Rating:  -
I started playing Texas Hold 'em about a month ago. I consistently lost money until I started reading this book. Now I'm winning consistently, and I'm only halfway through it. I don't mind the term "low-limit" being considered synonymous with "beginner-level," because that is what I am. I play 10¢/20¢ tables online right now. I "graduated" from 1¢/2¢, then 2¢/4¢. Next month I hope to hit the 25¢/50¢ tables.
The point is that I haven't deposited a penny from my bank account since I began reading and applying the words of Lee Jones.
The two best pieces of advice I could possibly give to a new player are to read this book, and never sit at a table with more than 10% - 20% of your money. If you can't afford to lose and have another five or 10 chances to play again another day, you're giving your money away to people like me. This may mean playing for pennies (like I do). Don't feel low-class. Let the bad players build your bankroll to prepare you for the big tables -- not your paycheck.
I guarantee I will re-read this book enough that I'll want another copy -- so I just placed one in my Amazon cart. I hesitated to write a review at all -- thinking that I could only help other people take my money. Then I realized that there are already a ton of positive reviews, and I'm still winning barely a month into the game. So if you're smart enough to actually read a book instead of watching tournament play for your poker education, good for you. I hope to see you winning at the next table over.
Rating: -
In a sea of poker books this stands tall as the best introduction and strategy to the most popular poker game of them all Holdem.
This book is the first step on the journey to becoming a winning poker player.
Rating: -
This is a solid book on poker. The book assumes that you know how to play poker - and focuses on teaching you the strategies to use to beat opponents. Everything you need to know is here - in an understable form. I recommend this book.
--- Glenn G. Thater - Author of 'Harbinger of Doom'.
Rating:  -
One of the first poker books I ever bought, six years ago, was the first edition of this book. Now it has been updated a couple of times and has definitely improved. The preflop standards are pretty tight, and this will pay off under the proper conditions.
It seems that limit Hold-em games are slowly dying out online. They seem to be tightening up little by little, as well. But if you take advantage of the best rakeback programs (where you get a piece of the rake, whether you put money into the pot on that hand or not), and if you play tight preflop as recommended in this book, you should make a solid income with very little risk. I originally built my bankroll using the advice in this book, but have switched to the no-limit sit and goes now because they are so juicy. Limit tables are tougher to find now, especially during non-peak hours. Still, if you are just starting out at poker, and want to build your bankroll with minimal risk, I suggest you buy this book. But buy the most recent edition! There have been substantial changes.
Rating:  -
I'll cut to the part everyone needs to know (with a shocking piece of evidence contained below): this book is full of wishy-washy theoretical and contradictory advice. It's appalling how on a few occasions Jones nonchalantly explains how his view of such-and-such has reversed since the last edition (so, he was wrong then, but now he's right?) All editions have gotten rave reviews. So whenever he is right or wrong, most readers have been praising either way. Usually these jarring swings of his perspective are insultingly supported by almost nothing of substance (keeping well to the theme of his writing style).
I'd like to point out that this is from the writer's THIRD "edition". It seems up until now (or maybe even until further editions), previous owners of the book have merely been paying for drafts, as Jones continues his research and learns poker well enough that he can write an edition with CORRECT advice. It feels like a beta version of a software, released too soon to the public, unjustified in it's retail price.
Now for the shocking evidence, straight from the pages of the third edition.
The context: Jones is explaining the situation where a pair comes in the flop, in this case 8s. He writes on page 99:
"...many players are willing to play almost any two cards, so it's hard to figure out the probability of somebody having an 8."
Only TWO PAGES LATER on 101 he has amnesia and contradicts himself:
"in a nine-person game, if you see two eights on the flop...there is a 40% chance that nobody at the table was dealt an 8".
How these oversights and contradictions weren't noticed by the hundreds of other praising reviewers, I don't know. Flaws like this make me question the source.
I believe, as others have pointed out, that most of the (standard) advice in this book is good. The parts that are not good, or missing, may make a decent player into a losing one. You will learn WHAT to do (according to the author), but at the peril of not understanding WHY (as he never sees it important to explain most of it). Until Jones finishes his self-education on poker... and on writing, I will take his advice with a grain of salt.
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