Curtis III is the author and publisher of the Do or Die Poker strategy site.
First appeared on December 3rd, 2007 A very good review and a must read for all aspiring winning poker tournament players.
Two years ago I was finally beginning to have some success as an online player. I was doing well and hadn’t deposited for over 2 years at that point. However, I was also very frustrated because I had yet to place high or win a tournament that was not a Sit N Go. Time after time I would cash and bust. This happened over and over again until I had just about concluded that I was going to be a perpetual “break even” tournament player.
Then, the poker gods blessed me with the book that would change my world of frustration into utter bliss. Harrington on Hold’em took me from being a mediocre tournament player to a winning player in a matter of days. Two weeks after reading both volumes I took 3rd place out of 2200 players for $1500+. The very next week I made another final table for 4th place and took down $1000+ with a field of over 1500 players.
Harrington on Hold’em helped me fill in the leaks in my game and since then I have consistently cashed over 18%+ in large Multi-Table Tournaments while winning several of them.
Let’s take a look at what these books are all about.
Harrington on Hold’em is a two volume series that covers the ins and outs of No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament strategy.
Volume 1: Strategic Play covers the following:
Playing Styles
Reading the table
Pot Odds and Hand Analysis
Betting pre-flop and post-flop
Betting the Turn and River
Volume one can probably be skipped by advanced players but I still recommend reading it just to gain a perspective into Dan Harrington’s thought process and methodology. The book gives clear cut examples along with detailed explanations as to WHY you are playing the hand in a particular way. Harrington also supplies several scenarios’ which invite you to think through every situation and hopefully come up with the most viable solution to extract the most profit from the hand or get away from it entirely. He explains various holdings and why you should play them and whom to play them against as well as position at the table and how to exploit it along with how to avoid being exploited. Each scenario usually has 4 to 5 different potential answers of which Harrington shows how he derives the best decision for the situation. This first volume is an excellent read for beginning No Limit tournament players that are looking to gain an understanding of how to best approach Multi-Table tournaments and No Limit Hold’em in general. There are well thought out exercises at the end of each chapter which provide excellent tutelage to new tournament players.
Volume 2: The Endgame covers the following:
Making Moves
Inflection Points’
Multiple Inflection Points
Short Tables
Heads-Up
Final Thoughts
Clearly this volume is intended for the advanced player. It assumes you know the fundamentals of good tournament play and takes you into the more complex thought processes of the game. There are two chapters in particular that talk about inflection points and multiple inflection points. Certainly a skilled tournament player may be aware of these things by his very nature and experience but for someone that is not quite able to get over the hump they would be well served to read these chapters and understand them thoroughly. Dan also introduces the concept of M. M being how much it costs you to orbit the table relative to the blinds and antes in relation to your chip count. There are also chapters on Heads-Up play and a section on making deals. Both of which are areas in which even the most skilled players can improve.
Had enough?
Well, if you still want more Dan Harrington you can pick up his Harrington on Hold’em Volume 3. This is a workbook that takes you through scenario after scenario and puts you in the driver’s seat as he challenges you to make good decisions and evaluates those decisions with his analysis within the solution. This book focuses on evaluating the player, playing after the flop, and playing the bubble.
Overall, no book can make you a great poker player. You still must incorporate your own style along with the knowledge you gain from any study aid and this series is no exception. However, Harrington on Hold’em is the best tournament study book series on the market BAR NONE! If your game doesn’t improve after reading these books then you might want to cash out and try Monopoly instead.
Anyone have a get out of jail free card?
