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The red fern still grows in my heart after all these years.

Revisado: 08-01-24

I first read WTRFG as a young boy in the 70's. I did not cry this time, as I did all three times I read the book as a boy, but it still choked me up. it reminded me of how bitter sweet my childhood had been.
The story still stands up as an adult. The simple prose are wonderfully weaved as Rawls tells the story of a boy and his dogs. It will always be one of my favorite books.

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A bit of a bad beat

Revisado: 03-02-21

A good portion of the story is very interesting as she recounts learning the gambling business and goes through several adventures along the way. She does a nice job of keeping the material accessible to a non-gambling audience, yet maybe too much so because I would guess the primary audience for the book is gamblers. The sideline about her boxing passion is equally as compelling. The story fails when it lingers too long on her love relationship. To much of the second half of the book seems written for the modern romance female crowd, rather than the mostly male audience that is going to be attracted to the title and presumably intent of the book. The narrator was above average. She read with great expression and variance that set a good tone. She was strong at delivering both male and female voices. The book reminds me of those wagers on underdogs that hold it together for a big portion of the game and make you feel like a master handicapper, but deep down you know the favorite could awaken at any point and rip success from you at any moment. Beth does a great job of telling a gambling story for a gambling audience, but in the end, she's more interested in her romance with her uninteresting leading man. There is enough gambling and boxing for me to recommend the book, maybe just fast forward through some of the romantic dribble.

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Good Material

Revisado: 08-17-20

The info on the steps to take for an ultra learning project were solid. Wish he would have focused a lot less time on specific examples. Also, he spent the first hour convincing tbe reader an ultra learning project was worth pursuing...we already bought the book. All writers and editors are way to focused on story telling skillsets that are great for novels, but are just offensive to serious business and productivity readers. Get to the point, don't waste my timre.

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Expand your tools at NL.

Revisado: 06-15-17

Little teaches us expaned preflop play + several post flop bluffing strategies. He teaches a merged or linier 20-25 % opening range preflop. He teaches a polorized 3 bet range preflop. Also, examines good squeeze opportunities.
Post flop he examines how and when to c bet flops, and good opportunities to stab at turns, and rivers.
He uses hands from a student who has used the principles to transform from a NITT to a LAG.
Little is great at explaining concepts, and delivers on his goal to give you more opportunities to take down more pots.

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Make the Decision to Buy this Audio Book

Revisado: 09-25-12

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I was very impressed with Annie Duke's "Decide to play great poker."

I have read upward of 20+ books on poker, mostly before the online teaching sites came out. For my money the best book I ever read on poker was, and still is, Sklanski's "The theory of Poker." Mostly, because Sklanki is not trying to tell you how to play each hand, but rather how to think your way through a hand. Annie is very similar in her approach, and thus I would rank it right up their with "Theory." This is a very accesable book for those with a poker background, and Annie writes well in a very conversational tone.

I would liken Annie's book to a decision model that I used to put together to organize masses of information in law school to prepare for a test, or a logic flow chart a programmer may put together to understand a piece of software she is working on. Annie tries to analyze many situations you may encounter such as Top pair in position with the lead, vs. one oppenent. She discusses what you do, and more importantly WHY? The answer to the why question is so important, because this allows you to adjust her advice to the way your particular oppent(s) is playing under the situation she has analyzed in the book.

For example, if she gives you some advice to raise with top pair on a bord of A77, because someone who has three of a kind is not likely to bet out in fear of losing a customer, if you know your opponent is caplable of betting out with the set you may decide to play differently. Just an example of the cocept, not of her particluar advice.

Her style of talking about poker is her biggest strength. She speaks about general situations you will face, and that makes it easier to apply than the replay of a specific hand you get in ohter books.

Example: she might say you have either top two pair or a set on a board like A92 three different suits, and then go through how you would play from different spots against different player(s). As opposed to other authors who give you A9 and say a flop specifically Ac 2h 9s. Then you extract the general message and try to determine what kind of other hands that may apply to. Both styles have hteir merrits, but it is an interesting teaching style.

The best things I found in the book, and their are many good things to choose from, are her discussion about suited cards (over rated), and how she thinks trough many situations, and demonstrates that often the best play is the same whether your oppopnent has the high end of his/her range or the low end, making your decision much easier than you would have thought. Her discussion of starting hands, and pre flop raise sizing are close seconds to the discussions above.

If I had one complaint, and it really isn't much of one, it would be more Annie, give me more similar analysis of more situations. Though poker is a game with infinint situations, many similar situatins repeat themselves over and over again. She covers a great deal of those common situtations, but I would love to see more explained in future work. (Are you listenining Annie?)

As forthe audio experience vs book form, I recomend hte audio for this work, because it makes you work more yourself. You have to listen closely, and put yourself at th table, in the position and witht he holding type she describes. This mirrors the the type of concetration it tkes tothink at the table.

As I tweeted Annie a few weeks ago, the book changed the questions I ask myself when I am in a hand.

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esto le resultó útil a 18 personas

Compelling story of the greatest card player ever.

Revisado: 09-25-12

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Nollan does an incredible job telling Stu's story. He bounces back and forth, between autobigraphical material and 3rd person biography in a smooth fluent manner that let's us see the world through stuie's eyes, and stu through his friends eyes at the same time.



The stories are endless about Ungar's mental talents at cards, juxaposed with his personal demons that took his life to soon, just a few years before the big boom in poker.The story is brilliant in its scope, taking Stu from birth, to the hights of a 2 time champ, to the depths of addiction, and back to a third title, and back again.

The stories of his brilliant talent at all card games, especially ginn and poker, from the earlest age, are told and performed in rich detail that make you feel as though you were there at the felt yourself.

If you have ever herd the stories of Stu while watching poker, or in a poker room in vegas or la, then you can't miss this book. Or, if you just love a good biography about someone who is the best at his field, then it is a can't miss as well.The story is read, wonderfully unabridged with a multitude of emotion, despite a large number of difficult voices to recreate.

The work is ingaging, eluminating and makes the most compelling figure in poker history that much more compelling.... ecpecially in the audio form, that truely brings to life the incedible ups and downs of stu in a manner that the writen word just can't match.


Nolan has a lot of audio of stu not long before his death, I truely hope there is enough interest in his work to make it worth while for him to edit those tapes in some form for publishing... he's as brilliant at story telling as Stuie was at cards.bisognor

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