Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide by
Barry Greenstein
-A guide to the world of professional poker and a
section on strategy
-Our rating: 96 (out of 100)
-Poignant and interesting commentary from a top pro; guide
to professional poker
Overview
Published in 2005, Barry Greenstein's
intelligent Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide is
essentially a mature player's guide to thinking about professional
poker. It isn't a Sklansky or Harrington-esque poker strategy
textbook full of explanations on pot odds or starting hands, but
rather a philosophical look at the game from one of its most
thoughtful minds. While the final section does provide plenty of
tournament sample hands, Ace on the River provides a
more complete overview on how to think and act like a professional
player. The presentation is in coffee book style with
glossy paper and excellent full-page photography of the biggest
places and faces in poker.
Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker
Guide is divided into three parts after a short, but
interesting, autobiographical segment on Greenstein's life. The
first section, "The Poker World", is a guide to the
characters and personalities that you'll encounter as a professional
poker player. Next, "Philosophy" is a thought-provoking collection
of shorter columns on topics like gambling, your bankroll,
psychology, and family life. Finally, "Advanced Play" takes a brief
look at some of the brilliant strategy (using real examples) that
Greenstein employs mostly using tournament example hands with
graphic representations.
Comments
Apparently, Greenstein's unique Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker
Guide began after being enlisted by Doyle Brunson to write a
chapter for his highly anticipated sequel to Super System,
which was also released in early 2005. Barry Greenstein is a regular
fixture in "The Big Game" in Las Vegas, usually consisting of top
cash game pros like Brunson, Phil Ivey, Chip Reese, and Daniel
Negreanu. As Greenstein kept extending his segment to other areas of
poker that he felt needed to be written about, his collection became
sufficient text for a book of its own and, thus, Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker
Guide was born.
What initially struck me as unique this book was the design
and production. The book is oversized with glossy paper and
high-resolution color photos throughout. Even if you've already read
and digested the material a couple of times, it's fun to skim
through the pictures once in a while. I feel that this really does
enhance the reading experience and makes you feel like you're
getting good value out of your purchase.
The list of professional poker players
that I feel truly interested in learning more about, both in terms
of their personal story and strategy, is a short one. Barry
Greenstein is on that list for me and I found his writing style to
be very cohesive, intelligent, and smooth. The opening section in Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker
Guide about the different aspects of the real professional poker
world are interesting to outsiders, online-only players, or even
non-poker players who would like to get a glimpse into an alien
subculture. This section is a guide to the people you'll deal with
as a professional: the media, stakers, railbirds, agents, etc.
The philosophy section addresses some
important issues for all poker players and other theoretical, but
interesting, discussions such as, "Who is the Best Poker Player in
the World?". Hint: you won't find a name as the answer. Readers will
catch on to Greenstein's personal priorities in children, education,
and a functional family life. In Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker
Guide, Greenstein has players thinking about everything they can
do in their life to improve their game (and life) rather than just
strategy. Standout segments in this section include a list of traits
usually required to be a professional, advice for maintaining your
bankroll, and a brief section about online poker.
Most players will be itching to get to
the strategy section, which is less numbers and more words to put it
one way. Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker
Guide contains a few game theory examples in various games and
then a good chunk of tournament example hands that Greenstein has
played in big events throughout his career. The setup is much like a
Harrington book with a table graphic, chip amounts, and questions
asking what you would do and why. Greenstein then gives his answers
on the following page, including the perfect play and how the hand
actually turned out. These are excellent tools to use for improving
your tournament play.
Barry Greenstein describes the theme of Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker
Guide as "how to make money playing poker". Fair and simple
enough. I would be hard-pressed to find a better book on how to
think and act like a winning poker player. To sum it up,
you should be thinking about your game much better after reading
this book, know how to act like a professional, how to protect your
bankroll, and you should pick up some good strategy tips at the end.
Greenstein's overall philosophy (and one
that I would agree with) seems to be to focus on making proper
decisions and not on the results. Try to think critically about if
you're cut out to be a professional poker player, get an education
first, and avoid the pitfalls typical of gamblers. If you ask him,
he'd recommend that most people not play poker and do
something "more worthwhile". In the end, Greenstein admits that he'd
feel like he failed in life if he spent most of it at a poker table.
Score
Out of 100, I give Barry Greenstein's Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker
Guide a 96. You won't find a better guide to thinking about
professional poker and I gobbled it up in one reading session. If
nothing else, the glossy photography makes the book worth the
purchase price as a coffee table display. However, I can all but
guarantee that poker players should enjoy this book.
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