Harrington on Cash Games Vol. I - Dan Harrington, Bill Robertie

Dan Harrington is one of the more respected professional poker players on the circuit. He won the World Series of Poker main event in 1995 and has four top 6 finishes. In short, he knows what he is talking about. His co-author is a Harvard educated world class chess and backgammon player. He is also a respected author on various games.


In this first volume, Dan gives us a clear picture of what information he is going to provide. This is the first of two books focused exclusively on No-Limit Texas Hold-em cash games. Games where you decide how much you want to buy in for and when you want to stop playing. The other side of this coin is the No-Limit Texas Hold-em tournament game. Dan has written a three part series on that already.


Right up front it is clear that this series will differ significantly in advice and strategy from his series on tournament play. There is an overriding principle to playing no limit hold-em cash games effectively. "Bigger stacks implies bigger implied odds implies more hands played."

This is the driving force behind the way you think about poker in theses games. Your hand selection is more important. How you read hands changes. What constitutes aggressive or loose play changes. All of these concepts are explained in clear easy to understand language and reinforced with example hands. Some of these examples are taken from hands played and broadcast on the show High Stakes Poker.


This book is put together well. Dan has the information to give us and Robert has the talent to make sure this information is presented in a way we can understand it. If you have any desire to play in a no-limit cash game, I highly recommend you read this book.

MacArthur's War - Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson

The bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima brought a quick end to WWII. Many argue that these displays of massive devastation actually saved thousands upon thousands of lives. What if something had gone wrong in New Mexico? What if the US did not have the ability to unleash these attacks? What if the war had to be fought to the end?

That is the premise of this story. Niles and Dobson begin the story in the Paciic while MacArthur is still in the Philippines. They retell the move from Luzon to Corrigadore from the percpective of the logistics officers. MacArthur makes a brief and uneventful appearance. In fact, there is very little focus on MacArthur himself during the events preceding the bombing of Japan.

Of course, when the bombing does not occur, MacArthur becomes much more the focus of the story. Using the known history of MacArthurs actions and decisions, the authors weave and intricate mosaic of the battle for the Pacific. Keeping many of the characters introduced in the begining, they paint a vivid picture of what life in WWII might have been like should the need to fight to the end have been necessary.

This was an interesting read. I recommend it for those who are fond of "What if" scenarios.

The Mediterranean Caper - Clive Cussler

This is the second in the Dirk Pitt series. This time Dirk is working. As the Special Projects Director of NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency) he is en route to check up on one of his subordinates having some difficulty with an assignment in Aegean Sea. Off the coast of a Greek isle, he responds to a mayday from a US Air Force Base.

Despite being in a flying boat (CBY Catalina), Dirk and Al Giordino, his Deputy Special Projects Director, divert their course to save the US Air Force from a World War I biplane. The WWI fighter has already taken out all the fighter jets before they could even get off the ground and is now having its way with the tower. Armed with only a couple of rifles, Dirk and Al decide to fly to the rescue.

Pitt finds the girl within 24 hours and spends an appropriately short amount of time seducing her. During diner he discovers she is the niece of the story's villain. Dirk rescues the girl from the clutches of her evil uncle. Helps Interpol capture a war criminal and straightens out the issues interfering with the NUMA research assignment.

Cussler does a masterful job of keeping the pace moving at breakneck speed. None of the plot lines are forgotten and everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow by the end. Once again I have spent an short afternoon thoroughly entertained.

Chameleon - Mark Burnell

Here is the plot. Woman quits her job and runs away from herself and everyone who knew her. She is found by her former employer who convinces her to take one more assignment. Of course her line of work is not nursing or teaching but killing.

OK. So this is a pretty popular plot line told by numerous different authors and retold in any number of movies. The real question is, can Mark retell this story in a unique and compelling way? The short answer is no.

The cold war produced a thriving market for the spy and assasin thriller genre. In the post cold war writings in this vein are struggling. The KGB are all now powerful criminals and businessmen. MI-6 is still doing their thing but, it just doesn't have the glamour it used to. The CIA? Chasing drug lords and terrorists now that the Soviet Union has crumbled. Never-the-less, Burnell tries to keep suspense alive with an smart, attractive and recently scrupled heroine.

Stephanie is trying to live a simple life on a farm in France. She has been on the run for several years now. Initially she went indipendant. Taking the same jobs that used be assignments. Eventually the killing became to much for her and she stopped. Found a boyfriend and lived a simple life.

