Book Review More Holdem Wisdom for All Players by Daniel Negreanu

More Hold'em Wisdom for All Players
by Daniel Negreanu
Cardoza (2008), 167 pp, $14.95
ISBN 1580422241

Serious players always welcome poker advice from a respected champion, even if that advice isn't totally written by the champ himself. For example, in his first book Daniel Negreanu invited a handful of friends, poker pros of course, to contribute to his long-awaited work. In More Hold'em Wisdom for All Players, Daniel covers topics by himself.

To recap, the earlier book was Hold'em Wisdom for All Players, published earlier this year and well received by the poker populace. Daniel's contribution to that tome was the chapter on small-ball play. This new book, separated from the old by the use of the word "more" in the title contains four major sections. And, as he did in his earlier work, Daniel again presents 50 new concepts and strategies related to both cash games and tournament play.

Daniel doesn't pull any punches here but he gets his point across with the same likeable attitude he uses at the table. In fact, when he points out that he disagrees with some TV commentator assessments eight out of ten times, you can almost see his perky smile and his straight-back posture and hear him speak as he writes, "It's not the TV commentators who get this wrong, but many poker book authors as well. I won't name names... but the truth is, there's plenty of literature out there that incorrectly advises risky post-flop play."

The book begins with focus of Daniel's most effective tournament strategies-the ones he uses to scoop in those big pots you see on TV. He then moves to the second half where he concentrates on identifying and playing against different type of competitors. Here he also covers taking advantage of position with a few tips not seen in other books. The work then moves to advanced no-limit hold 'em with an eye on the small-ball approach, some of which was covered in his first book. In a final section, the text covers concepts such as: playing garbage on the button; bluffing at paired flops; playing pocket kings; playing suited connectors; limping in with pocket aces and why pros hate playing ace-queen.

It seems as if there's always something new to put in a hold 'em book and players really should read everything new that comes out because those who don't will lose out to those who do. In that respect both beginners and hard core pros will gain from this book. And for the price, you're getting some of the best advice available from one of the most consistent and respected players in the world.