How to Dominate $1 and $2 No Limit Hold 'Em [Paperback]

The author suggests a "dominator" style at the table: very tight (especially from early positions), very aggressive (betting at least the size of the pot, often more; never calling, never drawing - it deteriorates your image), and using this image to steal/bluff a few additional pots. Granted. Some of the anecdotes from the good old days in Las Vegas are also worth reading.

Aside from that, this is the worst poker book I've ever read (well, almsot read, I couldn't survive past p.230).

First of all, the style and writing is horrendous, full of machismo and typos. The starting hand rank table is copied-pasted about 50 times in the book; the reader is reminded about 75 times (at each new chapter) to start reading the first chapter first, etc. The chapter "Big Blinds and Big Slick" even appears twice in the book, with a few words changed here and there. I don't expect good poker players to be great writers, but one must meet minimum standards.

In addition, some recommended plays are just plain wrong. Let's take three examples from the book...

1. Playing big slick (ace-king), unimproved to the river. The other player makes a weak bet at the river. The author suggests to call if you think he bluffs (ok), or even better, if you are certain it's a bluff, to raise the size of the pot, "because this is the power play". Well, let's say certain=80%, which is a lot. In 80% of the cases, the player folds and you gain nothing; in 20% of the case, he didn't bluff, calls your ace-high hand, and you loose a bigger pot. What is the value proposition here?

2. You hold AA, the flop is AJT rainbow. The other player bets, and the author recommends to fold, "because he must have KQ". I'm sympathetic with the idea of not falling in love with one's hand, even if it appears great, but still... In a $1/$2 game, this raise could mean many things. What about AK, AQ, AJ, AT, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, JT? Between the value bets, the semi-bluffs, the pure bluffs, the bad draws, and the like, you could be against anything. And even if it were KQ (worst case scenario, though not most likely), we have 7 outs at the turn and 10 outs at the river to redraw to the nuts, so it would not be a great situation, but not desperate either. Folding? Really?

3. Last example. The author plays AJ against what will later happen to be AQ. He plays horribly, and finally re-raise all-in at the river, believing he has the best hand. The player with AQ folds, and the author wins the pot. "This is the power of domination" is the conclusion of the author. Really? What about a donkey play turning out to be lucky?

All in all, this was a waste of time and money. Actually, the only poker book I didn't manage to finish.

If you want to learn, read Harrington; to improve, read Malmuth, Slansky, Miller, Cloutier; to entertain yourself, read Ciaffone, Gordon, even Cooke; to expand your horizon, read Caro... But save your money and skip this one. This is just bad advice badly written.

As an online tournament specialist, I wasn't sure how much help this book would be for me. As it turns out, I've been able to adapt much of the information from the book to bump my game up a couple levels. I've also been playing more ring games and cashing in on the loose play these games breed. I can't wait for my next live game to really put the strategies to the test.

The hand rank chart is different than any other I've seen. Instead of ranking hands in order of probability of winning, Sam O'Connor ranks them by most playable, the ones that will win you the most money! Sam says "In short,the chart ranks the hole cards that have the best chance to make us the most profit."

"DOMINATE" begins with a long and sometimes boring discussion of limit hold'em. For the experienced player, this may seem like overkill but any newbie will find the discussion important and necessary to understanding the concepts that follow.

This is a long book, over 400 pages, and covers a lot of territory. The learning curve is quite steep and will require a second or even third reading to grasp everything Sam has to say. I'm on my second pass through now and will more than likely keep the book close at hand for quick refreshers for months to come.

The meat of this book is in the final 200 pages. But, the first couple hundred pages are critical to mastering the role of dominator. It is in these first couple hundred pages that O'Connor teaches you to think like the other guy (or girl). By understanding how your opponent thinks, you have the advantage of knowing what he'll do in most circumstances. By being in his head, you are the one in charge, the puppet master, the dominator!

In the final couple hundred pages O'Connor teaches you to break all the rules he lays out at the beginning of the book. He shows you how to "play the player". The final few chapters cover "tells" and "bluffing". I found these chapters to be priceless. As an online player, physical tells aren't something I pay attention to or look for. But, in my home game or occasional trip to the casino, I'll definitely put this information to good use. The book has elevated my bluffing game to a whole new level.

Everything in this book is geared toward one goal; dominating the table! The final 200 pages are a gold mine of information. Whether you choose to follow this book word for word (how many people would be willing to do that?) or just adapt some of the strategies to tweak your style of play, you will gain a ton of valuable information from it.

Sam O'Connor has poured 50 years of experience into these 400+ pages, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. I've ordered extra copies to pass out to my family and friends!

DOMINATE has a lot of content on poker and it presents it well. It is refreshing to see an author add the human interest factor to a well presented A to Z treatment of no limit poker.

The book has taken me from limit to no limit competence.

Written in an easy to read style, the hands are played by real characters, making the trip more enjoyable. In addition, there is an enjoyable short story involving poker at the beginning of each section.

There is even a "glossary" on cheating which is more descriptive than mere word definitions.

Bottom line, the reader emerges from DOMINATE with an understanding of low blinds no limit poker and, best of all, the people who play these games.