This book contains a wealth of information on the strategy needed to succesfully play Texas Hold Em poker. Through the use of real-life example hands the author explains not only what a good bet is, but why to make specific plays in certain situations. A very valuable tool for the poker player tring to increase his odds of winning a Texas Hold Em tournament.

All 3 books in this series are great. I wish it was possible to award more than 5 stars because these books are much better than the typical book that gets a 5 star rating.

There have been many in-depth reviews of this book so I will make this short. If you spend time going through this book it WILL improve your game. The strategy is well laid out and the explanations in the examples gives insight into a top poker players thought process. Many examples state that some of the other answers are also plausible for certain reasons, but he states clearly why HE thinks one play is better than another. A must read for any No Limit Poker Player. str

I think Harrington's book and it's sequels are the best books ever written about no limit hold'em tournaments. The first part of the series covers strategic concepts about tournament poker, the second part tells how to play in the ending of a tournament, and third part is the workbook for reviewing the concepts of first two books.

Before reading this book (and the sequels), I have been mostly playing online cash games and occasionally some sit'n'gos, but I am still a beginner in NL hold'em (mostly concentrated on limit games). Totally I have read some 10+ books in poker. Well, after reading this book series I finished 14th out of 2000 players in my first large NL hold'em tournament simply by following Harrington's advice, and slightly adapting in some points.

What's best here is that Harrington is quite a practical guy, and practical guys win. For example, compared to Sklansky, one of the finest authors in poker, Harrington is actually able to teach how to play poker in practical level. In my opinion, Sklansky provides theoretical foundations for some very advanced strategic concepts, but more responsibility about how/when to utilize them is actually left to reader. I think these approaches complement each other very well, and both are great poker authors.

I would say that the first book is also good reading for NL hold'em cash games, especially if you're a beginning player (I am not sure anymore though, since Harrington's cash game series is now out as well). The second book (excluding first chapter) relates only to tournament concepts.

This is the best poker book i've read so far. Very well written, cover all the aspects of the game, specially No Limit Tournaments and SNGs. Everyone who wants to play really well should read this.

What's your bottom line? What were your results? My results after reading Harrington on Hold Em Volume One, I finished 22nd and 13th in the 1st two tournaments I entered. I like his style of play and I see a lot of what I do in poker as the same. I believe this book is worth every dime and finish in the money like I have and it's already paid for itself. Just started Volume II.

Keep writing them Dan, thanks for the insight and go Sox!!!

Harrington's book is the best on tournament no limit poker i've read yet. Can't wait to get his other two books.

This book may seem like heavy reading to someone who is new to hold 'em. After gaining a little bit of book knowledge (through lighter readings) and gaining some table experience, however, this book is exactly the type of resource needed to take one's game to the next level. Poker is complicated because of multiple players with varying styles, changing table position, a near infinitude of card combinations, and rising blinds. Analyzing a hand of poker to determine how to get the most value out of the situation is so much more than evaluating where a hand falls on a poker hand ranking chart. Fully analyzing a single hand of poker is so complex that most poker books focus on just a couple of aspects of a particular hand. Harrington's book gets much more in depth, opening the doorway to a much higher level of poker thinking.

Basically if you play tournament style hold 'em and you don't read this book you're either stupid or arrogant. But since either of those qualities is nice to have in an opponent, please don't bother getting this book, thank you.

This book covers a lot of different parts of strategy as well as providing a large number of situational examples. Its the examples that I feel are the most valuable as they drive home the point of each chapter.

It is really something !!! First few pages are average, but then the tension is increasing and increasing and increasing and you want more and more and the you will go ahead and buy next two volumes :o)

but seriously, well written and very, very good from advice / strategic perspective +++

For me Poker Bible :o)

Thank

Last night I won again the Texas tournament with my buddies; They enroll me on Texas H and I have been playing for almost three years, they play a lot on internet sites and I don't but after reading just 1/3 of the entire book I can tell you that I noticeable improved my game, I put more attention in each hand and I can read all what is happening on the table that helps me to take better decisions.
I fish better, I bluff better, I make more chips with good hands, I detect more efficiently the danger and fold on time and I can stop and win a medium hand at the flop or before that can become against me on the turn.
This is a great book, you won't regret. There are good exercises at the end of each chapter testing you and giving you huge feedback why you should or shouldn't do something.
Of course, I don't tell anybody of my friends and neighbors that I have this book! Because this is my secret weapon and I try to keep a low profile saying "Hey that was lucky".
It's hard to pick a good Texas book because all the titles you find in internet but this is really good; thick book at small caps with 100% valuable info.
If you don't read a book like this, you will keep relying on just "luck" and Poker is not a luck game ok!

strategy (noun): a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result.

