Review: Harrington on Hold'em Volume 2

Each month I will take some time to talk about a poker related product and voice my opinion about it, for the good or for the bad. This month I would like to talk about Harrington on Hold'em, Volume 2: The Endgame. I feel this is a great product to review since last month we looked at Harrington on Hold'em Volume 1.

Harrington on Hold'em Volume 2, known as 'HoH2' through out the rest of this review, is written by none other than Dan Harrington himself along with Bill Robertie and is published by Two-Plus-Two Publishing. This is the second of what is now a three volume set and focuses on the following main topics:

• Making Moves
• Inflection Points
• Multiple Inflection Points
• Short Tables
• Heads-Up

Each topic is it's own chapter with the total book reaching a little more then 440 pages. Just like the first volume, each chapter is broken down into sections starting out with your standard informative text then ending with what is known as "the Problems" - a series of actual hands discussed in detail that relate to the knowledge learned in that chapter. This gives you "real world" examples on what you should do, or should have done, in a variety of situations. Does volume 2 of Harrington's series make the $29.95 retail price tag worth the purchase? Let's find out.

The structure of this book is identical to Volume 1. Each chapter begins with a lesson and ends with a variety of "problems". As mentioned in the previous review, these "problems" are real-world examples that show you how to use the information in the lessons you just read. In some examples it tells you what you should have done, then says "instead you did this", and than attempts to get you out of trouble. Such format makes Harrington's books a great and interesting read, allowing the reader to learn above and beyond the context of the lesson.

As for the content, HOH2 wastes no time and dives right into the core elements of No Limit Hold'em starting out with lessons on "making moves" - giving readers valuable information on when to bluff, when to slow play, and how to successfully deploy more complex "moves" on your opponent. Diving right into such information might seem overwhelming to the "beginner" Hold'em player but intermediate players should pick it right up with little or no problems. If the lessons seem a little too advance for you then I would suggest putting down HOH2 and picking up his first volume. Harrington writes this book as a continuation to his first book with the complete impression that the reader has already completed Volume 1.

Once Harrington covers how to make moves in No Limit Hold'em he goes the next step further and introduces "when" to make these moves. Using Magriel's M -the ratio of your stack to the current total of blinds and antes - Harrington shows you a easy to understand system that encourages you to play certain ways depending if your in the "green", "yellow", "orange", or "red" zone. He also includes his own principle titles Q, which goes hand to hand with Magriel's M to make the best all around decisions while your in a tournament. Reading and understanding this section alone is invaluable to any beginning NL Hold'em player looking to strengthen their game and worth the $30 alone.

The book then transcends into how to make more "advanced" moves and ultimately teaches you valuable heads-up information with some real world hand examples from known poker professionals. All while giving you tons of knowledge and examples in between.

HOH2 includes more "problems" then in Volume 1; however, the lessons are more advance and might require re-reading to completely understand all the information presented. HOH2 by it's self is a valuable and informative book for any intermediate NL Hold'em player. Along side Volume 1, HOH2 is a priceless continuation for the beginning player. Think of Volume 1 and 2 as one large book covering the topics of NL Hold'em.

When you read this book you really feel like your getting into the mind of Harrington and getting to see all angles and aspects of a situation. After completing this text you should feel more confident in your game and should see noticeable results as you recover key topics from time to time. You should have greater confidence in making it to the final table and then know what to do once your there. Harrington even covers what to do if your down to the final few players and someone brings up the idea of making a prize split. How can you go wrong?

My verdict: Buy it