Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Vol. 2 review

Posted by Steve Ruddock on Apr 18, 2012 Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

The second and final installment of two-time World Poker Tour Champion Jonathan Little’s tournament poker strategy books is now available, and the poker world has been wondering if Volume 2 will be able to live-up to the expectations and reach or surpass the very high-bar set by Volume 1 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker. Well I’m here to tell you that Volume 2 of the series is every bit as good as Volume 1.

Released earlier this month by D&B Publishing, Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 2 is in-stock at Amazon.com, and is available in either Paperback form or for your Kindle.

Buy Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 1 at Amazon.com

Buy Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 2 at Amazon.com

Before I get into the details of the book let me first say that Jonathan Little is a terrific writer, capable of keeping the reader engrossed in what is generally a very dry topic (poker strategy). Little’s writing has a dialogue feel to it, where you can envision him speaking the words on the page to you. Little also manages to keep the math talk to a minimum and does an excellent job of explaining complex issues and turning them into simple, solvable, solutions for the reader.

Furthermore, as someone who has a pretty good understanding of poker strategy and concepts I tend to judge poker strategy books based on two things:

1. Does the book keep my interest?

2. Does the book make me excited to go play poker?

On both of these fronts Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 2 scores 10 out of 10. The book was enjoyable to read, and got my competitive juices flowing.

Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 2 picks up where Volume 1 left off, this time focusing on more specific scenarios and concepts of tournament poker, as opposed to the more generalized strategies and theories Jonathan Little laid-out in Volume 1.

Of particular interest to aspiring tournament players are Little’s thoughts on applying knowledge, and going beyond what you have learned from other people. Throughout the book Little hammers home the point that poker is an ever-evolving game, and players who can only apply the theories they have learned will be left behind. The true winners in the game will be the players who can build upon what they have learned and continue evolving as a poker player. As Little himself says in the text, at some point this book will be outdated as players continue to push the envelope in terms of poker knowledge. One particular passage that drives this point home was the following:

“If you can only do what you are told, you will always be one step behind the best players. You have to be the innovator if you want to stay on top. You have to be the one with the original ideas.”

Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 2 also takes a far deeper look inside the intangibles needed to be successful at the poker tables than any poker book I have read in a very long time. Little makes it crystal clear that knowing the math and the strategic concepts is only a part of being a winning poker player. If I had to sum it up in two words, Little’s thoughts on how to play poker could best be explained by quoting Bruce Lee, “Be Water.”

In Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 2 Jonathan Little discusses everything from etiquette at the poker tables (and why it’s important to refrain from crossing certain lines) to the difficulties of going pro, covering everything from finding soft games to supplementing your income, and from creating a retirement fund to the dangers of loaning money in the poker world.

After reading Volume 1 of the series I made the bold prediction that Little’s tournament books would supplant the Harrington on Hold’ em series as the go-to source for tournament poker, and I have to say that after reading Volume 2 I feel this prediction is a foregone conclusion.

If you are a tournament poker player Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 1 and 2 should feature prominently on your poker bookshelf.

You can read my interview with Jonathan Little HERE

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