Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide by Barry Greenstein — Honest Review
Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide was published in 2005 by Last Knight Publishing Company. It is 316 pages long.
Barry Greenstein, the book’s author, is a professional poker player who has won three WSOP bracelets and two World Poker Tour titles. He is known for donating his tournament winnings to charity, which is how he has earned his nickname — “the Robin Hood of poker.” Barry was introduced into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2011.
Summary
Ace on the River is designed to give readers an insight into the life and decision-making processes of a successful poker player. It’s a mixture of an autobiography and a poker guide, with certain sections of the book going into detail about the author’s personal life and others focusing on the technicalities of the game.
In other words, the book will show you what it’s like to think like a poker pro while also providing quizzes and various real-life poker hand examples.
The book is divided into three parts:
- “The Poker World,”
- “Philosophy,”
- “Advanced Play,”
with only the last part going into detail about the actual game strategies.
Praise, Critique, and Recommendation
Greenstein’s writing style can be described as smooth, witty, and cohesive. His descriptions of the behind-the-scenes poker life are very intriguing and can capture the attention even of those readers who don’t know much about the game.
The philosophy part of the book focuses on looking at poker from a different perspective. In this section, you will learn how the game can be used to improve one’s life or vice versa. However, you will also get a glimpse of Greenstein’s personal issues and priorities.
As for the strategy part, there are some example hands from Greenstein’s tournament play. Here, the author also asks his readers what they would do in a specific scenario, and the correct answers can be found on the following page. Otherwise, there’s not a lot that this book will teach you from the strategy standpoint. Some tips like,
“Don’t drink to excess while playing,”
are fairly obvious and don’t provide much value.
In conclusion, Ace on the River is a good book to read if you wish to learn how to behave and think like a poker pro, but it’s a little thin on the actual strategy part.
Quotes
“This book does not contain charts on starting hand requirements, since my basic strategy is not significantly different from that which you would find in other books.
If I told you those differences, it would be of little value, except for playing against me.”“To find players, I took out advertisements in the newspaper, offering to give poker lessons. Someone would call me and say, “Who are you to give lessons? I know how to play poker.” Or some would ask, “What’s the charge?” I’d say, “You just have to play against me. I get to keep what you lose, and I’ll tell you what you did wrong.” I even played with a few professors.”
Table Of Content – Ace on the River
PART I THE POKER WORLD
My Poker Career
The Poker Society
How to Behave in the Poker Society
Superstition
PART II PHILOSOPHY
Attitude of a Poker Player
Traits of Winning Poker Players
Psychology of Gambling
Brain Chemistry
Integrity
Getting Your Education
Making Money
Holding on to Money
Hazards of Sports Betting
Protecting YourselfPoker and Your Family
Poker and Your Sexuality
The Best Poker Player in the World
Gambling and Productive Society
PART Ill ADVANCED PLAY
Mathematics of Poker
Game Theory
Chaos
Different Limits
Money Management
Poker on the Internet
Play Lessons
Tournaments
Some No-Limit Tournament Hands
Parting Thoughts
PART IV ADDENDA
Tables for Hold’em after the Flop
Bibliography
Glossary
Index
Acknowledgments
What Do The Pros Say?
“Other players don’t think about poker like Barry does.”
Video about Barry Greenstein
Book Details
- Title: Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide
- Author: Barry Greenstein
- Number of Pages: 328
- Game/Theme: Tournaments, Biography
- Live/Online: Live
- Required Skill Level: Beginner
- Format Available: Audiobook, E-book, Paperback
- Free with Kindle Unlimited: No
- Free with Audible: No
- Publication date: June 2005
- Publisher: Last Knight Publishing Company
