Decide to Play Great Poker: A Strategy Guide to No-Limit Texas Hold ‘ Em by Annie Duke (PDF)

Description

Ask the great poker players how they’d play a hand and the answer is always, “It depends.” That answer can be infuriating. But guess what? It really does depend. The key to becoming a great poker player is in knowing exactly what it depends on. At last there’s a book that gives you that answer. Poker is a game of so many variables: table position, flop texture, the number of players in a hand, the personalities of your opponents, and so much more. Decide to Play Great Poker teaches you how to identify and analyze those variables, interchange them within basic game-situation templates, and become knowledgeable, comfortable, and confident in any poker situation. Instead of just dictating a bunch of rules that work only some of the time, this book teaches you to become a great poker thinker and strategist, so that you can expertly navigate any poker challenge that you encounter. Most players think that the goal of poker is to make money. They’re wrong! The goal of poker is to make good decisions. Money is simply the way you measure how well you’re meeting that objective. So if you’re ready to start making world-class decisions at the poker table–and to reap the substantial rewards that those decisions will yield–all you have to do is decide: Decide to Play Great Poker now. You’ll never be vexed by “it depends” again.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review ‘Annie is the rare player who not only plays well but is also an amazing teacher. She and John Vorhaus have closed an important gap in poker lit by writing about the art of poker, not the mechanics. This is an essential book for anyone who wants to take their game to its peak.’ –Erik Seidel. All-time tournament-poker money leader ‘Trust me, this book will open your eyes again and again. It’s packed with so many good tactics that you’ll read it more than once!’ –Phil Hellmuth, Jr. 12-time World Champion of Poker ‘A revolutionary approach to playing no-limit Texas hold em. If this book doesn’t improve your game, you aren’t paying attention.’ –Doyle Brunson, 10-time World Champion of Poker’Trust me, this book will open your eyes again and again. It’s packed with so many good tactics that you’ll read it more than once!’ –Phil Hellmuth, Jr. 12-time World Champion of Poker’A revolutionary approach to playing no-limit Texas hold em. If this book doesn’t improve your game, you aren’t paying attention.’ –Doyle Brunson, 10-time World Champion of Poker From the Inside Flap Ask any great poker player how he’d play a hand and he’ll always say, “it depends.” Though that can be an infuriating response, the truth is, it does depend. The key to becoming a great poker player is in knowing on what it depends. Decide to Play Great Poker tells you exactly what it depends on. Poker is a game of numerous variables: table position, flop texture, bet sizing, pocket holdings, players in a hand, and so much more. Decide to Play Great Poker will teach you how to identify and analyze these variables, interchange them within basic game-situation templates, and leave you feeling knowledgeable, comfortable, and confident in any poker situation. Instead of just enumerating rules that work only some of the time, this book teaches you how to become a great poker thinker and strategist, so you can expertly navigate any new poker challenge that comes up. Most players think the goal of poker is to make money. They’re wrong! The goal of poker is to make good decisions. The money is simply the way you measure how well you’re fulfilling that objective. Are you ready to start making world-class decisions at the poker table, as well as reap the substantial rewards that those decisions yield? All you have to do is decide: Decide to Play Great Poker. About the Author Annie Duke earned a double major in English and psychology at Columbia University and an MA in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She was also a National Science Foundation Fellow from 1988 to 1991.Since 1994, she has dominated poker, quickly establishing herself as one of the world’s best players. In her very first tournament at the World Series of Poker, she placed 13th.In 2004, she won her first WSOP bracelet (in the $2,000-buy-in Omaha Hi/Lo Split). That same year, she knocked out nine poker legends to win the no-limit Texas hold ’em invitation-only WSOP Tournament of Champions.In 2010, Annie won the prestigious NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, beating 64 of the world’s top players on her way to a $500,000 first prize.Annie parlayed her skills into an industry-leading career that encompasses tournament play, advising gaming companies, authoring instructional books and videos, and as a proponent of players’ rights. A longtime industry advocate, Annie has testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee on online poker legislation and the U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee; she continues to be a leading voice for online gaming.Annie has also become a prominent television personality, and is recognized worldwide for her runner-up finish on Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” Today, she is League Commissioner of Federated Sports + Gaming. She’s also an instructor at the World Series of Poker Academy.John Vorhaus has written more than two million words on poker, including the Killer Poker book series and the poker novel Under the Gun. He has also penned the “sunshine noir” mystery novels The California Roll and The Albuquerque Turkey, as well as dozens of television and film scripts. He travels the world teaching and training writers–26 countries on four continents at last count.”As a poker player,” says John, “I’m a pretty good writer.” Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐July 2011 Update: I upgraded from 4 to 5 stars because everything in the book makes such perfect sense. If nothing else DTPGP shines a klieg light on the leaks and holes in my game. I haven’t seen the results I’d like to see yet but I don’t blame the book or Annie’s instruction. I’m just not making enough good decisions to win. Plus Annie would get an extra star from me because she’s so responsive on Twitter.To start it gets 4 stars because I’m not finished. But that’s how much I’m enjoying and learning from the bit I’ve read.I’ve read a dozen or more poker books including Play Like a Pro, Super System, Phil Gordon’s Green and Blue Books, Caro’s Poker Tells, Kill Everyone and others. I liked Harrington’s book a lot because of the decision making approach. I enjoyed reading Gus Hansen’s book but that’s not my game-he gets a lot of respect at the table because he’s Gus Hansen but is more methodical than he gets credit for. Decide to Play Great Poker is along the same lines but with more flair to the writing. It’s actually enjoyable to read (so is Every Hand Revealed.) I downloaded the kindle edition of Annie’s book and started highlighting and bookmarking almost immediately.I used to depend on the cards to win. When I wanted to get serious I read Gordon’s book, and watched a lot of WSOP footage and got a bit better. I started winning more online and over the last 6-8 months I’ve cashed in more live and online tournaments. Playing with better competition really makes a difference. Annie’s approach has more to do with making good decisions and less about cards and chance. She explains putting your opponent in a position to make bad decisions-and not just by check raising. She gives a reasonable scripted approach for each hand based on position and game type. Annie explains playing tight in loose games (what that really means) and loose in tight games. I couldn’t really tell you why I would bet or raise except to say that it seemed like the best idea-but couldn’t articulate beyond that. It’s just what you do in that situation. A lot of my approach was to get out of the way and pounce when I’d get a monster. Annie illustrates board texture, bet sizing, and how making the right decisions will eventually pay off. One of the holes in my game is tilting when I’ve played it right but still lost. Annie points out that right decisions will outweigh the bad beats, in fact bad beats mean you played it exactly right. The more bad beats you take the better you’re playing. Short of getting busted out, the good decisions will make a bad beat just another hand.I’m playing this weekend and look forward to putting what I’ve learned into practice. Further, I feel like I can compete at a higher level in my regular game and take my skills to the casino and get deep in those tourneys. I think Decide to Play Great Poker will be worth a couple of reads to get full value.

