Masters of Poker: Annie Duke's Advanced Texas Hold 'Em Secrets - How to Beat the Big Boys (DVD, 2005)

I watched this DVD with little in the way of expectations. Most poker videos and books are just rehashes of the basics, with little to no useful information for the experienced player.

Annie Duke's DVD actually contained some useful tips and information. It was presented in an easy to understand fashion, without feeling the need to define the terms she was using. So basically, it wasnt "dumbed down" to make it easy for a beginner to follow. You pretty much need to understand poker basics, basic strategy and basic terminology to follow along.

But, there is a downside. Although she does offer several hand examples to illustrate points, the DVD does not contain video clips of actual hands. Her hand examples consist of her explain the course of the hand and the hands involved, but does not contain much in the way of visuals (unless you count her dealing a few hands off the top of the deck she is holding.) I would have preferred to see real life illustrations of the hands she was explaining and the points she is trying to make.

Especially when she gets to the issue of tells. Her trying to fake a tell for the camera is not nearly as good of an example as a 20 second clip from some major event.

A minor point just for those that are interested and want a laugh, is her hair style changes from scene to scene lol :)

All in all I give the information an B+ and the presentation a C-. Worth watching a second time.