Power Hold'em Stragegy by Daniel Negreanu

In Power Hold'em Strategy Daniel Negreanu has invited five top professional players to give their take on no limits hold'em. The six perspectives on the game make for an interesting read. Evelyn Ng starts it off with a guide for novices, continued with some solid advice from Todd Brunson for high stakes games. Erick Lindgren and Paul Wasicka both offer insight into the online game. David Williams completes the guest authors with a bit about unpredictable play. Finally Daniel gives a lengthier treatment of his Small Ball style to finish off the book.

Starting from a beginner's mindset and working towards a top player's game, the book has a nice progression. Ng starts off with a bit of unintended humour as her first example, for novices, has $100/$200 blinds! She is however describing tournament play so we'll just assume the numbers are indeed just chip counts. Her advice on the subject is reasonable for a new no-limit player. Still, be attentive to when the authors switch between tournament and ring games.

The next four contributors, Brunson, Lindgren, Wasicka and Williams, each write from their own perspective. This is quite a contrast to other poker books; these guys don't always agree with each other. Perhaps it may be unsettling to some readers, but it is this contrasting nature of the writing which makes this a compelling book. Seeing the variety of logic employed by professionals gives one a true feeling for the complexity in the game - or for Williams' section, a passing glimpse at how a madman's mind works!

Negreanu's section comes last and occupies a little more than a third of the book. He concentrates on his Small Ball style of play. In extremely few words: play many hands cheaply, steal, and trap. That of course does no justice to what is actually written. Even someone who disagrees with this style would nonetheless find great value in much of what is written. Negreanu offers a good mixture of logical thought processes combined with suitable examples.

With Power Hold'em Strategy Daniel Negreanu has put together a solid poker book. The structure and style makes it easy to pick up and read from cover to cover. Good advice and varying perspectives from the authors give the book a unique aspect. It definitely belongs on the bookshelf of any hold'em player.

Thanks to Cardoza publishing for the book.