⭐This is a great book to have on your shelf. Easy to read yet complex. Some of the parts are a little analytical but many people like that. I have already suggested this book to some of my friends.

⭐This book was recommended by my 30 year old daughter who is a poker dealer and has played and does play poker often. She does pretty well in tournaments and maybe the comobination of her being pretty and being pretty good at the game she often finds she has people who want to back her in tournaments. To give you an idea of her persona I have to retell a story she told me recently. Some guy she was dealing to was telling her she should marry him. Her reply. “Buddy, if you want to bet half of everything that you have on the chance that you can make me love you forever…….go for it. Back to the book. I did like the book and Annie’s (like I know her…which I do not) approach to the game which is well expressed in this book has a lot of merit to it. Putting concepts into words can be difficult. Just try to answer “why” questions from a pre-schooler to get an idea of the difficulty of clearly defining your answer.. The book has “layers” (like an onion) and how many of them you are able to deal with will vary with your level and mindset. For some there will not be much to garner but for others there will be light bulbs going on left and right. I usually figure if I go away with just a couple of things the book will pay for itself. If I make one extra bet and take down one more pot I will have more than paid for this book. Poker snobs are hard to please. They remind me of some diners in a really good restaurant who feel if they complain it makes them appear better. Some of the reviewers have a real grudge for whatever reason. Possibly they are on tilt with life in general. I like the book.