As the title indicates, this textbook spells out Harrington's tournament strategy. It is not a collection of tactics, but a comprehensive treatment of winning tournament play.

Unlike some other well-known poker texts, the writing in this book is clear, unambiguous, and profesionally edited. Harrington is concerned with giving you the facts as he sees them, rather than with self-promotion or opinion. Although Harrington teaches you how he approaches a problem, he doesn't hide the fact that there are other styles of play that can be considered equally valid. After reading this text, you will have a thorough understand of the differences between all the major tournament strategies, their strengths and weaknesses, and which strategy best fits your personality.

Bad poker players blunder their way through tournaments: betting when their cards are favorable, checking when they are scared, and attempting the occasional outrageous bluff in hopes of doubling their stack when nothing else seems to be working. These players know all the tactics, but misapply them. Luck is the ultimate decider of their fate.

Good poker players, on the other hand, have an overall tournament strategy.

Harrington introduces you to the various tournament strategies, and teaches you how to apply them to your play.

The value of this textbook is in the wealth of examples it provides. For each major concept or tactic, Harrington describes perhaps a dozen scenarios that illustrate the idea, and teaches you how to think about the hand the same way a pro would -- with a level-headed, rational approach to the problem.

"Harrington on Hold 'em, Vol. 1" is far and away the best tournament NL Hold'em textbook. This is a must-read for any tournament player.

If you are a tournament pro, you already think you know everything there is to know about poker tournaments. However, you should still read this book because your opponents undoubtedly have.

If you are a beginner, Harrington will show you how to think about a tournament as a single event, rather than as a collection of unrelated hands of poker. You will get a feel for overall tournament strategy, instead of relying on luck or resorting to playing hunches.

This text is the best of the best, don't miss it.

strategy (noun): a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result.

As the title indicates, this textbook spells out Harrington's tournament strategy. It is not a collection of tactics, but a comprehensive treatment of winning tournament play.

Unlike some other well-known poker texts, the writing in this book is clear, unambiguous, and profesionally edited. Harrington is concerned with giving you the facts as he sees them, rather than with self-promotion or opinion. Although Harrington teaches you how he approaches a problem, he doesn't hide the fact that there are other styles of play that can be considered equally valid. After reading this text, you will have a thorough understand of the differences between all the major tournament strategies, their strengths and weaknesses, and which strategy best fits your personality.

Bad poker players blunder their way through tournaments: betting when their cards are favorable, checking when they are scared, and attempting the occasional outrageous bluff in hopes of doubling their stack when nothing else seems to be working. These players know all the tactics, but misapply them. Luck is the ultimate decider of their fate.

Good poker players, on the other hand, have an overall tournament strategy.

Harrington introduces you to the various tournament strategies, and teaches you how to apply them to your play.

The value of this textbook is in the wealth of examples it provides. For each major concept or tactic, Harrington describes perhaps a dozen scenarios that illustrate the idea, and teaches you how to think about the hand the same way a pro would -- with a level-headed, rational approach to the problem.

"Harrington on Hold 'em, Vol. 1" is far and away the best tournament NL Hold'em textbook. This is a must-read for any tournament player.

If you are a tournament pro, you already think you know everything there is to know about poker tournaments. However, you should still read this book because your opponents undoubtedly have.

If you are a beginner, Harrington will show you how to think about a tournament as a single event, rather than as a collection of unrelated hands of poker. You will get a feel for overall tournament strategy, instead of relying on luck or resorting to playing hunches.

This text is the best of the best, don't miss it.

not only that im plesently suprised about the stuff in the book, i mean lets be honest some poker books arent even worth one 1 dollar but its easy too read i mean really easy i mean whoever read sklansky knows what im taking about great books but it seems like and eternity and even though its verry interesting it kills you to read it. another suprise is that harrington advice can also applied to money games and hes fun to ever wondered why they called the bottom cards for a straight the idiots end??? because only an idiot would play the cards in the first place. he gives tips opponents just because player are agressive doesnt mean they have a death wish i know nothing new but you allways seem to forget the easy stuff

by the way i dont want to annoy anyone but can please someone tell me if i can change my handle to i love neda hajizadeh?

