Players Books

Greg Brown has created a wonderful series of books with various athletes. It is not the athletes on the cover that make these books attractive to me, but the lessons on sportsmanship and responsibility. Our grandson wants to read them because of the athlete on the cover, and since his Dad is a big sports fan, too, he enjoys reading them to him. I highly recommend these books.

Steve Young offers football fans an interesting and informative look at his career in the sport. The text is an exceptionally accurate reflection of Young's personality: honest, determined, and good-humored. He shares stories about the challenges he faced in a frank, introspective manner. This is a perfect gift for any young sports fan-- sure to be read again and again.

Forever Young is a great book for kids of all ages. It was a wonderful way to show my son that his hero grew up the same way as every other kid he knows. From the stories about the fights with his brother to telling about his childhood fear of sleep-overs, Mr. Young shows kids that its okay to have fears and faults. The great thing about this book is that it shows kids that, even though Steve Young is a great quarterback, he makes mistakes and wasn't always the best athlete there ever was. It's nice to see a sports figure be humble about his success.

I HAVE BEEN AN INSTRUCTOR FOR 8 YEARS AND THIS IS NOW ONE OF THE REQUIRED BOOKS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN MY TRAINING CLASS FOR NEW DEALERS. AT MY SUGGESTION A LOCAL POKER ROOM HAS INCLUDED THIS AS THEIR RULE BOOK AND ALL SUPERVISORS ARE REQUIRED TO USE IT. THIS BOOKS HAS COMPREHENSIVE UP TO DATE RULES. AS WE KNOW RULES MAY CHANGE FROM ROOM TO ROOM, BUT SOMETHING THAT IS CLOSE TO STANDARD THE POKER ALMANAC HAS IT ALL. TDA RULES, ROBERTS RULES, GAMES, AS WELL AS A GREAT UP TO DATE GLOSSARY. THIS BOOK IS AN ASSET FOR TRAINING NEW DEALERS. I USE THIS AND THE PROFESSIONAL DEALER'S HANDBOOK AS A REQUIREMENT TO PURCHASE.

This is a concise encyclopedia of the rules for poker. The Official Rules will particularly appeal to novices as it explains the nature of the cardroom, the equipment integral to the game, and hand rankings. Much of it is based on Robert's (Bob Ciaffone's) Rules of Poker and is elaborated upon by the author. It provides an introduction to the game as well by experienced player, Kelli Mix. The various styles of games are also discussed: limit, spread limit, no limit, and pot limit. The text covers just about everything including seven card stud high low and deuce-to-seven high low. The explanation of tournament rules is valuable because, as those of us who watch HSP already know, tournaments and cash games are entirely different animals. It even tells you what should be done with the "odd chip" in casino games. I appreciated the definition of "kill pots" and wish I would have read it before I began playing in kill limit games online, lol. This is definitely something I could have really used back in 2004 when I first began learning about the game.

Game Day highly recommends this book as the standard poker book for use during all types of poker games. This book is especially helpful to players in home games of poker, where it is important to have a way to resolve rules disputes quickly and amicably.

We at Game Day saw that there was something missing in the current field of poker books: a standard poker rule book. Before we published the Official Rules of Poker, the only authorities on the rules of poker was Scarne and Hoyle, which were written in the Nineteenth Century. The game has changed, especially in the last ten years, and we realized that it was important to have a Twenty-First Century rule book.

When we put out the word that we were looking for an editor and for such a book, Kelli Mix came forward. Ms. Mix, or "Poker Mom" as she is known at the poker table, eagerly took up the challenge of gathering and writing the rules to suit the modern game of poker. This turned out to be a gargantuan task. Ms. Mix researched each rule, making sure that they were found in at least five independent sources. Mix turned out to be a wonderful choice as editor and author of the Game Day Poker Almanac Official Rules of Poker.

Mix is a professional poker player. She is still under most poker players radar, but she is quietly climbing the ranks of tournament poker players (she finished 11th in the 2007 World Series of Poker Texas Hold 'Em Women's tournament in a field of more than 1,200 players). However, she is more likely to be found at cash games, playing high stakes.

The Official Rules of Poker includes all the rules of poker, from the most basic hand rankings to the most obscure tournament rules.

Contents:
1: Elements of Poker. This chapter covers the most basic rules of poker, and also describes the way poker is played in casino card rooms. Mix wrote these rules in a way that makes them easy to use while playing a game.

