9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
If this is the only poker book you read, you will probably go broke., 19 July 2005
By Paul A. Broni - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: "World Poker Tour": Shuffle Up and Deal (Paperback)
This book is a fair primer on poker on it most basic level, but chances are if you're buying the book, it's because you've been watching WPT and are already familiar with the game to some extent.
If you're really a beginner, this book is a fast read and will get you started, but please don't end your education here. There is very little in this book on theory, and important topics, if addressed at all, are not covered in depth. There are a few good stories, and there's plenty of advertising reminding us to watch WPT on TV and, of course, to play poker online at the site that Mr. Sexton endorses (and in which I believe he has some ownership). He reminds us over and over how GREAT it is to win! NO DUH!
If you really want to learn about poker and take your game to the next level(s), get your hands on anything by Sklansky. Read them all. Cover to cover. Twice. Then again. It will take a long time to absorb it all, but it will be worth it. When you do, you'll then have to decide what style of play is best for you. For example, I found it discouraging that Mr. Sexton advocates the "fit or fold" strategy on the flop, only to read Sklansky tell us that "fit or fold" is "terrible advice."
Buy this book if you must (it's a light read that you can knock out in an afternoon), but know going into it that you're not even scratching the surface of what poker is all about.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Overall, a poor showing., 16 Mar 2005
By David Edmonson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: "World Poker Tour": Shuffle Up and Deal (Paperback)
If this book were a pocket hand, it would be a 9-6 unsuited - not the worst, but far, far from the best.
If you take one thing from this book, it'll be the fact that the World Poker Tour (WPT) is on the Travel Channel every Wednesday night. Why? Because Sexton, one of the hosts of WPT, never ceases to remind the reader of this fact - to the point of it being annoying. While the book provides a decent overview of strategies for No Limit play, he covers key factors such as calculating the odds and pot-odds in as few as 2 1/2 pages. In all, that's what's frustrating - the book barely scratches the surface. It hints at other information that might prove helpful in No Limit, then tries to explain it away in 2 paragraphs.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good beginning book and look at WPT., 15 Mar 2005
By poker guru "aces full" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: "World Poker Tour": Shuffle Up and Deal (Paperback)
This book gives all the fundamentals of poker and an inside look at what many pros do with certain hands. Sexton re-lives hands at tournaments from all over the world and gives good insight into decisions made during play. A nice book to start, with NO advanced principles, but well written and organized. Also, one chapter on online poker tournaments. You get a DVD to boot, good entertainment if you don't mind Lou Diamond Phillips.