Until her former employer paid her a visit. And thus we begin the predictable adventure. Reacquainting with former co-workers. A few months spent training. Getting back into shape and enjoying some sexual tension with the trainer. Agreeing to complete one last assignment in order to be free forever.

If this is your niche, you may want to pick this book up. If you are just passing through, there are better told stories invest your time in. I recomend The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy for good post cold war spy reading.

Gods and Legions - Michael Curtis Ford

There is no shortage of interesting stories to tell about the Roman Empire. Ford has chosen to tell the story of Julian Caesar. Appointed by the Emperor Constantius in 354 A.D. Julian is tasked with conquering Gaul. Again.

The story is told through the eyes of Constantius' physician, Caesarius. Julian is studying philosophy and Caesarius is studying anatomy in Greece when Constantius summons them to Rome. The Emperor has eliminated the rest of Julians family and thus any competition for the emperorship. Now, Julian fears it is his turn.

Constantius is in the middle of a battle east of Rome. Unfortunately the west is presenting problems with rebellion. He decides that Julian could be useful. He appoints him Caesar and sends him to Gaul to quash the rebellion. Never having trained at arms, Julian is not expected to survive much less be successful. Demonstrating a tremendous will, he quickly develops his martial skills. Pouring in endless hours training and practicing under the guidance of his general Sallustius he gains the respect and trust of his troops.

Following his success in quashing the revolt, he shows a surprising competence in administration as well. When Constantius decides to squeeze more and more out of the western portion of his realm to support his fight with the Persians in the east, Julian demonstrates his political aptitude.

Manipulating the masses of the west to demand he declare himself emperor, Julian abandons his Christianity and becomes Augustus, emperor of Rome. Caesarius keeps us well informed not only of what happens in Julians camp but, through his communications with the Christian leadership, also of the intrigues happening in Constantius' court.

Ford is an excellent story teller. While he has tendency to be somewhat verbose and poetic in his descriptions, his attention to historical detail is appreciated. I enjoyed this effort and look forward to reading his other writings.

Stonehenge - Bernard Cornwell

One of the great mysteries our ancestors have left us is Stonehenge. What was it for? How was it built? There is a lot of speculation by various authorities. It was a calendar. It was a shrine for sacrifice. It is a road sign for galactic travellers. The fact is, no one really knows what purpose it served.

We have a much clearer picture of how it could have been built though. And we have a pretty good idea of when it was built. Cornwell takes us back four thousand years and tells the story of the peoples who inhabited this part of Britain at the time.

We are treated to an introduction of a tribe who live their lives fishing and hunting. A chief whose ambitions are only to make the lives of his people as easy and boring as possible. He is not looking to expand the territory they control. He is not looking to be anymore prosperous than his neighbors. He has 3 sons and wants them to grow up knowing peace.

His sons, however, envision a different future for the tribe. The oldest sees the weakness in everyone around them and in that weakness he sees opportunity. The middle son is devoted to the gods they worship and desires only to please them. The youngest is the most ambitious of the three.

Cornwell does a masterful job of introducing and describing daily life. Although there are not written records of this period, he is careful to make sure that all aspects of the tale are consistent with the archaeological evidence of life at the time. Granted there is plenty of speculation about how Stonehenge was built and why. But the descriptions he provides of the process are supported by the known technologies employed at the time.

Maybe he provides and accurate description of how and why Stonehenge was built and maybe he doesn't. But Stonehenge is not the actual focus of the book. The story of the brothers is what is important. And this story is most compelling. I highly recommend Stonehenge to anyone with an interest in British pre-history or a penchant for Greek tragedy style plots.

Microsoft Reader

I find I spend a lot of money on books. I buy one or two every week. Not paperbacks but hardcover books. Starting at $18 they are expensive. The poker books I buy are typically $30+. I need to save more money especially with the gas prices.

I have always been a healthy user of the library. But even in a city like Tucson, there are quite a few books I want to read that they just don't have. And the popular new releases have waiting lists that can be several months long. I started using their eBook solution for some of my needs. But the selection is somewhat limited.

I also don't like to pay for my music. I have been using a torrent device to fill my MP3 player for years. The other day I decided to see what I could find in the way of written material with it. I found that there were quite a few authors I enjoy available for download. I grabbed a few and quickly discovered they all had an LIT extension.

