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Poker Book () Review : The Illustrated Guide to Texas Hold'Em PDF Print E-mail
Written by Webmaster   
Monday, 30 June 2008
By Shawn Somerville

  At a time when new poker books are pouring onto store shelves, Dennis Purdy is the first author to offer a unique approach to learning poker with The Illustrated Guide to Texas Hold'Em. The former gambling pro uses a visual problem-solving approach rather than a textual approach at teaching poker strategy.

The first three chapters of the guide start off very similarly to many beginner books on the poker market, covering the basic rules of how to play Hold'Em, what you might wear to a table, how much you should buy-in for and some rules of good poker etiquette. The fourth chapter presents eight brief rules of 'good basic poker strategy' followed by a detailed explanation of actual odds and pot odds. Chapter five is where this book becomes unique as the next 300 pages are filled with 150 different, illustrated Texas Hold'Em poker scenarios, matched with the author's answer to each of the practice situations! Purdy ends the book with a noteworthy 30 page poker terminology glossary.

The cover indicates that this guide may make a winner out of an advanced player but this book was really designed to captivate those unlikely readers that shy away from the other poker books already published. The introduction warns that this book is not 'targeted towards sophisticated and knowledgeable players', and I would agree. Advanced players will find too many examples stating the obvious like situation #2: folding 27 offsuit before the flop.

Purdy's advice is mostly in-line with most other poker authors however there are certainly some debatable answers to a few of his problems (i.e. Problem #46 suggests to cap the betting with 36s pre-flop?). There is often more than one correct way to play any individual poker hand however I sometimes found myself wondering why Purdy would suggest such advanced plays, especially since these situations can be easily misinterpreted by new players. The intention of this guide may have been to give definitive situational advice to poker scenarios, however, I suggest that readers actually place more importance on the general strategy advice given in the answers rather than the specific action to take. It's really the whole strategic approach you take to the game that will make the most difference in your results.

The visual representation of each of the poker situations is by far this book's greatest asset. I personally know readers to have picked up this book after ignoring the other acclaimed texts on the premise of its simple and fun-looking learning method. Another quality point is that no commitment is needed as the reader can easily review a couple pages and put the book back down again without losing the value of the material. The teaching pattern also follows through with its ideas, enabling the reader to encounter the same notions and strategies in various problems throughout the book (for example, each of situations #17, #38 & #148 address folding small pocket pairs in early position before the flop).

Due to the popular nature of problem solving game books, this style of teaching poker is expected to appeal to many players and will most likely be adopted in more books to come. Like many books of its nature, The Illustrated guide to Texas Hold'Em is not recommended as the only book to teach you sound poker strategy, but as a visual practice supplement for those players not interested in studying the more technical texts. Readers that insist on keeping the fun and excitement first and foremost in their poker education will appreciate this chance to learn without being bogged down with abstract concepts or complicated terminology.

Shawn has been playing online poker since it's inception in 1999, all of his poker articles can be found at WinnersTable.com.

How to get Targeted Traffic from Amazon
By Glen Hopkins

  Your prospects are looking for information, and Amazon is one place they turn to in order to find that information. But how do they know which books to choose?

Books, especially self-published books being sold on Amazon, need credibility the same way sales letters need testimonials. That's what reviews are: testimonials for books. Shoppers rely on these reviews to make their buying decisions.

In stores, they can see the book, flip through the pages and make a confident decision about whether or not it's worth the price. Buying a book on Amazon, however, is a little riskier if you've never heard of or seen the book anywhere else.

You can help lessen that risk by providing reviews of books in your niche.

Anybody can choose to review a book and have that review posted at the bottom of the sales page for that book. Along with that post is the reviewer's name and a link to "see all my reviews."

That's right. Book reviewers get their own home page on Amazon that lists all their reviews along with a personal profile and their Amazon ranking.

Just like with their books, Amazon has a ranking system for their reviewers. Ranks are based on the number of reviews a person posts as well as how helpful readers found the reviews to be.

How does any of this help you bring traffic to your site? Well, if you provide a good review for a book in your niche, you help targeted prospects decide whether or not to buy the book.

If your review of a good book provides a comprehensive summary and shows how the reader can benefit from buying the book, they are grateful for the advice. If your review of a bad book helps them decide not to buy, they are grateful to you for saving them both time and money.

Either way, they're grateful!

They like what you had to say, so they visit your home page to see what else you have reviewed. On that page, you get to include information about yourself and a link to your site.

Becoming an Amazon book reviewer costs you nothing and is as simple as clicking on the "Write Your Own Review" at the bottom of the page of any book. All you have to do is fill in the form, and you are officially a book reviewer.

Here are tips to making this traffic tactic work for you:

1. Read books in your niche, then write a paragraph or two about the book. The best reviews are 75-300 words and tell why you did or did not like the book and why. Focus on the book's content and context.

2. Include as much information about yourself as possible on your reviewer profile page. This helps the readers come to know, like and trust you. You're establishing rapport with them before they even reach your main site!

3. Tell why you're an expert on your profile page. Sharing about your business explains why you are qualified to review such books.

4. Be authoritative. Give specific, helpful information. The more specific you are about your reasons for liking or disliking the book, the more helpful your reviews will be. The more helpful your reviews, the more the reader of the review will like you and want to learn more about you.

5. Providing good reviews makes the reader obligated to give something back to you. He'll feel obligated to read your profile and then visit your site. It's the principle of reciprocity at work. You give freely of your expertise, and you'll get traffic.

6. Review as many books as possible. The more reviews you have on your Amazon home page, the more credible you appear as a reviewer.

7. Don't review anything you haven't read!

Increased traffic isn't the only way you benefit when you review books on Amazon. You also increase your knowledge. You need to be reading, learning and growing in your area of expertise anyway. The more you know, the more value you'll be able to deliver to your customers.

Plus writing about the book locks in the learning. When you read knowing you have to share what the basic concept of the book is, you read with a purpose and get more out of the learning process.

Finally, when you are a book reviewer, you learn who your competition is and find potential partners. You can contact the authors and possibly create Joint Ventures with them. And that can lead to a massive flow of traffic to your site.

Glen Hopkins is a Best-Selling Author, Information Marketer, Speaker, and Consultant. Glen specializes in teaching struggling entrepreneurs how to turn their small Online businesses into thriving money machines using specific systems that will allow you to work less and earn more. Get his List Building Report and Web Traffic CD (valued at $97) for FREE at http://www.GlenHopkins.name

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Last Updated ( Monday, 30 June 2008 )
 
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