This book has improved my play. Good examples and basically justifies the discipline and patience needed to play good poker.

Book is what I expect from a book about hold 'em. Goes into details such as implied/non-implied pot odds, that is understandable to everyone. There are a great deal of quizzes after each chapter, which is a must IMO.

If you are looking for a book to bring your game to the next level, get it!

I have no idea why I'm writing this review, there are over 200 already written basically saying the same thing. Simply put, Harrington has put together three of the best poker books ever.

Enough said.

Great read on no limit hold em. Great specific situation discussed and good examples. First in a series, I plan on getting the next ones.

As you can see by the average rating, this book's a hit. For the rank beginning, or up to I'd say intermediate, this book is a GREAT way to learn how to play value Texas Holdem. Where Harrington does not do a great job (by design) is teaching you so called "moves," (bets/raises made not because of the strength of your hand, but because of situations). He does discuss these, but in a somewhat peremptory fashion. But to learn the critical basics of what constitutes a good hand in what situation, as well as the basics of tournament play, this book (as well as volume II) is fantastic.

GREAT book!!!

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Outstanding book that will take you from watching it on TV to making it deep in tournaments. Dan recommends a very basic tight and conservative approach but then again what beginner book doesn't. If you are new to the game then this is the place to start.

This is a very good book. It is well organized. It provides exactly the type of analysis that you can use to improve your poker game. The author provides several methods of analysis. He gives play by play analysis. In one chapter he focuses on how to analyze that round of betting that happens before the flop. In another chapter he focuses on how to analyze your fellow players. In another chapter he show you how to focus on how the other players see you. Knowing how they see you will help you to analyze what you should do based not on how YOU see yourself but on how OTHERS in the game see you. I repeatedly find myself replaying in my mind my own previous losing hands. I see that I made mistakes that I would not have made had I known what I know from reading the examples in this book. Well worth the money.

We Bought all Three Harrington on Hold 'Em books and I'm still reading through the first one. There are real examples that you can read through and decide if the way you would play them matches how they should be played. He'll tell you precisely why the hands should be played that way. I can't wait to read the next two. There are excellent insights into starting hands, playing against aggressive players...well you just have to get the book to find out all the goodies inside. I have many other books on poker already (Super System I and II, etc.) but this book by far is the best one out there for No Limit Hold 'Em. Especially if you want to refine your play. I'm an advanced player but this is great for beginners too. It brings you back to basics. Enjoy!

This book has really helped me improve my game. It is very thourough, and gives you example hands with detailed explainations as to why you should play them a certain way. Don't read this if you want to stay mediocre in your Texas Hold-em game play.

Helpful, essential; valuable information. Not boring or hard to read, but delightful, enjoyable, easy to read, understand, and apply. One of the best books available.

Few players rape the tables as brutally as Harrington. In this valuable book he 'tells em as they is'. Standard strategies like the 'San Andreas Meat-grinder' (perfect for unloading double buffers into an end-zone packed with natural flankers) and the 'Chicago Steamer' (a honey-trap that could leave your opponent fencing against a semi-Lazarus) are explained with great attention to detail. He also has plenty of cavaliar gambits for more experienced snipers to deploy. Although the 'Fibonacci Fallout Shelter' may be too complex to smoke out an amateur cave-jacker, he claims that you can use it against pros to rotate the step of a goose-dance. Just DON'T try to detonate a Dutch grenade with it- use the 'Tallahassee jail-break' instead! My favourite is probably his slant on playing the 'Kentucky Monkey' (the best racket to reverse the polarity of a south-bound pot). Although there is the danger of being drowned in a mud-slide before the penultimate flipper, it usually guarantees the chance to fire a clockwork shotgun into the flood.

PS. I haven't tried my hand in any tourneys yet, but I did beat the rest of the Redhart family once- after I decided to go all in before the flop (with an unsuited 4 7) and pulled a straight.

Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie take you step by step to show you how to become a winning no limit tournatment player. Their secret lies in the problems at the end of every chapter to show you exactly how a no limit tournament is played. Their style is easy to read and understand (providing you have a basic knowledge of poker) and the attitude is open minded and thoughtful of the reader. You will learn a lot from these books. Books? Yes, you will need the entire set of three volumes to fully understand the concepts that Harrington and Robertie are trying to teach you. It will be well worth the investment. The final volume (III) gives very concrete examples of the playing styles of many of the pros you see on TV as Harrington tries to get into poker thoughts of the champions of this game. I am only getting better because of Harrington on Hold'em Vol. 1,2 and 3.