Fortunately this file is run on a Microsoft program (or unfortunately, depending on your computing prejudices). I went ahead and downloaded the Microsoft Reader and installed it on my laptop. I didn't register it because the description indicated this would allow me to purchase and access licenced ebooks. I do know that the books I just downloaded are probably not going to pass the licencing check. Even ebooks are expensive, and I am looking to save money by not spending money.

I opened up one of the ebooks and started reading. Maybe I could still access it even if I registered the reader but, I am not taking any chances. The reader is pretty cool at first glance. It opens up in the "Library." Displaying book covers and the title and author. It also lets me know when I read the book last. Another nice feature, are the settings. There is only one setting you are allowed to adjust but, it is the key one. Font size. With a scroll bar, you can set the size of the font displaying the text.

The interface is very intuitive. It displays one page at a time and doesn't take up the whole screen. If you do expand it, it still only displays one page but, now it is on a black background. this makes it a little finger intensive to turn the pages. Especially if you are using a larger font size.

Right clicking anywhere in the text gives you options to highlight text, set a bookmark or add a notation. The coolest option though is "Play." When you choose play, each word on the page is highlighted and voice synthesizer renders the text audible. It is very much like having Stephen Hawking read you a bedtime story.

Overall I am happy with this product. It will certainly help me keep a little more money in my pocket. At least until I need to fill the car again.

Annie Duke: How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won a Million Dollars at the World Series of Poker - Annie Duke, David Diamond

Whew! That has got to be one of, if not, the longest titles I have seen on a biography. Being one of the most successful women in poker, I suppose she is entitled to be a bit unorthodox.

She tells the story of her run through the 2004 World Series of Poker. It is very linear. She starts with the process of registering for the first event she plays and ends with the last hand she plays. Along the way she goes into various tangents.

We are treated to much more than a life story. The origins of the game are explored. The history of the WSOP (World Series of Poker) is presented in very objective voice. Along the way we are treated to some incites as to how she makes her decisions at the table.
For those who are really after a treatise on how to play poker, she is kind enough to draw attention to these tidbits by drawing a box around them. She give you a basic rule of poker and then a brief description. At the end she provides a glossary of poker terms.

There is no doubt that Annie is a great poker player and a wonderful ambassador for women in this predominantly male field of endeavor. However, with several degrees in English including a PhD in Psycholinguistics, I am surprised that she felt it necessary to employ a co-author. I found this to be a very pedestrian read.

Invisible Prey - John Sandford

Lucas Davenport has to balance the political whims of his superiors against the rights of children. And that is just the subplot.

In the 17th installment of the Prey series, Lucas has 2 major cases on his plate. One the suspected statutory rape of a 16 year old by a State Senator. The second, the brutal murder of 2 elderly women in one of the richest neighborhoods in St. Paul.

John Sandford has done a masterful job of weaving together a complex storyline with a familiar cast of characters. Sandford has always said Kidd is one of his favorite characters to write and with Kidd making a cameo appearance, one has to wonder if another Kidd novel isn't in the back of his mind. I, for one, would welcome it with open arms.

Sandford injects his sense of humor into the story which makes this all the more engaging a read. His transitions have taken on a flair not seen in his previous installments and it is quite refreshing.

Despite being a very well read and respected author, he continues to refine and develop his skills as an artist. Truly a master of his craft. I highly recommend Invisible Prey to anyone who enjoys contemporary crime fiction.

Genghis: Birth of an Empire - Conn Iggulden

Conn introduces us to Temujin, son of Yesugei, as he is being born. Yesugei is the Khan of the Wolves. One of many Mongol tribes. Temujin is his second son. Born with a clot of blood in his hand, the people view this a terrible omen. There will be much death around him. Temujin is the Mongol word for iron. It is a truelly fitting name for the boy.

We travel with Temujin through his childhood. Witnessing the many rights of passage a Mongol must survive on the way to becoming a man. The events that most profoundly influence him happen just after the death of his father. His father's most trusted bondsman takes control of the tribe and banishes Temujin, his brothers and his mother.

Surviving in exhile, Temujin discovers begins building the Mongol nation by uniting the individuals and families that have been banished from thier tribes. With the combined skills and knowledge of his following, Temujin begins to conquer and absorb the many Mongol tribes.

Conn is a masterful story teller. He does not even touch on the events that Genghis is most known for. And yet, I could not put the book down. Genghis means "sea of grass." It is not until the last paragraph of the book that Temujin takes the name we know him for. Temujin takes his title to literally proclaim himslelf the Khan of all the land.