2: Professional Poker Rules. These rules cover more of mechanical means of acting in a poker game, giving the finer definitions of what constitutes a raise, a call or a fold. They also discuss the penalties of rules infractions. There are four parts to this chapter.

a) Robert's Rules of Poker. These rules were written by professional poker player and authority, Bob Ciaffone, as a standard set of rules of cash games in casino card rooms. While local laws may require changes to these rules, and some casinos use their own rules, these rules are often cited as the official set of rules in professional play.

b) Robert's Rules of Poker for Private Games: This is Ciaffone's "Robert's Rules of Poker" which he adopted to home games where no impartial dealer or floorperson is present.

c) Poker Tournament Director's Association Rules (TDA Rules). Each year, the Professional Poker Tournament Directors Association updates its rules, which most casinos and poker leagues use as their official rule book in tournament play. Tournament rules add a new layer of rules to poker, as tournaments are about eliminating players, not about accumulating money.

d) World Series of Poker Rules: The World Series of Poker is considered the premier poker tournament event. Due to its sheer size and commercialism, the rules for WSOP tournaments are different than TDA rules. Many poker leagues use WSOP rules instead of TDA rules, as the WSOP rules are more popular among those who learned poker from television.

3: Poker Etiquette. There are types of behavior frowned upon in poker games, due to the fact that poker is a highly competitive game and may involve large sums of money. In some games of poker, violating etiquette may result in ejection from the game.

4: Variant Poker Games. Includes 69 different versions of poker, including 5-Card Draw, 5-Card Stud, Cincinnati, Chicago, Baseball, Anaconda, Mexican Stud, Chinese Poker, Iron Cross, Guts, English Stud, Kansas City Lowball, California Lowball, Pineapple,Spit, Three-Card Draw, and the ever-hilarious Indian Poker. Also includes rules for declaring wild cards and using jokers. WhIle professional poker players and casino card rooms will never play most of these games, home games are notorious for playing "dealer's choice" where the dealer chooses which of the many variations of poker will be played that hand. (Note: Mix and I had a really good time finding out about all of these games.)

5: Glossary. Again, Mix was very thorough in her research. Poker terminology is highly colorful and is a lingo all its own. from the Nuts to the Fish. Mix used multiple sources, as there are many local poker terms and terms used that do not last more than a few months. She excludes popular names for two-card Texas Hold 'Em hands, purposefully, although we plan to have a separate glossary for hand names in future editions. Still, this is one of the most complete glossaries I have seen in a poker book anywhere.

6. Index: Okay, I did the index. I believe that indexes should be thorough, and so I did my best to make the index easy to use in the heat of play. Still, this was a fairly easy index to create, as Mix's presentation of the rules and her organization of the material was straightforward, allowing me to easily pick out the rules.

The Official Rules of Poker has been wonderfully received. Professional poker dealers have been clamoring to get this edition. When we released the book at the WSOP 2007 in Las Vegas, the WSOP dealers practically knocked me over trying to get their own copy.

Thank you for considering The Game Day Poker Almanac Official Rules of Poker. I personally hope you will find it to be of great use, and that the book will provide you with years of fun--and fair--poker.

David A. Rozansky
Publisher
Game Day (an imprint of Flying Pen Press)

I could not put this book down because this book symbolized what it takes to succeed in life. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for what it takes to be successful at whatever you want to do with your life.

This is the definitive book of hockey. Dryden's thoughts on goaltending, the city of Boston, and on the state of hockey cannot be matched. Dryden had an incredible insight on what was wrong with the game and where the game was headed, even back in 1983. I read this book once a year, it is that good.

Dryden may be the Canadian hockey equivalent of basketball's Bill Bradley. I wouldn't be surprised if Dryden becomes Prime Minister of Canada in 20 years.

Dryden studied at Cornell and took a year off playing hockey (after winner a playoff MVP award and Rookie of the Year)to complete his law degree at McGill. He won a fistful of trophies and Stanley Cup rings during his brief Hall of Fame career as a goaltender with the Montreal Canadiens. The rare combination of scholarship and athletic brilliance results in an very well written book.

The book is a diary of the last part of his final season. While light on anecdotes, it delves into the heart of what is right and wrong with hockey.

Is is most likely the best book ever written by an athlete.

