To put it simply, Harrington on Hold 'em Vol. 1 is one of the best book series on poker available. A MUST read for anyone serious about the game of poker.
Harrington is one of the ultimate tournament players in the game today. He was World Champion in 1995 and made the final table in both 2003 and 2004, two of the biggest fields in poker history. In addition, this series of books (this is volume one in a three volume set) is considered one of the best books on No Limit Hold'em available for many years... and for good reason!
The book is obviously geared toward tournament play, but once you get past the title, you quickly realize that the lessons that Harrington has to offer will benefit you in a cash ring game equally as well as in a tournament. The book is well laid out for the serious student. Each chapter starts with a clear and in-depth explanation of a topic and follows with numerous examples, most taking from real hands. In each example, Harrington discusses what he considers the best play, but admits that in some places it's hard to know what the best play is. In these situations he gives his advice based on his experience and talks about the merits of alternative play.
Harrington is considered by many as a conservative player, especially by today's standards of players the likes of Madsow, Helmuth and Hansen (to name a few). So you would think that the book leans to conservative play, but I was pleasantly surprised when I soon discovered that Harrington mixes it up quite well. He often presents more than just the conservative play in any example. He also takes into account the texture of the players and community cards on the table when making judgments advocating any kind of play, conservative or aggressive or otherwise... something that I don't feel that a lot of new players understand when they like to imitate their favorite player off the TV (Buddha bless them!).
As I mentioned, this is only volume one in a three volume set, so Harrington only covers early and middle tournament play here (I plan on reviewing volume two and three VERY soon). The chapters are broken down into a steady progression of learning.
Chapter 1 he talks about the game of Hold'em itself.
Chapter 2 talks about starting hands and playing styles (conservative, aggressive and hyper-aggressive).
Chapter 3 is about reading the table, from physical tells to betting patterns.
Chapter 4 covers an introduction to the important concept of pot odds and hand analysis.
Chapter 5 is about betting before the flop.
Chapter 6 all about analyzing the flop and how to bet based on that information.
Chapter 7 wraps it up with concepts about betting on fourth and fifth street.
Let me conclude this little review by simply saying this: if you don't already own Harrington on Hold 'em Vol. 1 and you are serious about poker, do yourself a serious favor and go and buy this book IMMEDIATELY! When you get the book, study it like it's a college textbook and your cramming for the final exam. This book is set up to be your textbook and if you don't use it, you're just missing out on your education.
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