Dan Harrington takes you step by step to show you how to become a winning no limit tournatment player. His secret lies in the problems at the end of every chapter to show you exactly how a no limit tournament is played. His style is easy to read and understand (providing you have a basic knowledge of poker) and his attitude is open minded and thoughtful of the reader. You will learn a lot from these books. Books? Yes, you will need the entire set of three volumes to fully understand the concepts that Harrington is trying to teach you. It will be well worth the investment. The final volume (III) gives very concrete examples of the playing styles of many of the pros you see on TV as Harrington tries to get into poker thoughts of the champions of this game. I am only getting better because of Harrington on Hold'em Vol. 1,2 and 3.

This book is an excellent piece of reading that lays out many different strategies and types of play in a No limit hold 'em tournament. I especially enjoyed the examples that Harrington provides of real life situations and walks you through what every player was thinking in the situation. I give this book five stars because I am completely satisfied with my purchase.

Volume 1 and 2 have helped my game improve dramtically. I would definetly recommend these two books to anyone starting to play no-limit holdem.

Harrington's book (vol. 1) is clearly intended for No-Limit tournament play. It does, however, offer a variety of ideas and techniques that are useful in other forms of Texas Hold `Em. Harrington is very selective in the hands that he chooses to play; his choices are based not only on his hole cards but also his position and his chip stack relative to the blinds and the other players. Once he chooses to play a hand, he bets in a moderately aggressive manner so as to present his opponents with pot odds that are unfavorable to them. A central feature of his tactics is always knowing how much money is in the pot, and projecting what size bet you need to make to set your opponents' pot odds at the desired level. There is an extensive requirement to know the odds related to various events - e.g., filling a flush draw, beating a pair with two higher cards, etc. Harrington assumes you have these odds at your finger tips and can use them in real time and under pressure.
I found the book informative and useful, even for our local "friends and neighbors" limited betting poker game.

I decided to get back into poker (esp. NL hold'em) after dabbling with the game a couple of years ago. Wanting to gain useful knowledge, I decided on getting this book, due to the favorable reviews. I am extremely satisfied with my purchase. This book has useful knowledge on literally every page. I am about 1/3 way through the book in 2 days and plan to re-read, along with taking notes, due to the large volume of useful content. As a side note, Dan Harrington is great to watch on TV tourney's - very solid player.

Before reading this book I had played a lot of tournament poker and I considered myself pretty good. After reading this book I got even better. The book has so many useful insights, it's sure to help anyone whether you are novice or more advanced. The only thing it doesn't teach is the basic rules of the game, which most people know anyways.

This is a must have book for poker players. It is especially good for tournaments, but alot of the information can be used for live play as well. I payed a tournament right after i finished reading this book and i won first place. I would say that this is in the top of my top three.

If you are fairly new to hold'm or are just getting serious about it. This book guides you through the thought process of many players; helping you to understand both where you stand and how to proceed.

This is the first poker book that I have ever purchased and by far, the best! I have learned so much from it.

Like many players, I thought I knew how to play. Then I read this book and Harrington really opened my eyes. I have been playing for 3 years and read 5 or 6 poker books. Harrington's book is far superior to any other. It takes you into the mind of a poker professional like no other book does. He takes concepts and then gives problems where the reader follows along to see how he thinks. It almost feels like Harrington is giving away every secret and I wonder if other professionals are upset at him.

Read, reread, and then play. Then reread again. If you do this, your play will markedly improve.

I have bought a ton of books and DVDs on poker and , by far, "Harrington on Holdem" has helped my play the most. The books gives you the basic ideas on pot odds, implied odds and starting requirements, tells and other aspects of the game you'll find in many books. However, the book succeeds because it uses analysis that is simple enough to understand yet really touches the complex aspects of Hold'em without leaving u dazed and confused. You'll quickly learn many amatuer mistakes and why pros don't make those mistakes and are able to last longer than the "Dead Money". Besides his witty comments and thorough explanations, I particularly liked the sections called "Problems". Here, Harrington gives the reader real life scenerios and shows you what are the right and wrong decisions to make with a hand based on your chip stack, position, antes and your opponents. Also the book teaches you to understand the texture of the flop, turn and river cards from a professional players perspective. Since reading the book i really think hard before making decisions on the table and his insights have helped improved my game. I strongly recommend this book for anyone wanting to take their game to the next level.

