November 17, 2005

The Rise and Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar, The World's Greatest Poker Player

We haven't read this yet but it's on our Amazon wishlist. The tail of Stuey Ungar is sad and fascinating at the same time.

Begun as an as-told-to by Dalla with Stuey Ungar, this biography tells in painful detail the story of the poker and gin superstar. Ungar is certainly a fascinating subject. He was prodigiously dysfunctional, a manic sports bettor and cocaine addict who won an estimated $30 million during his life, but who, after his death in 1998, needed a collection from his friends to pay for his funeral. Unfortunately, the complexities of Ungar's personality aren't satisfactorily unraveled by the authors. They offer stories from the likes of poker legend Doyle Brunson and Mike Sexton, television's reigning poker guru, of Ungar's fabulous skills as a card player and spectacular need for "action," but few insights into the source of Ungar's self-destructive demons: he died prematurely at age 45 from the ravages of drug abuse. Without any analysis, the repetitious account of years of poker ups and downs, sports gambling losses, manic acts of generosity and descents into drug abuse, as tragic as it is, becomes tedious. Still, without distorting or downplaying Ungar's depredations, this is a heartfelt, respectful and accepting biography.

At One of a Kind : The Rise and Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar, The World's Greatest Poker Player

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September 13, 2005

Winning Low-Limit Hold'em from Lee Jones

Winning Low-Limit Hold'em from Lee Jones is the first book we read on Limit-Hold'em. It's a little tough if you're just starting out, but we have been playing for many years now, and recently re-read this gem. And it's a gem. You really need to read this book if you're playing LIMIT at all. It's simply the best to get you both some basic strategy and also some math behind the game.

"Since its first publication in 1994, Winning Low-Limit Hold'em, by Lee Jones, has become the major reference on playing Texas Hold'em at the lower limits. However, poker has changed over the several years and Lee has continued to study the game. The result is this revised and expanded second edition. If you play low-limit Hold’em, or would like to learn to play Hold’em, this book is for you. It won’t teach you a lot of advanced poker theory, but it will give you a solid foundation with which you can be a winner at low-limit Hold’em."

At Winning Low-Limit Hold'em

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August 31, 2005

Phil Gordon's Little Green Poker Book

We tend to like Phil Gordon. Most of the time we see him on Celebrity Poker Showdown and he can crack us up. Sure - he's a former millionaire turned poker snob, but we love him anyways. We're going to pick this book up after reading the description on Amazon. Looks pretty darn good.

"Phil Gordon plays poker with the best players in the world. He has won -- and lost -- in tournaments and cash games around the globe, all the while studying the game and learning from every hand dealt. As the resident expert and cohost of Celebrity Poker Showdown, Phil has quickly become one of the most sought-after teachers of No Limit Texas Hold'em. It's a tough game. But anyone can become a winning player with the right amount of courage, patience, aggression, observation, and, perhaps most important, dedication to becoming a better player."

At Phil Gordon's Little Green Book

Jay Brewer at Permalink | Email This |