Texas Hold’em Poker: Begin and Win

by Paul Mendelson

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Reviewer: Footnote75

There's something to be said for this book: immediately after reading it, I won my first online poker tournament. And as I'd only been playing for two-and-a-half weeks, I hold its author, Paul Mendelson, squarely responsible for my success.

Although it pertains to be a text for beginners, this wouldn't be doing it much justice. Yes, it goes through the usual hand rankings, betting procedures and 'what to do when' that you'd expect, but I can't help but feel that it would be advantageous to have a rudimentary knowledge of the game prior to reading it.

The reason? Because the examples used are so good that I suspect they'd go straight over a beginner's head. The very first hand given shows how three different players could win – the explanation which follows regarding the turn and river gives such a detailed account of how each player might be thinking that you know that this is not your average 'how to'.

In some ways, that could work against its alleged purpose – for a true beginner who knows absolutely nothing whatsoever, they might perceive Hold 'Em as being too complicated straight away. But for those who already know their hands, it's brilliant. Right from that first demonstration, you'll realise that you don't think enough about what other people might be holding – and that's a lesson in itself.

The beauty of this book is how it manages to be simultaneously simple and complex. 'Complex' doesn't have to mean 'complicated', as Mendelson more than shows. There are strategies for every hand in every position at every time – and yet it's still only 128 pages long. Wonderfully concise explanations mean that there's no waffle: he simply tells you what your 'intention' with your hand should be, and how to play it to achieve that intention. That includes whether your hand might be winning or not – if you've gone stupidly deep into a pot and you suspect you're not winning, he'll give you the most likely betting pattern to get you back out of it. This really inspired confidence in my own game, and I have starting taking pots that, to be honest, I have 'no business being in'. Very handy on the higher-stakes tables where people actually fold.

There are chapters on tells, tournaments, online poker, pot odds and outs, and how to manage your bankroll. Although the book isn't aimed directly at either the live or online market, it manages to cover both effectively, and even to merge then to some extent. I imagine that this would make the transition from one to the other far more manageable – and when I walk into my first casino, having made my fortune on games where I can scream without getting thrown out, I'll let you know.

Of course, its final attractive point is the price. For £4.99, it reflects the size of the book, but not its quality. It's an absolute bargain. I resent paying twenty quid for a book when I could spend it on playing, but for a fiver I'll relent. And I am very glad I relented. Superb.

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