Harrington on Hold 'em Cover page for the first book in the series Volume 1: Strategic Play (2004)
Volume 2: The 🎉 Endgame (2005)
Volume 3: The Workbook (2006) Author Dan Harrington Country United States Language English Publisher Two Plus Two Publishing
Harrington on 🎉 Hold 'em is a series of poker books about poker strategy, particularly for Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. They were 🎉 all written by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie and published by Two Plus Two Publishing.
Background [ edit ]
The Harrington on 🎉 Hold 'em series of books were written by Bill Robertie and Dan Harrington, a professional poker player who has earned 🎉 over US$4.5 million during his poker career. He has won two World Series of Poker bracelets, including one from the 🎉 1995 World Series of Poker Main Event,[1] and he has made it to four final tables in total at the 🎉 World Series of Poker (in 1987, 1995, 2003, and 2004).[2]
Synopsis [ edit ]
Volume 1: Strategic Play (ISBN 978-1880685334), which contains 🎉 seven key sections, begins by introducing the reader to poker and its history, along with a glossary of poker terms. 🎉 The book is not written for novices to the game, therefore it does not include some of the more basic 🎉 information about the game, such as poker hands, the game's mechanics, betting, etc.[1] This entry in the series focuses on 🎉 the basics of poker, such as playing styles, starting hands, pot odds, and hand analysis. CardPlayer felt that Harrington, a 🎉 former chess master, wrote the book like a chess guide, noting, "He poses situations, asks the relevant questions, and then 🎉 provides solutions. A simple diagram depicts position, blinds, and chip stacks, and then a specific challenge is articulated."[2]
Volume 2: The 🎉 Endgame ( ISBN 978-1880685358) focuses on strategies used in poker tournaments, particularly on how to change playing styles depending on 🎉 how large a chipstack is compared to the blinds. It also introduces related concepts such as the M-ratio and the 🎉 Q-ratio.[2]
Volume 3: The Workbook ( ISBN 978-1880685365) is essentially a workbook containing many example scenarios for readers to apply concepts 🎉 learned from the first two volumes in the series.[3]
Reception [ edit ]
Greg Hill of the website Poker News noted that 🎉 since Volume 1 does not include some of the more basic information about poker, it potentially discriminates against novice players 🎉 and therefore could possibly be restricting the book's audience to a more limited audience. However, Hill noted that the book 🎉 is "well written and well structured", making it easy to pick up the book and begin reading from any section 🎉 of interest.[1] Tim Peters of poker magazine CardPlayer felt that the books are essential in helping players prepare for poker 🎉 tournaments.[2] Jeff Haney of the Las Vegas Sun considers the series to be "required reading" for anyone interested in participating 🎉 in high-stakes tournament poker. The level of play in major poker tournaments have gotten significantly tougher and more competitive since 🎉 the release of the first book in the series, according to several experts on poker tournaments, including poker professional Blair 🎉 Rodman and Mason Malmuth, the owner of the books' publishing company. Harrington himself is sometimes the victim of the strategies 🎉 that he suggests in his books.[4] In addition, players have thanked him afterward for teaching them the new moves. "I 🎉 find people are using a lot of the techniques I wrote about in the books against me," said Harrington.[4]
