Ace on the River by Barry Greenstein, Doyle (FWD) Brunson (2005, Paperback)

Most poker books tell the readers when to play certain hands and look for certain tells. Most of it is basic general knowledge, that most "novice" poker players know. The difference with Barry's Ace On The River, is the philosophy. He goes into detail about his poker career, his life, and what philosophies he has used to become one of the greatest players worldwide. He explains that poker is more than just making plays and learning tells. He gives advice on when to play and how to play. Most players know "leave when your ahead/ leave while your up", his approach is different though. Why leave while your winning? You should only leave when your game is bad, not when your making money! Another major difference in his book, is how to know what limits to play, when to play hands, how to understand why to raise, call, and fold certain hands. His book, unlike the many that I have read, tries to help the reader/player "understand" why to do certain things and teaches you how to do them. It doesn't give you certain hands to memorize and try to teach you to play like a robot. Barry's book helps you learn how and why to play certain hands a certain way.

You can memorize how to play a million hands, but there will always be a hand that you haven't memorized! The key is understanding the concepts of why and how to play any hand, based on all the information available to you at the table. That's what this book tries to help players understand. Doyle would not have written a section in this book and asked Barry to write sections for his book, without understanding Barry has something to offer!!!

I bought this book because I love Barry! He is an awesome poker player and by far one of my favorites! I highly recommend this book for all levels of poker play!!!