Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker: v. 2 (D&B Poker) [Paperback]

After reading Vol 1, I was convinced that Jonathan Little had written the perfect book for tournament poker players in the new and coming decade. At the time, I called Vol 1 a Bachelors Degree in poker. So why write Vol 2? Let's be honest, most poker books are a waste of time, and most great books are followed up by mediocre books. For example, Doyle Brunson's Super System should be on every poker player's bookshelf. Super System II? Pretty much a wasted read. Daniel Negreanu put out a book that has only one chapter worth reading. The rest could be burned without care by the average poker player. But most poker players who write (and some who can't spell) can't help themselves and put out book after regurgitating the same information over and over again.

Having said that, this book is different. Vol 2 is a case study in how to be a poker player. If Vol 1 was a Bachelors Degree, the only description available for Vol 2 is Masters Degree.

Moving beyond the math of poker, Vol 2 concentrates on specific personality traits, habits, and mindsets that are required to be a poker player. Knowing what the odds are in a particular hand is important, and Vol 1 covers that perfectly. Vol 2 then goes the next step and teaches why everything else associated with the hand is important. Then it discusses healthy living and why that is important. There's even pages devoted to why you shouldn't be playing poker at any given time. Very few poker writers have ever discussed in such detail why it is just as important to take your wife to dinner as it is to play poker, even if poker is your only way of earning income.

I cannot possibly recommend both Vol 1 and Vol 2 enough. A friend of mine told me recently that Vol 1 was on back order, and he was concerned about reading Vol 2 before Vol 1. I can assure you that there is no problem in doing this. Read them both, in either order, and you'll be fine. But I guarantee you that you need to read them both if you want to succeed in today's game of poker. The game has changed well beyond Phil Hellmuth's "top 10 starting hands that you should play and fold all others" mentality. For example, in the books Jonathan Little starts a sentence like "you raise from middle position with 5-7 of hearts". My initial reaction was "wait, what?", and I reread it. And sure as can be, that's the sentence. Not "bluff with 5-7" or "try and steal with 5-7", but a simple matter of fact raise like we'd been taught to do in the past with A-K.

Hey, the guy has nearly $5 million in lifetime tournament winnings, and was the WPT Player of the Year in 2008. Who am I to argue with that? My answer? I am nobody, and I am going to study the words of someone who is doing it NOW. You should too. Or not, if you're playing me. In that case, don't buy these books. But everyone else that I won't play against, you owe it to yourself to not only buy them, and not only read them....but STUDY them. And then wear a cap and gown when you're taking down your next poker tournament, since you will have absolutely earned your Masters Degree in Tournament Poker Play.

Excellent book, easy to understand wish I had gotten this when it first came out. of all the poker books I've read (Slansky, Brunson, etc) this one is my favorite.

Jonathan Little has once again shown us a glimpse into the mind of a top tournament poker player, this time going beyond just the nuts and bolts and truly showing insight into what it takes to win at every level.