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The recent popularity of online poker, particularly the variant known as Texas Hold'em, has stimulated the publication of numerous books aimed at players wanting to learn to play or improve their game. A few of these books are reviewed on this page.

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Lee Jones: Winning Low Limit Hold'em (2nd edition)

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Lee Jones gives an excellent account of how to win at low stakes limit holdem. Ideally suited for inexperienced players this book might also transform the game of some experienced players who might not think they need it.

The book gives a detailed yet straightforward account of how to play various hands and handle basic situations; the advice is very clear and easy to follow. The first 60 pages give the reader detailed, hand by hand instructions on how to play pre-flop holdings. It's not possible to give full instructions for every hand after the flop, but he succesfully breaks down the possibilities into manageable chunks. Throughout, the focus is on fundamentals such as your position, the pot size, and your cards. Simple methods, such as how to play top pair with top kicker on the flop, are given as well as advice on more difficult situations such as what to do with two overcards on the flop, or when to call with an inside straight draw. No time is spent discussing tells or on how to judge whether your opponent is bluffing. However, on the internet, tells are a minority concern and understanding these considerations is not necessary to be a winning player.

Jones sets out to give his audience the information they need to win at low stakes limit holdem, at which I think he succeeds. As the standard of poker on the internet is very poor at these tables this information will enable players to make money at many $2-4 tables and almost all $0.5-1 tables. I am told that the standard is similarly poor in American, particularly Californian, casinos; this book may well be all that is required to make money there as well. Of course, a little experience will always be required before you can properly execute any decent poker strategy, but with this book and some practice I think most players can start to win.

Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie: Harrington on Hold'em. Volume1: Strategic Play

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This book covers the early stages of a no limit Texas hold'em tournament. The book begins with 60 pages of introductory material covering hold'em tournament rules and broad strategy, then the focus shifts rapidly to a detailed analysis of play using a variety of scenarios as examples; these take up the remaining 300 pages. I found the advice in this book very convincing and enjoyable to read.

The main part of the book consists of lessons followed by example hands. The lessons describe concepts, primarily using situations from professional tournaments, while the example hands are used as problems to train the reader in thinking through the strategies proposed. These problems are excellent: each hand is well described and between them they cover a wide range of ideas and situations. Harrington makes sure to detail the tournament type, stack sizes of all players and observed playing styles in previous hands. Following each problem a recommended course of action is outlined and justified; the authors take a range of factors into account and always pinpoint the key features of the hand.

The level of the advice in this book is advanced; it will not be easy to put the advice here into practice properly without effort and experience. I think it would be a mistake to take the, often aggressive, approaches suggested here too far against the weak, generally loose passive, players often found on the internet. On small stakes internet tables, tight and straightforward play is probably the most reliable.

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