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Friday 27th June 2008
Welcome to Hold or Fold - The UK's only Poker E-Letter dedicated
to
helping YOU become a better player!
In this week's E-Letter -
*Poker Books and Magazines...
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Hiya there wer and how have you been this week??
I've had one of those months where all the bills seem to arrive
at one time - you know -
those annual ones like the Car Tax, Car Insurance, TV License etc
etc - so I've really
been reining in the outgoings and funnily enough - I've still had
a great time playing poker
online.
Pokerstars is the best site I know for great freerolls and cheap
satellites- www.pokerstars.com
- I don't really like the ones where there are thousands of players
gunning for a total of $150,
where you finish in 65th place after 4 hours to win 52 cents...
...I like the qualifiers, satellites to bigger tournaments, except
I have to admit that last week
I was just sooooooo stupid - out of 12,000 players - the top 99
went through to the next
round and I finished in 108th !!!! GRrrrrrrrr - not happy - my fault
for thinking my trip 6's were
good !
Anyways - I noticed that Pokerstars hold Double Shootouts for $11.70
very regularly with 2
guaranteed seats for the Sunday Million - but as they are very heavy
with american players
but, if you play in the mornings, there are only about 40 players
- so I qualified fairly easily
and de-registered the Sunday Million Tournament and registered for
the Sunday Warm-up
which, for me, is a much better bet....
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Poker Books and Magazines...
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Last week I received an email from a reader who asked my advice
about the best Poker Books
and Magazines to read... So this week's e-letter is dedicated to
this -
As I have rambled on so much about reading material - I have decided
not to feature a hand
this week....
Books...
========
There are just hundreds of books to chose from and obviously, the
following info is my own
personal opinion but for me - these are the best reads...
I started off, as a complete beginner at Texas Hold 'em, reading
"Internet Texas Hold'em" by
Matthew Hilger. This was my complete bible for at least 3 months
and it bought my vpip down
from an extremely loose 70% to a much better 22%.
(vpip = Voluntary Put in Pot - the number
of times you bet pre-flop)
If you are new to online poker, this is a good book to read as it
will give you the basic
fundamentals.
After that, you absolutely cannot go wrong with reading the trilogy
by Dan Harrington -
"Harrington on Texas Hold'em" - Volumes 1, 2 and 3 - These
are absolutely excellent
reading and gives you a good grounding in reading situations and
calculating odds...
Find out what your 'M' is and your 'Q' and you will definitely have
an advantage when it
comes to making decisions...
... which - let's face it - is the absolute bottom line of playing
successful poker - Making
the right decisions - You are bombarded with decisions to make every
time the cards are
dealt - making the right decision is absolutely fundamental to becoming
a successful poker
player and Dan Harrington can definitely help you there.
Another fabulous book to read is Doyle Brunsons' "Super System"
- Try and get the 2nd
edition if you can as the first one is slightly out of date - it
has solid advice on how to play
and especially how to look beyond the cards into the psyche of other
players and position on
the table.
These are the books I would say are the best grounding you can have
-
On top of that - I would go onto websites of your favourite players
and read what they have
to say - then find out if they have a book out...
One book I would definitely want to read, if and when he ever gets
around to it, would be a
book by Greg Raymer - I've listened to his commentary on poker hands
on the telly and he
really speaks so much sense and logic - I really relate to it and
I would love to read a book
by the big man!
A book by Jamie Gold would be very interesting and a definite insight
to the way his brain works !!
On top of all that, I've read "Swimming with the Devilfish" by
Des Wilson which gives you
a big insight into the history of poker in this country which is
a real eye- opener - and if you
want to find out about the history of poker in the USA, then "The
Biggest Game in Town"
by Al Alvarez which is a good read and tells about some of the
original characters that started
this game.
Magazines...
=========
For me, there are only 2 good magazines to subscribe to - obviously
again, this is only my
humble opinion but I was asked the question...
Poker Player Magazine - You can get full details about the
magazine and subscribe online at:
www.pokerplayermagazine.co.uk/
Inside Poker Magazine - Likewise - subscribe at: www.insidepokermag.co.uk
Both magazines give information about poker tournaments, past, present
and future, plus tips
and advice from some of the top players and much more !
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Well I hope you have a good week - may the cards be with you and
I'll see you again next Friday.
All the best
Meg Arana
Hold or Fold
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