What is it?
This is actually a series of 3 quite weighty books looking at No limit tournaments. The first volume looks at playing fundamentals and the beginning and middle of tournaments. The second volume covers the end of tournaments where the money is won. The third volume is a workbook with tens of hands for you to “play through” yourselves with analysis from the great man.

These are some of the best selling books on tournament poker – but are they worth their great reputation?

What’s the content like?
First a word on the author – Dan Harrington has won more money at poker than me, or most people come to think of it. He’s been the world champ and has a string of tournament victories and great performances to his name. He’s known as ‘Action’ Dan Harrington; it’s an ironic name as he plays pretty tightly however many opponents are lulled into a false sense of security by this and he can still make big moves when he needs to, the old tyke.
In the books Dan takes you through most aspects of tournament play and does an admirable job of trying to cover everything. The chapters are clearly structured into different aspects of the game and usually end with some sample hands so you can see the lessons in effect.

How much will they help my game?
These books are very comprehensive and well thought through so it’ll be hard not to find things in them that’ll improve your play and most players will find a tonne. I found the third volume most useful as it walks you through lots of actual in depth playing examples. Though it depends how you learn as some of you may prefer the more structured lessons of the first two books. If you’re at the beginning or intermediate levels of the game these books will give you lots of information you need that you can actually use to make chips.

Any problems with the books?
For my tastes there isn’t enough about making bluffs and moves and combating players that do. Of course a lot of this is down to experience and judgment and the volumes make up for it by covering the fundamentals really well but I’d like to have seen more about the sneaky, naughty side of poker.
Also tournament poker has become more aggressive since the books were written especially before the flop. I think once you’ve mastered what’s covered here these you should go somewhere like Cardrunners or another online training site to take your game to the next level of aggression.

In summary…
These books are comprehensive, well written and contain great advice on tournament play.
I’d wouldn’t be keen on facing someone that had the content of these books down as they won’t give up many chips. I’d also be worried about facing Dan at the poker table – not in a running race though. I could definitely take him in a race.

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What’s it all about?
Andy Beal is a unique individual – a guy who started his own bank that ended up making him a billionaire. When he turned his massive brain and wallet to poker playing for 20 bucks in his home game wasn’t ever going to be enough. He came to Vegas and started playing heads up live games for huge stakes.
This book follows the games played between Beal and players like Howard Lederer (the professor of the title) Doyle Brunson, Ted Forest and many other household poker names. Over a couple of years and several visits the games escalated to the point where the pros had to pool their resources and both sides had 20 million dollars on the table. It details not only the games played but gives an insight to the characters that were capable of putting the national debt of a small country on the turn of a card.

Why will I like it?
I honestly think it would be impossible to write a dull book about this story. The source material is so great. If you like poker at all you’re going to want to know about the richest game of all time so author Michael Craig was onto a winner. He isn’t lazy though and has obviously gone to great lengths to get the details of the games played correct.
Reading the book I felt like a veil was being lifted – games this big have only happened a few times in history and feeling as though you have a seat on the rail is really exciting. It’s also fascinating to find out about the players and their backgrounds. Finally Andy Beal is a great character and the book is excellent at communicating what makes someone like him tick. He’s probably the most interesting banker of all time …. actually the only interesting banker ever.

Why won’t I like it?
There is one problem with the source material – despite the players playing for huge stakes and in the case of the pros more than they can afford – they still manage to be fairly nonchalant about it. Like me you probably start sweating and feeling a little nauseous when you play any game a bit outside your strict bankroll requirements. These guys need to risk mortgages on their properties, their first born and one of their limbs to get distressed. Having said that the pros come perilously close to being busted which brings its own drama. Also the poker geek in me could have done with a few more specifics about the hands played but there’s more than enough colour in this story to make up for that.

And so….
This book chronicles one of the more amazing stories in poker in recent years. In fact the game pumped so much money into the poker economy it changed the games for years. If you don’t want to read about pots with several million dollars in them that’s cool – but it got my heart beating a little faster.
Turns out the suicide king is one of the kings in the deck that looks like he’s about to top himself with a massive sword…four guesses which one…

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