By
Darth Fear |
Published
Feb 03 2006, 03:47 AM
Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide
by Barry Greenstein
This
book is a little different than your typical poker strategy book. The
book itself is literally different – it is tall and thin. Publishing
gimmicks aside, Ace on the River
has a wealth of information on the poker lifestyle in general and a
smaller section on poker strategy. It includes an introduction by Doyle
Brunson and glossy photos of many different poker rooms.
The
poker strategy that is covered is only about 60 pages (the book itself
is about 300pgs long) and is near the end of the book. It covers real
tournament hands that Greenstein was involved in. Although brief, the
strategy that is covered is all advance play and full of example hands
similar to Harrington’s books. Greenstein puts you in his chair and
gives you the blinds, the position and tendencies of the other players,
your position, chip stacks and asks -- what do you do? The book
encourages you to answer the question yourself before reading the
Greenstein's solution, which is cleverly always on the following page.
The strategy section is good, however Ace on the River
stands out for its coverage of the many other aspects of poker life. It
covers the full spectrum of poker culture and gambling in general.
Greenstein writes about everything from pokerroom beggars, the top 25
traits of a winning poker player, how gamblers think, the dangers of
sports betting, and believe or not he actually has a small chapter on
how sex affects your play when you're "on the road." Other topics include the
psychology of gamblers and the types of gamblers that exist. Greenstein does go
slightly overboard with some subjects like a chapter on “brain
chemistry”, but that just didn’t interest me, maybe it will you.
I
think the best part about Ace on the River is Greenstein’s emphasis on
how to behave while playing poker. Although I am not as patient as he
is, Greenstein is the master of poker etiquette and I did learn a lot
of the dos and don’ts. As an added bonus, the book has lots of great
color pictures of actual casinos and poker rooms. Every time I open the
book and look at the photos, it makes me want to go play immediately.
No other book does that for me.
If you have read Andy
Bellin’s “Poker Nation,” and liked it, you will probably enjoy this
book as well. If, however, you are looking purely for another strategy
book, then it's probably not the ideal book for you. I personally love
the book for its other qualities and would recommend it to anyone who
loves poker.
To buy this book on Amazon.com click here : Ace on the River
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