Texas Hold 'Em: Begin & Win by Paul Mendleson Release date: 08th August, 2005 Publisher: Elliot Right Way Books List Price: £5.99 Our Price: £3.99 You Save: £2 (33%) Buy Now

Following an email from a regular visitor to these pages which suggested that we tend to concentrate on books that require too much advanced poker knowledge, we decided to go 'back to basics' with Paul Mendleson's excellent Begin & Win, an ideal book for beginners. Although quite a short book, perhaps its greatest feature is Mendelson's ability to crack on with explaining matters without constant repetition, nor by referring back to the time when he won such-and-such tournament in the late Seventies (blah, blah) as many poker tutors do to add substance to their tome. It also means that it's definitely readable in one sitting and can be referred to constantly afterwards if a particular point or strategy requires clarification. It also helps enormously that the author refuses to get bogged down in poker jargon beloved by those who want to show readers how clever they are. Laden with valuable advice about when to call, raise and bluff (the answer to which, according to Mendleson, is never), Begin & Win should immediately eliminate basic errors from your game. Helpfully, he also offers advice upon how to play a selection of hands without becoming too involved and covers virtually every aspect of poker from tournament play to low-limit home games. In short, Mendleson's straight-forward approach and easy-to-follow rules ensure that once you've absorbed it's content, this is a book which should result in an overnight improvement in your play. If it doesn't, it's short enough to read again to make sure you don't make the same mistakes twice!