how-to" guide co-written by the highly-regarded poker player Johnny Chan, whose titles include 2002 WSOP Match Play NLH Champion and 2003 WSOP No Limit Hold-em Champion among many others, Play Poker Like Johnny Chan: Book One Casino Poker is a simple guide to poker basics for players who are out to win. Chapters discuss general poker concepts for the uninitiated, and the rules and favorable versus unfavorable situations for many poker variants including Limit Hold-em, Seven Card Stud, Eight Or Better Stud, Omaha High, Omaha Hi-Low, and No-Limit Hold-em. Some background information on tournaments and internet poker is included, as is general (and very sound) strategy advice for the would-be career poker player, as well as a mentions of famous and skilled individuals Chan has played with. Notably absent from Play Poker Like Johnny Chan is any in-depth discussion of card-counting or related mathematical methodology; it is primarily an introductory guide to give the reader a hands-on understanding of game mechanics as well as the importance of the professional mindset. Chan's key rules - keep playing when you are winning, stop when you are losing, stay to an environment where you feel comfortable, take a vacation from poker when you need it (never try to win the money needed for a vacation from poker when you need one, that's a certain way to burnout), and discipline yourself to move back down to smaller tables when you're losing at big tables - are vital and should be taken to heart by all prospective professional poker players. Full-color photographs illustrate this handy primer, which is printed on glossy paper.

Saw this book on amazon.com and figured, what the hell, I'll buy it and see what happens. Got it a week later, read the section on limit hold em first, since that's about the only game I play well, and was surprised my gameplay was very different to what was mentioned. After reading it and trying out the different techniques, I was pleasantly surprised to see my profits increasing. Well worth the price and the time to read. Have since read through the other sections and am finding myself getting some good earnings in Omaha and 5 card stud as well, although 5 card stud is a bit tricky.
I definitely believe this book is good for beginners and advanced players alike. Well written, easy to read, clear illustrations and excellent presentation overall.