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By Howard Schwartz Renzey Pens Useful Poker Book Fred Renzey's 77 Ways To Get The Edge At Casino Poker (218 pages, paperbound, $14.95) deserves consideration by those who are ready to progress to the next stage of their poker game. It is a pleasant surprise for those playing medium to upper-level games—not pot limit or no limit. As the title suggests, the author presents 77 concepts—some are general, others apply to specific games—that players must understand and control in order to succeed at the new level of play. He discusses what's wrong with playing too many hands or the need for courage to fold. Renzey, who also wrote the Blackjack Bluebook, talks about the type of bankroll you'll need; the right time to quit; check and raise moves; pot odds and how to figure them; then moves to strategies for specific games. Those games are the most popular casino games of the day--seven stud; Texas hold'em; seven stud, hi-lo 8 or better; and Omaha , hi-lo 8 or better. (He also includes a section on poker terminology.) The book is illustrated and contains analysis of what to do or how to avoid pitfalls and traps; when to fold. The transition from the lower limits of poker to the higher limits or from the friendly home game to thecasino game, where the "sharks" await the unsophisticated "tuna" who often swim aimlessly their first time out is chancy at best, traumatic at worst. Renzey's work is valuable in these situations because it gives the player a solid focal point as well as solid advice. Steele's Pro Scorebook-Extremely Useful In Many Ways By Howard Schwartz Phil Steele's 2002 Pro Football Scorebook (324 pages, 8x11, plastic spiralbound) and Andy Iskoe's Logical Approach's NFL Teasers and Totals (73 pages, 8x11 plastic spiralbound, $29.95) have arrived at Gambler's Book Shop and each has its own built-in audience ready to "study up" for the upcoming football seasons. The authors have filled a need for specific information players need to work through the football betting season. The Steele Scorebook has 17 years of spreads and results (with totals listed from 1987 on), which is useful information for those who want to research specific situations. It also comes with several thousand trends and angles in a variety of categories—a plus factor for those who don't want to run the numbers themselves. For example, you might wonder how often a team went over or under the total after a straight up loss or after a win. It's here, for six individual years and overall for the six years. There are general angles involving AFC or NFC teams, such as when both teams lost as home dogs the previous week, since 1994, teams in that situation have been 2-12, in favor of the under, hitting at an 86% clip. There's a major section for the often-neglected preseason play, with schedules and room to keep records. It includes the last five years of exhibition team results with information on whether the team covered or went over or under, and statistics for running and passing for those games. Steele provides information on Thursday, Saturday, Monday night games -- how teams did following the Monday night game -- how they did after a bye. The book explains the 2002 realignment, with a good analysis of which teams might benefit. There are early season angles (season openers, home openers, month of September); end-of-season angles (final home game, final away game, etc.); AFC and NFC angles; with Steele's Top 20 Awesome Angles (example: Tennessee is 16-4 against the spread after losing away); NFL tie-breaking procedures; playoff, wildcard angles; Super Bowl history and angles; a small section (one page) on 2002 NFL Europe; predictions on the entire 2002 season including the Super Bowl winner; a 30-page section for Fantasy Football League players including ratings, sleepers, rankings by position. (The books mentioned here are available from Gambler's Book Shop, 630 South 11th Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101. Call l-800-522-1777 from 9 to 5 Monday through Saturday Pacific time to order, using only MasterCard, VISA or Discover card (no Amex accepted). You may order through the store web site at www.gamblersbook.com and view the store's 1,000 books, videos and computer software. You may also call or write and ask for the free 80-page catalog to be sent to you. The store, founded in 1964, is located about two miles from Downtown Las Vegas, and the same distance from where the Strip begins, a block west of Maryland Parkway, just off Charleston Boulevard.) |
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