Dan Harrington is one of the most respected poker players of recent years. Already a chess master and winner of the World Cup of Backgammon before he turned his attention to poker, Harrington was the first player ever to make consecutive appearances at the final table of the Main Event in the World Series of Poker 2003/2004. Ironically nicknamed “Action Dan” due to his solid, but effective style, Harrington has compiled a three set definitive series of books on tournament play, strategies and winning big.
Unlike in-depth technical books (such as Sklansky), Harrington and co-author Bill Robertie write straightforward, accessible instructions to guide you to successful tournament play with plenty of practice hands shown as examples throughout. Harrington regularly refers to the importance of calculating odds and outs, but in such a manner that it is easily comprehensible and also addresses the merits (or not) of different styles of play and how to apply them.
Volume 1: Strategic Play
When setting off on a poker tournament, you could be facing thousands of players. Harrington advises on the difference between amateur and professional psyche, positional play specifically for tournaments and raising in multiples of the blinds. He also distinguishes between live play and playing on the Internet, explaining different techniques in relation to both formats. Much of the strategy is clearly described by dissecting a situation and reconstructing it with all the extraneous details eliminated, making the analysis much more manageable to understand. The scenarios which are included at the end of each chapter are designed to show both correct and incorrect actions based, on what has been explained in the preceding text and are invaluable as a learning experience for novices and experienced players alike.
ISBN-10: 1880685337 ISBN-13: 978-1880685334, Published Dec 2004, 381 Pages
Volume 2: The Endgame
The Endgame leads on from where Volume 1 left off and is a natural progression from competing in the large sized tournaments described in “Strategic Play”. Inasmuch as it is recommended that the volumes in this series are read in order, a regular SnG or MTT player would find the lessons given in this book to be more of relevance. Discussing concepts such as continuation bets and increasing your aggression, Harrington also adds a “zoning” concept relative to the stage of the game and the value of your chip stack over blinds. Again, each chapter is concluded with examples to ensure that the reader has fully understood its content and, again, the book is written simply and cleanly with just a twist of humour.
ISBN-10: 1880685353 ISBN-13: 978-1880685358, Published June 2005, 450 pages
Volume 3: The Workbook
This is a unique book which is more than just a revision class. Whereas the first two volumes are packed with theory, “The Workbook” is solely devoted to hand analysis and practice. Demonstrating hands from such poker icons as Ivey, Hellmuth and Negreanu, you get the chance to answer “What should come next” style of questions which can be checked by the prophetic “Catergorising Your Errors” section at the back of the book. The reader is always treated with respect, and the good and bad points of each move are broken down so that they can be easily understood and the information assimilated and applied.
ISBN-10: 1880685361 ISBN-13: 978-1880685365, Published May 2006, 350 pages
Considered by many people to be the finest series of books compiled on tournament poker play, the “Harrington on Hold’em” trilogy can be purchased individually or as a group from Amazon.com.
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