Poker Strategy and Winning Play

by A.D. Livingston

Book Overview

Here are tips and strategies to keep all serious players on the winning side of the game. There are only two kinds of poker players: winners and losers. In Poker Strategy, A. D. Livingston advises the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 155821111X
• ISBN13: 9781558211117
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Lyons and Burford Publishers
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Old School approach definitely worth a read

A.D. Livingston gives some sound poker advice for a variety of games, from Stud to Hold `Em to Anaconda. Originally published twenty years before this updated 1991 edition, this is kind of an oddball poker book. The terms are antiquated, and even seem old by the standards of the 1970s. Hold `Em is quaintly referred to as "Hold Me Darling," and the community cards in that game are called the "Widow." But these old school terms don't invalidate the advice that is presented. Livingston discusses bluffing, analyzing your opponents, dealing with cheats, and bankroll management, and it's obvious that he is speaking from a lifetime of experience. He then goes on to discuss the mathematical principles of play, and tells aspiring players exactly how to calculate whether the odds are in their favor. This advice, while hardly revolutionary, is very solid, and is a great beginning for building a winning poker strategy. Players looking for the advanced techniques that experts use in high-limit hold `em will be disappointed. But this book can improve their hold `em game by teaching them some fundamentals, and underscoring the right way to think about pot odds and drawing possibilities. The book is of even more use to those who are looking to beef up their play in their home "dealer calls" game. A player who studies this book will know what a good starting hand is in a five handed stud game, and will learn a good strategic approach to Cincinnati High-Low. One note on the writing: it is by turns colorful, and boring. The more techical discussions can sound like appliance assembly instructions, but as a rule, the writing is more than adequate, and very clear. Today's poker world is obsessed with specializing in different aspects of Hold `Em. It's nice to get a little retro, and go back to the basics of what poker is all about. The serious hold `em player might benefit simply because this approach is "the road less traveled," and therefore might give them the edge against an opponent who has studied the mainstream books that everyone owns.