I've resisted writing this review for a couple of years. After all, when you read the perfect tournament advice book, you don't want others knowing about it. But by now, the word is clearly out. Holding back my endorsement would not change whether you read this book. If you're reading this, then you're either a serious poker player or you're looking for a gift for a serious poker player. Either way, you need to buy this book.

Sklansky gives you the theory. Brunson gives you the courage. But Harrington gives you the paradigm. He teaches you how to think in tournaments. (Be careful. This is a tournament book. Cash games are very different, and you can't completely export Harrington's philosophy to them.)

Some criticize Harrington as being too conservative. I mistakenly thought so too the first time I read him. But when I read his books a second and third time, I realized I was wrong. He offers solid poker advice, but it's hardly conservative. True, he doesn't advocate raising under the gun with 7/2o. But if you want advice about how to purely play the person and not the cards, read Brunson. (Although bear in mind that most of us are not Doyle Brunson and cannot make a career taking such risks.)

Poker is a game that requires constant learning. Some prefer to read as many books as they can. I recommend that you just read Harrington's books over and over again if you're going to play NL Hold'em tournaments. They've certainly helped me. I've cashed in numerous tournaments and have even won a few that had a couple hundred people in them. Like I said, I usually wouldn't recommend a book that would help you beat me. But if you're reading this, you already know enough about poker to know to buy and read this book. So, stop reading the reviews, study Harrington, and I'll see you at the tables.

I have read each of Harrington's No Limit books and must comment that these are the best books I have read relating to poker. They break down the game in a way that is understandable, but are complex enough reading for a regular player. Be careful as a lot of the books on the market are nothing more than paper and ink. Also, you can't be the price on Amazon.

"Action" Dan really gives some great advice and analysis in this book. It's a lengthy read, but the information found within will take your game to the next level, especially if you specialize in tournament play, although some of the advice can be applied to cash games as well. The area where I saw the most improvement in my game after reading this book was timing...Harrington analyzes the game of hold'em much like other books out there (pre-flop, post-flop, turn, river strategy), but he is really good about explaining WHEN is a good time to employ a particular strategy in a tournament, and more importantly, when NOT TO employ a particular strategy. Hopefully what I just wrote makes sense to you, but either way, my advice is the same: Buy this book!

Let me keep this simple...my local poker league runs daily tourneys at 6:30p and 9:30p each night. I played at 6:30p, got busted out within half an hour, went to the bookstore down the street and read the first 100 pages of Harrington's book, came back to the 9:30p game determined to incorporate what I just read into my strategy and won the 9:30p game. My win streak has continued as I play online sit-n-go's for cash. Well worth the investment.

This book focuses on the fundamentals of playing no limit holdem in a tournament setting (although much of the information is also applicable to cash games). The book covers starting hand selection & various topics in postflop play at a full table. It doesn't assume the reader has a particularly deep poker background. Those who have more experience with the game may find the book a little "beginnerish" but it sets a solid foundation for the more advanced material in the next two volumes.

Unlike most 2+2 books, this one is well written, edited, and organized.

This series is the gold standard on no limit tournament play. Nothing else comes close. Anyone who takes tournament play seriously will buy and read all three volumes.

Overall, very useful and insightful. As a beginner, this book was a little too in depth for me. However, it contains critical information and tips that one should learn and memorize for successful tournament play. I award this book with only four stars because I was bored with various "card problems" presented in each section.

One of the best poker books I have read. Harrington is right up there or slightly ahead of the great poker authors Brunson, Gordon, Cloutier and Slanksy. It provides a greater look at the game from a pro's point of view then other poker books I have read. A must read.

I have read several poker books and this one is by far the best series to date. Not only do some of my top professional poker friends recommend it I do too. It is extrememly detailed and helpful no matter what level you are on. I have put some of the readings into play and have seen the changes in my game. This is definitely one book you will re-read.

This book, not Doyle Brunson's Super System is what spawned hundreds of overnight tournament success stories, and when you read this series you will understand why. Dan Harrington breaks every step down, every thought, every mathematical probability, and gives you the tools to be successful in tournaments. This is a must read for all aspiring poker tournament pros and I highly suggest his 2nd in the series "Endgame"

Dan Harrington's 3 book collection is a must for any poker player. the best series of books I have ever read. Informative, challaging and will improve your game no matter what your skill level.

This book really took my game to a new level. Opened my eyes to a bunch of things I had been too casual, lazy or stupid to think about regarding tournament play. This book is an all-time classic and is one of the most important poker books ever written.