Harrington on Hold 'em: Expert Strategies for No-Limit Tournaments, Volume III: The Workbook

Harrington on Hold 'em #3

by Dan Harrington, Bill Robertie

Provides poker strategies for every phase of tournament play, covering the early phase where the stakes are small to later tactics such as bluffing, flops, scare cards, playing shorthanded, loose games, and endgame play.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Gaming

364 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Dan Harrington is a professional poker player, best known for winning the Main Event at the 1995 World Series of Poker. He has earned one World Poker Tour title, two WSOP bracelets, and over six million dollars in tournament cashes in his poker career. He is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
Harrington chose his own nickname "Action Dan" even though he is known for being a tight conservative player. He is a distant cousin to both professional golfer Padraig Harrington and former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third volume in the series is full of exercises, testing you on all the principles Harrington taught in the first two volumes. The emphasis is still on tournament games, not cash games, and I have seen some reviewers comment that it's slightly dated as poker is a game that changes - not the rules, but the environment, and the tactics people use in betting. I've seen this a bit in my own bar poker league, though it's hard to know if that's really indicative, since free poker is way different than when actual money is at stake.

Anyway, if you read the first two books, this is the workbook to test how much you've learned. There are fifty exercises, each one putting you at the table in various positions. Many are taken from actual tournaments with top players, and Harrington doesn't mind saying so when he thinks that the likes of other poker champions like Daniel Negreanu made the "wrong" play.

He thoroughly explains each answer, and most of the hands play by play, so this book will teach you a lot as well, it's not just an exercise book. Each of the fifty exercises is worth some number of points.

According to my final score, I am "a very good player who should show a solid profit in big tournaments." Hah! Well, nice to know in theory - I'm still reluctant to actually go put money down at the casino.

[William Herbst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the idea of having a self- test poker book that does not always declare the "right play" but explains in detail the benefits and problems of various possible plays. Part of the best poker instructional series I have ever read.

[Yisrael Dubov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I accidentally bought this book not realizing that it was volume 3 in a series, nevertheless, it was still immensely helpful!

I hope to read the first two volumes and come back to this book and see the improvement

[nlborrelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic

A great book from which to improve one’s poker and learn about in depth poker analysis. This series of Harrington books constitutes the best holdem books I have read.

[Miguel Soares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely essential reading for serious players. Clear, insightful, and full of actionable strategies that have truly sharpened my game.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up again because I realized that my post-flop play had gotten sloppy. This time I took the book seriously. With pen in hand, I went through the exercises and scored as I went along. It’s hard to fool yourself when the answer, right or wrong, is staring back at you.

In short, the book forced me to look at the second level of book: what does my opponents betting say about his hand. Like many tight-passive players, I’d often imagine the worst in an opponent’s hand. This book taught me how to read an opponent’s bets and make an educated guess about what they have. Also, I learned importance of calling with the second best hand on the river when they pot odds dictate that it’s the right thing to do.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great exercise for thinking players, but likely to make me think way too much for the stakes at which I can afford to play. It tests and reinforces the ideas of the first two volumes nicely, and Harrington is patient and articulate in describing his logic at every juncture.

The only real criticism I have is the definitiveness he gives to some of the plays. In many cases, of course, there is no right answer, or multiple right answers, and not all of his assumptions and observations are clear from the initial problem descriptions.

For what it's worth, I scored a 368/591, meaning that I'm "A player with a solid base of skills to build upon."

Translation: shark bait.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. The problems in this book represent actual situations from real tournaments, and they exercise your decision-making skills across a wide spectrum of situations. It's not a short book, but I sat down and worked through the whole thing in one day. It was that interesting to me. At the end, he includes a chart that helps you discover systematic weaknesses in your thinking based on your specific incorrect answers to questions throughout the book. A valuable resource, definitely recommended.

[Don Bernal · Rating 4 out of 5]

good tidbits on different tactics and scenarios of playing; advanced moves and advice on different stages of a tournament bring out good questions to ponder, although some of his theories might be too presumptive; at this level of poker, different styles of play become more prevalent, and the right moves much more subjective; still, a good read, just to get oneself aware that these questions even exist

[Frankx99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehwat like Godfather III, not as good as the first 2, but then again Harrington is the Godfather of Tourney book authors.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you already know how to play poker than and just want to improve, read this book!

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome hand analysis by one of the all-time great tournament players!

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scored around 340/591. Have yet to put what I learned to practice but it gives a lot of feedback on improving your play style.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Execellent.

[Peter Altice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hand analysis. I didn't find it is as useful as the first two. You will definitely pick up useful information each time you read it.

[Richard Herbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part III was good too.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arguably my favorite of the 3 Harringtons--mainly because the advice is all down-to-earth and practical, not general, and based upon the given situations.