My wife and I just got back from a little vacation in Jamaica. Man, it was nice. We pretty much did nothing. We just sat on the beach, drank some drinks with umbrellas in them, and ate a bunch of food! I know…this has nothing to do with poker right? Well, I knew that we were going to be lazy all week so the day before we left I went out and picked up a new poker book- Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book.
I know that Phil Gordon is not a super high rank pro. He doesn’t have the reading ability of a Phil Hellmuth or the table image of a Phil Ivey. But, I am really starting to respect his play and his style more and more. I am not quite finished with the book right now (have about ¼ of it left), but MAN…I would highly suggest it. It’s a great book.
The best thing about it has got to be the way it is written. It’s such a simple concept- the book is just hand after hand that Phil has played in various situations. Some of you may be thinking…so what? Well, there is a little more to it than that. Phil divides the hands into 5 sections: cash games, early tournament play, middle tournament play, late tournament play, and final table play.
Before each hand there is a diagram of the table. You see where Phil is sitting. Who the big stacks are. Where the button is. There are even notes on some of the players...such as “plays too many hands” or “super tight.” Then he introduces the scenario to you- it’s day two of the tournament. I recently took a big pot off of so and so player. There was a raise to $X from seat 3. I’m on the button with X hand. What do you do? (That has got to be the best phrase in the book, but it only works if you actually stop and put yourself in the situation). Then the hand continues. Phil explains his split second thoughts and strategies very well, and leads you through the rest of the hand.
Some of the hands work out on the good end for him...while others leave him feeling sick to his stomach and looking for the nearest exit. He doesn't harp on the outcome of the hand. He simply just analyzes his decisions. It made me see that a right decision is simply a right decision- even if the outcome is not always what you want.
Everyone should check out his book.
The book he wrote before this one is called the Little Green Book. I’ll be buying that one as soon as I finish up this one!
I know that Phil Gordon is not a super high rank pro. He doesn’t have the reading ability of a Phil Hellmuth or the table image of a Phil Ivey. But, I am really starting to respect his play and his style more and more. I am not quite finished with the book right now (have about ¼ of it left), but MAN…I would highly suggest it. It’s a great book.
The best thing about it has got to be the way it is written. It’s such a simple concept- the book is just hand after hand that Phil has played in various situations. Some of you may be thinking…so what? Well, there is a little more to it than that. Phil divides the hands into 5 sections: cash games, early tournament play, middle tournament play, late tournament play, and final table play.
Before each hand there is a diagram of the table. You see where Phil is sitting. Who the big stacks are. Where the button is. There are even notes on some of the players...such as “plays too many hands” or “super tight.” Then he introduces the scenario to you- it’s day two of the tournament. I recently took a big pot off of so and so player. There was a raise to $X from seat 3. I’m on the button with X hand. What do you do? (That has got to be the best phrase in the book, but it only works if you actually stop and put yourself in the situation). Then the hand continues. Phil explains his split second thoughts and strategies very well, and leads you through the rest of the hand.
Some of the hands work out on the good end for him...while others leave him feeling sick to his stomach and looking for the nearest exit. He doesn't harp on the outcome of the hand. He simply just analyzes his decisions. It made me see that a right decision is simply a right decision- even if the outcome is not always what you want.
Everyone should check out his book.
The book he wrote before this one is called the Little Green Book. I’ll be buying that one as soon as I finish up this one!
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