Barry Shulman, a prominent and influential figure in poker, who is also a two-time gold bracelet winner and proprietor of Card Player, offers a fast-reading tactical guide that instructs readers on how to play and succeed at Texas hold’em, regardless of their proficiency level. The guide encompasses fifty-two essential playing tips that are categorized into six sections: Three General Hold’em Concepts; Pre-flop Playing; On the Flop Playing; On the Turn Playing; On the River Playing, and Additional Hold’em Concepts to be Aware of. To emerge victorious, every player must understand how to implement these concepts in actual games. Mike Sexton, the announcer for the World Poker Tour, advocates for Card Player’s book, encouraging every poker player who wishes to enhance their skills to read it. Daniel Negreanu, the 2004 Player of the Year, asserts that this book is guaranteed to make you a superior player.

The allure of Hold’em lies in its paradoxical nature. The game is simultaneously remarkably straightforward and extraordinarily intricate. If you have ever tuned in to a World Poker Tour (WPT) broadcast, you would have heard Hold’em characterized as a game that is “easy to grasp but takes a lifetime to perfect.” This statement holds true, and a significant portion of the game’s allure is the ability to sit down and quickly learn the basics. However, as you invest more time playing, you realize that Hold’em consists of multiple layers, each more complicated than the last. The more you deepen your comprehension of the game, the more likely your performance will improve. The silver lining is this: the majority of players do not invest time in honing their skills. Their understanding of the game is purely based on their personal encounters at the table, much of which they often misinterpret.

In reality, individuals frequently misconstrue their encounters in ways that are counter to their goals. This presents a significant possibility for those willing to dedicate some time and energy to enhance their gameplay. At present, there is an abundance of books on limit Hold’em, with a continuous influx of new ones being written. However, there is a scarcity of resources for absolute beginners, whose only knowledge of Hold’em might be from television or a few rounds at a casino or home game. This book is designed to equip those with little or no limit Hold’em experience with a solid basic strategy that will augment both their enjoyment of the game and their profit margin. It’s important to master the basics before advancing, and this book provides the necessary foundational knowledge. If you assimilate and apply the information in this book, you should evolve into a victorious low-limit holdíem player. This will place you ahead of approximately 90 percent of public cardroom poker players who lose money at the game. Once you establish a winning strategy, you can then elevate your game. The book is designed for simplicity. We’ve included 52 tips, each offering a valuable nugget of wisdom. These tips are presented in the order they would occur in a game of Hold’em.

Clearly, it’s impossible to condense all the knowledge about holdíem into merely 52 points. Yet, these 52 guidelines tackle some of the most crucial and frequently faced choices you will encounter. Hold’em can be both intricate and straightforward. This book aims to simplify the game for you as much as possible. Specifically, we achieve this by outlining a strategy that aids you in avoiding many common Hold’em mistakes, which can rapidly diminish your chip stack. For a beginner, it’s crucial to avoid potentially hazardous situations, as many of them require a game sense that only comes with experience. While this book is primarily targeted at novice players, the principles are applicable to all Hold’em skill levels. Therefore, we believe that most players will find some value in their game by perusing this book. Even if the tips provided in the book aren’t new to you, revisiting them as a refresher course would be beneficial, as true poker mastery involves not only understanding concepts but also remembering and implementing them.