Winning Poker for the Serious Player, 2e

After reading this book, I went to play my usual weekly poker game. I paid 10 dollars for the book, and at the end of the night I walked home with 40 dollars in my pocket. I then started to have parties at my house. But all the guys that came over were cheap, so we played penny poker. (minium bet: one shiny penny) I usually average around 30 dollars a night on penny poker.

This book took me from a "just to have fun and hang out" poker player, to a "just give me your money at the door, and save us both the time" poker player.

Knowing what cards to stay in on, and which ones to fold. Knowing how to read people's hands, and disabling them from reading your's. Knowing when to stay at the table, or just walk away. It's all here.

I'm not saying I could go to Vegas and come home a millionaire, but for home games, it's pretty much a guaranteed win.


Excellent Entry Into Serious Poker   August 18, 2004
Ashley Adams (Roslindale, MA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Silberstang is a great writer. He's written novels and other gambling books. All are cogent, well crafted texts that smoothly transport the reader through interesting subjects. Winning Poker for the Serious Player is no exception, as the author presents the four standard casino games of Texas Hold Em, 7-Card Stud, Omaha8 and Stud8.

Silberstang's strength is in taking the home game player into the world of casino poker with a careful, clear and powerful writing style. The ideas he presents are surely presented in other texts -- often with more detail -- but never with the simplicity and clarity of this text. His is a common sense approach to winning, that couples powerful winning concepts with an accessible text.

On a personal note, this was my first poker manual. It, more than any of the many other poker books I've read since, helped turn me from a losing casino player into a winning casino player. In that regard it tranformed me from bad to good. That jump was surely more significant than the subsequent jump from good to great. For that journey, other texts may be more useful


Fantastic book.   May 23, 2001
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I have been playing poker for a long time, or so I thought until I read this book. In his very clear writing style, Edwin Silberstang has opened my eyes to the way I SHOULD be playing. I recently returned from a trip to Las Vegas, and I put the practices Silberstang explains in this book into practice, and I took third place in a Hold-em tourney at the Orleans, and won around 300 bucks at the Flamingo (in a 1-5 stud game). This book is wonderful, and I recommend it to anyone who is ready to get serious about poker.


It helped me.   March 7, 2001
Bill OBryan (Raleigh, NC United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Silberstang gears this book toward the casino game. Many of his comments start with a differentiation between the home game play and the casino game play and expounds on the casino play. I'm a home game player with a group that seems stuck on 7 card high-low split. This book taught me to stop playing weak pairs and how to punish those who do and made me some money. Unfortunately for me, the book doesn't focus exclusively on the high-low game. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it the most of the 5 or so poker strategy books I've read. This is the only one I've re-read.


Great for the Beginner.   September 2, 1998
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

One of the first poker books I've read. Full of concepts to help the beginner or leisurely player become a competitor. Covering 7-Stud, Hold 'em and others, along with several unique "home" games, Silberstang presents some simple guidelines for the player to gain from his exploits at any poker table.

The only criticism of the book is that it's too basic, and never gets beyond the basic winning strategies. Although the book is informative, the various sections on each game seem to go by too quickly without covering more advanced concepts. It also fails to answer common FAQ's like off betting and tells.

Overall, great for beginners, but the advanced player should look to Sklansky & Malmuth for the juicy stuff.