Review - Mike Sexton's Shuffle Up and Deal
To preface this review, I have also read Super System II and oddly enough Poker for Dummies as a joke (and trust me it is a joke).
Recently I bought Mike Sexton’s Shuffle Up and Deal It retails for about $30 and comes with a WPT Poker Primer DVD hosted by Lou Diamond Phillips. Yes, Lou Diamond Phillips. But I am not reviewing the DVD here. Just the book.
The book is WPT endorsed and sometimes feels like a really long ad to watch the WPT on Wednesday Night’s on the Travel Channel. You know, Wednesday is Poker Night. See, it is already working on me. The book is relatively short and I read it pretty quickly. It only focuses on No Limit Hold ‘Em and tournament play. If you’re looking for cash game help, this isn’t the book.
The book starts off by explaining who Mike Sexton is (announcer for the WPT on Wednesday nights on the Travel Channel, poker champion and really good gymnast!) and also the history of the WPT that you can watch Wednesday nights on the Travel Channel. As usual it also talks about the rules of Hold em and what a blind is and everything else you would expect to read for a beginner. Once it gets past the rules and other stuff that many of you already know, it gets a bit better. Mike typically uses real poker hands (from guess what? The WPT that you can watch Wednesday nights on the Travel Channel) and explains the outcomes and how to avoid the pitfalls of each situation. This is the part that I really enjoyed out of the book. There were a ton of examples. Sometimes they were key points in the tournament and sometimes they were just interesting ways to play a hand. The main theme was always playing with aggression and using your position to play better. He goes into a long explanation of when going “All-in†is useful and when you’re setting yourself up for failure. He also talks about how to win a tournament, not just place in the money. This book doesn’t talk about playing tight to see the money, it talks about winning the whole thing. I like that aspect.
The rest of the book talks about hosting your own tournament and how to run the blinds and what chips to use and everything else that a beginner would find extremely useful. Especially if they were introduced to poker on Wednesday nights on the Travel Channel. There is a nice section with a few player profiles and a story about Ben Affleck after he won the California State Championship. Apparently the day after he won, he went to Sexton’s house for their usually game and brought the bag of money with his winnings and the trophy and dropped them all on the table and said, “Now you’re playing a champâ€. Or something to that effect. Sexton has general admiration for Affleck and feels he is a really good player.
Overall the book is pretty good. It is really designed for beginners. If you have read Doyle’s book this isn’t the book for you, however, if Doyle’s book was confusing, read this first. I would recommend this book to any beginner; I think it would give them a good start into the poker tournament world. If you have played for years you may find some of the stories interesting but I doubt you’ll gain any new information about how to play the game. I liked Mike’s style and his constant mentioning of the WPT wasn’t too bad, heck it is a WPT sanctioned book!
Last point, if anyone is interested he does mention the EPT and the WSOP a lot as well. Just for you WPT conspiracy theorists that think they are afraid of these other events
Recently I bought Mike Sexton’s Shuffle Up and Deal It retails for about $30 and comes with a WPT Poker Primer DVD hosted by Lou Diamond Phillips. Yes, Lou Diamond Phillips. But I am not reviewing the DVD here. Just the book.
The book is WPT endorsed and sometimes feels like a really long ad to watch the WPT on Wednesday Night’s on the Travel Channel. You know, Wednesday is Poker Night. See, it is already working on me. The book is relatively short and I read it pretty quickly. It only focuses on No Limit Hold ‘Em and tournament play. If you’re looking for cash game help, this isn’t the book.
The book starts off by explaining who Mike Sexton is (announcer for the WPT on Wednesday nights on the Travel Channel, poker champion and really good gymnast!) and also the history of the WPT that you can watch Wednesday nights on the Travel Channel. As usual it also talks about the rules of Hold em and what a blind is and everything else you would expect to read for a beginner. Once it gets past the rules and other stuff that many of you already know, it gets a bit better. Mike typically uses real poker hands (from guess what? The WPT that you can watch Wednesday nights on the Travel Channel) and explains the outcomes and how to avoid the pitfalls of each situation. This is the part that I really enjoyed out of the book. There were a ton of examples. Sometimes they were key points in the tournament and sometimes they were just interesting ways to play a hand. The main theme was always playing with aggression and using your position to play better. He goes into a long explanation of when going “All-in†is useful and when you’re setting yourself up for failure. He also talks about how to win a tournament, not just place in the money. This book doesn’t talk about playing tight to see the money, it talks about winning the whole thing. I like that aspect.
The rest of the book talks about hosting your own tournament and how to run the blinds and what chips to use and everything else that a beginner would find extremely useful. Especially if they were introduced to poker on Wednesday nights on the Travel Channel. There is a nice section with a few player profiles and a story about Ben Affleck after he won the California State Championship. Apparently the day after he won, he went to Sexton’s house for their usually game and brought the bag of money with his winnings and the trophy and dropped them all on the table and said, “Now you’re playing a champâ€. Or something to that effect. Sexton has general admiration for Affleck and feels he is a really good player.
Overall the book is pretty good. It is really designed for beginners. If you have read Doyle’s book this isn’t the book for you, however, if Doyle’s book was confusing, read this first. I would recommend this book to any beginner; I think it would give them a good start into the poker tournament world. If you have played for years you may find some of the stories interesting but I doubt you’ll gain any new information about how to play the game. I liked Mike’s style and his constant mentioning of the WPT wasn’t too bad, heck it is a WPT sanctioned book!
Last point, if anyone is interested he does mention the EPT and the WSOP a lot as well. Just for you WPT conspiracy theorists that think they are afraid of these other events