Poker for Dummies
One of the most popular teaching series has stepped up to the next level. The "Dummies" series has recently released a DVD entitled Poker for Dummies. This DVD stars one of the more popular players on the poker circuit, Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 World Series of Poker champion. The co-star is Barry Shulman, the publisher of Cardplayer magazine.
The video is aimed at novice players, home players, and new B&M card room players. However, a good 40 minutes is targeted simply at the basics of Texas holdem. The two go over betting structures, blinds, hand rankings, and general strategy for the game. Most of the tutorial is presented at a card table which makes it very easy to follow and more enjoyable to watch. This movie would be great for beginners who are just starting to play the game.
For intermediate players however, the DVD drags significantly. Both stars of the movie probably will not be staring in any Hollywood productions. The material is presented in a dull fashion, however, the graphics are very promising.
Toward the end of the video, the more interesting facts about poker are revealed. Barry Shulman talks about the art of the bluff and tells that are present in the game. For a person that has played poker for a good two years this was the only new information. Shulman refers to poker as a game of life, in which only the people with most of the facts will come out ahead. This quote helps out a lot when you have a mom that hates the fact that her son is gambling.
The final segment talks about Chris Moneymaker's top ten secrets to his World Series championship. Going into this section I expected way more than what was presented. Two of his secrets were to 'develop a signature style' and 'always play your best game." This is where Moneymaker rocks out his shades that gave him the edge in the World Series. Whew! What a moment.
Poker for Dummies is a good incite into the world of poker. I would recommend this DVD for beginning players looking to find out a little more about the game and how it is structured.
However, for intermediate players looking to step up their game, it was a let down. There were some good information at the end of the video, but most of it was devoted to other things. Poker for Dummies retails at $16.99 and you can purchase it at the top of this page by clicking our link to buy it now.
I would recommend that you buy this for your girlfriend so they can figure out how to play poker. I've had trouble trying to get my girlfriend to play cards with me and my friends-I guess I'm not that great of a teacher. So I relied on good old Chris Moneymaker to teach her for me. I can proudly say that she takes all my money now. Thanks a lot Chris!
Review by Scott Bonz
World Poker Tour Season 2
Shout Factory's World Poker Tour Season 2 DVD, an eight-disc collection of the second full season of the Travel Channel's smash hit hits the shelves today. Featured on the eight-discs are 14 episodes of the WPT tournaments, each about 90 minutes in length, and a load of special features that were not available in the first season DVD collection.
The most noted special features in World Poker Tour Season are the two audio tracks of commentary by Daniel Negreanu and Erick Lindgren, both WPT champions. Their commentary over the PartyPoker.com cruise and the PokerStars.com cruise tournaments are both top notch, with a lot of thoughts about the play and their own actions throughout. Daniel was in both, notching a 3rd in the PokerStars.com episode, and Erick beat Daniel heads-up in the PartyPoker episode.
The duo work together amazingly for their two episodes. However, it's so interesting to me I wish they had simply done this on every episode with one or two players. Hopefully, next time this is expanded upon by Shout Factory.
Also included is an extended "Poker Corner" show, that featured pros Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth and Negreanu talking about the season finale, the WPT Championship at the Bellagio. There are also player profiles (of which are featured throughout the episodes themselves), poker corner bits (again, the bits all organized that are featured by Shana during the show), and a featurette about the WPT Hollywood Home Game. If you watch the Travel Channel and the WPT religiously, there's nothing new here, but a lot of people might have missed the "Poker Corner" show.
If you've seen the episodes on the Travel Channel, then you know what to expect as far as content goes for the episodes themselves. As far as what I think of the World Poker Tour, if you've never seen it... then I would definitely recommend every player watch these discs. If they plan on playing poker fairly seriously, then you have nothing to lose watching these.
As far as the best tournaments of the season... I recommend the PokerStars.com Cruise, as well as the WPT Championship. All of the episodes are entertaining, so there's little reason to not watch all of them.
For those of you who plan on maybe playing in a big event, these are valuable studying tools. It of course is all short-handed final table play, but you can at least learn some hands that players you might face have played. Information is priceless in tournament poker.
Overall, the DVD's are a valuable learning tool as well as a great piece of entertainment. Some of the extras aren't all that great, but for the $59.99 retail value of this massive DVD set, it's well worth your money.
Review by Jon Eaton