«Harrington on Hold’em», Volume 2, Dan Harrington, Bill Robertie

Description

«Harrington on Hold’em». Volume 2: The Endgame

Dan Harrington, author of the classic three-volume series «Harrington on Hold’em», is one of the most experienced tournament poker players. Dan Harrington’s achievements are truly unique. He entered the World Series of Poker Main Event thirteen times, reaching the final table four times. In addition to winning the World Championship in 1995, he finished third in 2003 and fourth in 2004. After his most recent final table, Dan Harrington co-authored this book with Bill Robertie, immediately making a major impact on the poker world. On the leading gaming website twoplustwo.com, «Harrington on Hold’em» held leading positions in the popularity rankings for more than a year.

This book is rightly considered the best modern textbook on tournament no-limit hold’em. Many poker professionals acknowledge that reading Harrington’s book contributed significantly to their success.

The second volume continues the first, but here the discussion of tournament strategy becomes more specific, focusing on the closing stages of a tournament, which differ greatly from the early stages. The author introduces readers to many ideas that had never previously appeared in poker literature. A range of subtle tactics for the final stages of tournaments is revealed here, including deceptive plays, bluffing, and slowplaying. Check-raises, the concept of zones and inflection points, short-handed play, final heads-up play, and much more are also described in detail.

Contents

About Dan Harrington
About Bill Robertie

Introduction

Structure of the Book
Acknowledgments to Forum Members and Everyone Who Helped Me Write the Book

Part Eight: Making Moves

Introduction
Bluffing
Preflop Bluffing
The Continuation Bet
Defending Against the Continuation Bet
Probe Bets
The Squeeze Play
Semi-Bluffing in No-Limit Games
The Dark-Alley Mugging
The Dark-Tunnel Bluff
Slowplaying
Slowplaying Before the Flop
After the Flop: General Guidelines
After the Flop: Suitable Hands
After the Flop: Check-Raising and Check-Calling
Massaging the Pot
The Check-Raise Bluff
The «Post-Oak» Bluff
The BSB Play
Small Ball and How It Differs from Long Ball
Combining Moves with Styles
Conservative Play and Bluffing
Conservative Play and Slowplaying
Super-Aggressive Play and Bluffing
Super-Aggressive Play and Slowplaying
The Hidden Connection Between Bluffing and Slowplaying
Exercises

Part Nine: Inflection Points

Introduction
The Problem of Inflection Points
Strong Force and Weak Force: Magriel’s M and Harrington’s
Q
The Zone System
More About M
Strategy for the Yellow Zone
Strategy for the Orange Zone
Strategy for the Red Zone
Red Zone Strategy in Action
Other Examples of Play at Inflection Points
Playing Styles in the Closing Stages of a Tournament
Beware of Thinking Too Long
Structured Hand Analysis (SHA)
Exercises

Part Ten: Multiple Inflection Points

Introduction
Evaluating Your Position
Isolation
Calculating Pot Odds in All-In Situations
Exercises

Part Eleven: Short-Handed Play
Introduction
Adjusting Effective M for Short-Handed Play
Short-Handed Tactics
Slowplaying Before the Flop
Slowplaying After the Flop
Cooperative Play
Swatting Flies: The 10 to 1 Rule
When in Doubt, Rely on Pot Odds
Managing Pot Odds
Combining Strategy, Stack Size, and the Prize Pool
Win the Hand or Compete for Prize Money?
Managing Bet Sizes: The Carrot and the Stick
Tracking the Big Stack
Exercises

Part Twelve: Heads-Up Play

Introduction
Hand Rankings in Heads-Up Play
Heads-Up Play Before the Flop
1: Any Pair Is a Strong Hand
2: Almost All Hands Are Battles Between Unpaired Hands
3: Domination Is Not as Bad as You Think
4: In Most Cases, You Will Have the Pot Odds You Need to Play
Position and Bet Sizes in Heads-Up Play
High-M Confrontations Compared with Low-M Confrontations
Basic Preflop Betting Strategy
You Are the Small Blind/Button
You Are the Big Blind
Sample Heads-Up Sessions
Heads-Up Session № 1: Ivey Versus D’Agostino
Preflop Strategy When You Act First: Ivey Versus D’Agostino
Heads-Up Session № 2: You Take One Player’s Seat

Part Thirteen: Final Explanations

Introduction
Satellite Tournaments with Multiple Qualifiers
Making Deals
Summing Up

Conclusion

Index