The Garden and the Knicks, a match made in heaven. This book delivers the best insight into the New York Knicks and its best players. From Clyde, to Willis, from Patrick to Houston, this book tells it all. Even has some great storys and pictures of the Old Garden a definent must read

this is a Must have Book for any Fan of the NBA.this Book talks about all of the Great Knicks&is truly Great to reflect on.those Great Knicks Days seems so long ago but they really weren't that long ago.Clyde the Glide,Earl The Pearl through the Present.

If you're a Knicks fan - or even just a basketball junkie - Garden Glory is for you. An easy read with great stories told by those who lived it. I could never have gone to the Old Garden, but the mental pictures the book creates is marvelous.

But the big unanswered question that I need to know is: What was Spree REALLY wearing when they came to his house in Milwaukee?

A must read...

There are plenty of poker "how-to" books on the market ("Secrets the Pros Won't Tell You" by Sheree Bykofsky and Lou Krieger is a good one). Unlike other poker authors, Richard Sparks takes as his subjects the who and what and why and where and when of poker. But, in "Getting Lucky" - the sequel to "Diary of a Mad Poker Player" - there is also an element of "how." This is because, after his first book, Richard realized that he needed help with his game. So he got 1983 World Champion of Poker Tom McEvoy to coach him for a year.

The result is an interesting new angle on poker teaching. "How-to" books are always written by the teacher. This one is written by the student. So you get to go through Richard's learning process with him, in real events, with real hands in real situations. You get to witness his mistakes, and hear what his coach has to say about them. The fact that Richard's results improved out of all recognition speaks for McEvoy's excellence as a teacher - for example, in July 2006, Richard finished 20th out of 2,891 entrants in the $1,000 No Limit Hold Em at the World Series of Poker.

Mainly, though, "Getting Lucky" is the story of one player's year in the heart of the current poker boom. There are poker greats and poker degenerates. There is a week of poker bliss on the Party Poker Cruise. There are unusual angles on the game: a lesson in reading body language from an Oxford Professor; interviews with poker luminaries like Lyle Berman, owner of the World Poker Tour. And there is the will-he, won't-he thrill of an ordinary player winning his seat in our World Championship, and playing in the Big One for the first time.

Richard Sparks is a professional comedy writer who clearly loves poker. "Getting Lucky" was obviously a labor of love.

After his first book, the author decides that he loves the game of poker and travelling the world to play it. He lacks only one thing: a good poker game. Mere mortals among us might read books, try software or discuss our play with friends to improve. Not Mr. Sparks. He enlists WSOP champ and author Tom McEvoy to coach him.

This method works like gangbusters. Sparks still struggles in battle at the tables, but now, he often wins. He learns from a research psychologist all about tells, in poker and otherwise. He meets all sorts of poker players, both famous and infamous. The famous include Josh Arieh, Ted Forrest, Clonie Gowen, Chris Ferguson, Greg Raymer -- you get the idea. The infamous player is an anonymous poker cheat who says that cheating goes on constantly in the poker room at every level.

He takes a poker cruise with everyone from Bill Gates to Mike Sexton aboard.

He tells us the story of Lyle Berman, great cash game player, pot limit Omaha expert and the man who started the World Poker Tour, The WPT is a big part of the energy behind the poker craze. Watch a poker game on TV, snooze time; watch a poker game on TV and see everyone's cards, instant hit. Berman put the first watchable poker on the tube.

He goes to the WSOP, this time as a player.

An informative, wide-ranging,and winning poker memoir.

Heck, I'm gonna raise my rating up another star because of all the great material in this book. I've read a lot of these poker memoirs lately, and this is one of my favorites.

What a read!

Poker's Perfect Storm!

Finally, a brilliant writer that understands this game of games!

Not only will reading this book improve your level of play, but you will be captivated by Richard's wit and storytelling prowess.

Richard Sparks lets us into his heart and head as he competes and struggles to improve. And that is a very special gift to all who read it.

This book taught me, like no other, that the emotions and thoughts that cascade through me at the table are part of what binds us together as poker players. Our shared experience.

I loved this book.

This is a book I have loaned to friends of mine and I highly recommend it. If you have played hoop, spent hours in pick-up games or shooting hoops to get better, you'll relate to this book. Reynolds does a great job at painting the picture for you. If you've been there, shared the experiences, you'll fly through this book. I particulary liked the parts where he talked in detail about biding his time on the bench as a young player, getting better, flying under the radar and then becoming an elite player.

