[ThaWoj]

hey guys i wanna get my dad a few poker books or dvds as a gift. hes good but he wants to improve his game (tournaments). his biggest problem is he plays loose early and then tightens up dramatically at the final table b/c he is worried about making the money. then the blinds bleed him and when he finally picks up a hand some shmuck calls him with Q-2 off and busts him.

the other issues are that he knows NOTHING or VERY LITTLE about position and pot odds. he also needs to learn how to get the courage to 3-bet/4-bet/reraise (even on a bluff) etc

but the tightening up at the final table issue is his biggest problem by far. any specific books/dvds u guys recommend?? i have a few hellmuth dvds but im looking for some other material.

Thanks

[High3rEl3m3nt]

The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition Ed. by Michael Craig
Any of Howard Lederer's books

Not a big fan of the DVDs...Cairo's book of tells is pretty interesting too. BOL

[BeerDog99]

If he is really into it, I would recommend the classic Theory of Poker by sklansky.

Also, the Dan Harrington series of books are excellent.

Good luck to you and your Dad!

[ThaWoj]

thx guys i'll check those out

[T4k]

Every Hand Revealed - Gus Hanson. Amazing book

[ballahollic2]

Only poker book I have ever liked is DOyle Brunson's Super System. Not really a good book for tournaments but still like it

[Ian]

It sounds like your father would benefit most from a beginner's book. I haven't read it personally, but people whose game I respect have spoken highly of Phil Gordon's Little Green Book for teaching the fundamentals. The first two parts of Professional No Limit Hold 'Em by Miller, Mehta, and Flynn are good for teaching the basics also, but its focus is more on cash games and the last 3 parts are imo a waste of time and perhaps counterproductive.

Of the other suggestions mentioned, I've read all except the Full Tilt book, and imo they aren't right for a player who has yet to understand the importance of things like position, pot odds, etc.

Good luck...

[lolguy999]

This might sound stupid, but first time i played a tourny i got owned. Then i began to watch pokerstar's REPLAY on their sunday millions final table and the concept really helped. The other thing is to understand when you're pot committed, when to bluff, when to just check and give up, and how much to value bet without your opponent thinking that you're pot committing. Tourny its all about getting the most value on a hand because you'll need those chips... Unlike cashgames in tournys you generally bet 1/2 pot to 2/5 pot for value in the later parts. The early part is shoveafoldament. Not too hard hope i helped

[ThaWoj]

again thanx. and yes like ian said, he would most benefit from more of a beginners book. nothing too technical. just to give him a better understanding of all facets of tournament poker.

[grind4moneyz]

Kill Everyone would do him a lot of good, IMO. It talks about a lot of things including how to become even more aggressive close to the bubble because of the exact reason you describe that he plays. Thinking this may help him realize that tightening up is incorrect and he needs to continue to piling up chips.

Also, Harrington on Holdem is a must for any serious Tournament Player, IMO.

[ThaWoj]

thx grind. he really is more of a beginner tho and im thinking those 2 that u mentioned would be a good 2nd book for him to read. im leaning towards gordons little green book but im not sure.

has anyone read The Poker Tournament Formula by Snyder? http://www.amazon.com/Poker-Tourname...4219685&sr=1-1

sounds like it might be good too for him. any thoughts are appreciated.

[Ian]

There was a lot of discussion of the Snyder book on the 2+2 Books & Publications forum when the book was released several years ago. You may want to do a search of their forums and check it out.

Also, I just remembered another good beginner's resource. Howard Lederer's More Secrets of No Limit Hold 'Em DVD. There's also a Lederer Secrets of No Limit Hold 'Em DVD, but I think that just covers rules of the game. You can get both DVDs on Amazon for under $2 a piece.

[ThaWoj]

thanks for the advice ian