⭐I like this book. There’s a sense of honesty I haven’t gotten from some other books. I’ve played enough poker to know that it’s foolish for anyone to think there is a perfect ABC step approach to the game and the bulk of the book is dedicated to situations. I think those situations are well described in human terms. There are no math tables because we have the internet, and the statistics can easily be looked up. On the other hand, I did buy one of the math books by Alton Hardin (mostly just because I like reading about math and I learn better when I have a tangible book in my hands), and I feel like this book does a much better job at putting the numbers into context since the authors factor in opponents’ play styles, the ebb and flow of table tightness, and the power of position into terms that scared me a bit… which they should since my scope of the game widened quite quickly.I came away with a much bigger perspective on the game and I am going to be a better player thanks to this book. All on its own, the large portion of the book dedicated solely to playing top pair made me feel like I got my money’s worth. The attitudes and logic on hole card selection were also very beneficial to someone at my skill level, which is above beginner but still too short of confidence to go for the $20-$40 blinds table on my income.There are no secrets on opponents tells (but there are recommendations on that literature) and I wonder if some of the tactics may be a bit dated since the book is nearing 6yrs in print. Even if they are, I feel like several of my fundamentals are stronger and I am much harder to push around than I was a few months ago.If you’re rocking $20-$40 tables, maybe you won’t need this as much. On the other hand, if you’re playing $20-$40 tables… I can’t see how this would be bad to buy for less than one big blind.

⭐I was somewhat put off by the bad reviews of this book coming from a certain poker forum, and from a very mean David Sklansky in particular, and decided not to buy this book when it came out; that was a mistake.The book started with the preflop section which aimed at correcting a few preflop mistakes. I felt this was very much aimed at beginners and didn’t learn much from this section, although the tournament bit was very neat by its shortness and a good reminder.The postflop section that followed was truly a diamond in the rough. It goes on to explain how to play heads-up and multiway a big hand, a big draw, a small draw, top pair and a bluff, but most importantly what we were trying to achieve in each of these scenarios rather than give some cookie-cutter formula, which wouldn’t apply to the immense number of situations we would encounter in Texas hold’em anyway.The level of complexity Annie Duke was able to get to made me understand why she was so successful at poker. The multiway sections in particular were particularly difficult to read: I had to read some sections multiple times to understand why she was making some decisions over others (no chance I would have understood, had I read the audio book) but, my goodness, I learned a lot; this was definitely the most advanced multiway treatment I had ever read in any book.She went on to explain how to play the river based on our hand strength and the one we assess our opponent to have. The book finished with a chapter om money management, ego management and life management. Nothing too new there for me, but a good read nonetheless.There were a few mathematical errors and maybe a few missing caveats but it didn’t detract from Annie’s excellent logic and the conclusion looked mostly correct to me despite the bad math.Ignore the bad reviews. Don’t buy the audio book, read it. This was a very good read overall.

⭐I’ve been playing poker for a few years now and have read quite a few strategy books. I first came across this book in audio format and listened to it whilst on my daily commute.Once I had finished it I knew immediately I needed the ACTUAL book as the audio version made great listening but it was hard to digest and retain the actual strategy elements.This book is aimed at beginner to intermediate level players and I would say that it is primarilt geared towards recreational players who want their poker decision making simplified, rather than maximise their EV.I’m not saying that the book is too simple…it’s just that for those of us who want to enjoy the game of poker rather than stress about it to the n’th degree, this book really does give you some tools to simplify those post flop decisions.

⭐A very well written book. Has taken my game to a much higher level by not giving a cookie cutter approach but by teaching you how to think. Among the lower level stakes I play I end up most Sit and Go tournaments thinking I played well, but either got outdrawn or ran into the highest ends of a players range.

⭐I like the style of the writing, it is both concise and clear as well as an easy read.The logic on what to bet and why, is sound.You basically end up with a solid strategy which you can use in any poker situation.Your opponent is not going to reliably know whether you’re bluffing or betting for value.Highly recommended.

⭐Selten ein Poker-Buch, dass den Leser so in seinen Bann zieht und das warum vieler Spielzüge erklärt. Eher für Anfänger gedacht, unterhaltsam geschrieben. Es macht Spaß sich durchzuarbeiten. Keine Tabellen zum Auswendiglernen sondern der Leser oder Spieler soll sich seine eigenen Gedanken machen. Wo viele Poker-Bücher trocken daher kommen vermittelt dieses Freude am Spiel.

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