This is the second Bill Reynolds book that I have read. Loved them both. I found his descriptions taking me back to high school and the playground. It brought back a lot of memories and also made me think about how I prioritized basketball for so many years.

Non basketball junkies may call Bill's live experiences crazy. I dream of some of his experiences. Great book!

Bill Reynolds is certainly one of America's finest sports journalists. "Glory Days" addsto that luster.While some may dismiss it as a purely personal account of one's growing up, it is a lot more. It is a book to be read and enjoyed by all former star athletes, high school or college, who realized at some subsequent point in their life that they had to move on but did not want to let go of the one thing that they had worked at while growing up A disclaimer: Bill was a fraternity brother of mine at Brown.

This is a unique look at golf instruction from an athletic baseball perspective. I've always been told how different the baseball swing and golf swing are however Mr. Pranio points out many similarites. I've been able to apply lessons in the book to my golf game with immediate positive results and less thinking. Mr. Pranio's golf lessons are natural and did not mess up my golf game for a while. If you have ever swung a baseball bat I highly suggest this book as common sense golf instruction.

After playing baseball for over 10 years as a kid and then trying to make that "adult" jump to golf, i found that all my mechanics we're wrong and i didn't have the time or money to correct them to the point of being a decent golfer. This book allowed me to actually use my baseball instincts that usually cause bad golf mechanics and turn them into a positive for my game. It's a quick read, full of pictures and gives you precise but simple information that can be utilized immediately after you read just a couple of pages. Bottom line is that i took more strokes off my game by reading this book than i did after six lessons(with much less frustration).

This book is for you. I bought it because I played ball back in the day and figured that my golf game couldn't get any worse. I was expecting the same old back-patting tome of antecdotes, past wins and a little bit of instruction. What I got was a book full of lessons, taking me from the grip to the full swing, fully illustrated using a regular guy as the model. It was great! If my golf pro had explained the swing the way this guy does, I would have broken a hundred years ago! In fact, after reading this book, I broke a hundred on Tuesday. I think everybody who played ball should buy this book. The golf swing makes so much more sense to me now.

If you are serious about Baseball and are willing to spend a little time to become familiar with Mr. Burnson's work, his research will really pay off. And if you need these graph's updated on a twice a week basis for fantasy leagues then you need Heater magazine at [...]. Follow the graphs during the year and you will see who's getting it done, who should be getting it done and finally who will soon be getting it done. His research , to me, is on par with Baseball Forecaster and then some. Fabulous.

Really enjoyed this book. Excellent help for preparation for upcoming fantasy baseball season.

No, there's no dollar values for the players in this book. Since it's published in December, one could argue that values would not be accurate anyway. There's no predictions for 2007 performance data either. However, if you want a data analysis that gives you valuable insight into player performance, Burnson is one of the best.

The graphs are a little crowded, but they are the key to the value of this book. Spend a few minutes actually reading the preface and a whole new world of statistical analysis will be opened up.

This is the first year that this book has ventured beyond pitchers and into position players. The pitcher analyses alone justify buying this book, which is a good thing because the player analysis does not quite live up to the unique insight of the pitchers section.

I am only about 1/2 way through the book right now and it is going to make coaching tee ball much easier for me. I wish I could afford to get a copy for my how team of helpers.

I'm going to be managing a Little League team this year, and I haven't done it before. I've found many helpful books but "The Baffled Parent's Guide to Great Baseball Drills" is exactly what I've been needing. This book helps show how to format a practice so that it keeps moving, maximizing your time, while keeping things fun and simple. I have bookmarks and yellow highlighter all over the thing! I'm really glad that I found it. ...God bless to all you coaches out there.

The Great Baseball Drills book is a unique view on teaching kids the skill of baseball. The drills are fun ways to involve lots of kids and keep them active. Too often one player is pitching, one catching, and one at the plate, while everyone else is waiting to get involved. Not with this approach.

The Greek-American community owe Dabilis and Tsiotis a great debt of gratitude for the service they have provided by publishing the stories of Agganis and Kyriakides.

Arguably New England's finest all-around athlete, Harry Agganis' life represents the ultimate greek tragedy. Blessed with unprecedented athletic talent, Agganis was struck down in the prime of his life. His love of sports was equalled only by his love of family. Nick Tsiotos and Andy Dabilis capture the true essence of Agganis. This is must read for all sports fans.

A great look at the life of an exceptional young man who's legacy should be passed on.