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Every week, we showcase an Amazon user review from an item on the current Poker Books Pop Fifty list. Here’s your review of the week for this week!

Review of #1 “Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker”

Review by Paul Benjamin: “From Card Player…”

This reviewer’s rating: 5/5, average reviewer rating: 5/5

I reviewed Jim’s book for Card Player magazine, and it appears in the November 4, 2009, issue, as follows:

Poker & The American Experience

A Review of Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker by James McManus

Tim Peters

For some players, poker is just a game. But for many players, it’s tempting to see the game as a microcosm of life itself, as having a significance that transcends the cardroom. James McManus, the author of the justly celebrated Positively Fifth Street (his 2003 account of his run to the final table of the 2000 WSOP Main Event), is one of those people, and his new book, Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker, explains why “sometimes…the game is much more than just a game.”

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Every week, we showcase an Amazon user review from an item on the current Poker Books Pop Fifty list. Here’s your review of the week for this week!

Review of #3 “Deal Me In: Twenty of the World’sTop Poker Players Share the Heartbreaking and Inspiring Stories …”

Review by PokerJack99: “Deal Me In”

This reviewer’s rating: 5/5, average reviewer rating: 4.5/5

Just got this book in the mail and it’s pretty awesome. really personal stories about how these players turned pro. ivey in atlantic city as an underage player is killer, scotty nguyen’s story as learning the game as a dealer/vietnam immigrant, negreanu in toronto card clubs instead of high school classes. chad brown’s chapter is kinda boring. hellmuth has had a fascinating path. the older players (meaning 35 or older) have more interesting stories than the younger guys (dwan and eastgate, who didn’t have to go find games at taverns/etc., just played on their laptops). devilfish’s chapter is hilarious.

apparently cardplayer magazine provided all the photos which are really great, tons of ‘em, layout is well done.

Click here to see the full review for “Deal Me In: Twenty of the World’sTop Poker Players Share the Heartbreaking and Inspiring Stories …” >>

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Every week, we showcase an Amazon user review from an item on the current Poker Movies Pop Fifty list. Here’s your review of the week for this week!

Review of #2 “World Poker Tour: Season 1″

Review by Dale Mason: “WPT IS A GOOD BET !!!”

This reviewer’s rating: 4/5, average reviewer rating: 4.5/5

5 dvds 1300 minutes, [...]. The poker experts commentary, are a little weak. I would prefer to have a real tourament player (winner) being the host. But its not bad, good camera views and you can see the hole cards. Buy it you will enjoy about 20 hours of WPT poker. GOOD LUCK!

Click here to see the full review for “World Poker Tour: Season 1″ >>

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Every week, we showcase an Amazon user review from an item on the current Poker Movies Pop Fifty list. Here’s your review of the week for this week!

Review of #16 “Poker for Dummies”

Review by K. Palmer: “Probably Best As A Rental, Not A Purchase”

This reviewer’s rating: 3/5, average reviewer rating: 3/5

I’m a recent convert to Texas Hold ‘Em and just wanted to get the basics of the game down and rented this DVD. The show is hosted by 2003 World Series of Poker champion Chris Moneymaker and is intended to show the basics of the game, not high-end strategy moves. Chris goes through basics such as the ranking of hands in poker (pairs, full house), explains betting lingo (check, raise, call) and gives etiquette pointers. They show a hand of Hold ‘Em being played by a group of people and explained the various options each bettor had in each round. That was helpful to me as it goes so fast on TV. Chris also looks fairly comfortable in front of the camera.

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Click here to see the full review for “Poker for Dummies” >>

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Every week, we showcase an Amazon user review from an item on the current Poker Books Pop Fifty list. Here’s your review of the week for this week!

Review of #23 “Texas Hold’em Odds and Probabilities: Limit, No-Limit, and Tournament Strategies”

Review by Bernard Chapin: “Everybody Respects Matthew. “

This reviewer’s rating: 5/5, average reviewer rating: 3.5/5

At least all the players I know do. Matthew Hilger, as both a player and author, has been greatly admired since his very clear and excellently organized, Internet Texas Hold’em, came out in 2003. He also has a website that’s very popular with a forum discussing all kinds of issues which arise in poker, gaming, and life. With this book on Odds and Probabilities, he has added to his stature as an advisor because he expands his focus by addressing limit hold’em, no limit hold’em cash games, and no limit hold’em tournaments. He actually fills in nicely for the (very few) areas King Yao does not cover in his book…

Click here to see the full review for “Texas Hold’em Odds and Probabilities: Limit, No-Limit, and Tournament Strategies” >>

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This week in poker movies, the top 50 saw some changes. 12 new titles entered the list. The hot mover of the week was Poker for Dummies, which climbed 18 spots to number 13. The big loser of the week was Poker Secrets From Poker Champs, which fell 19 spots to number 38.

There was just 1 brand new item on the list this week, Poker Secrets From Poker Champs Vol I at number 29.

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In poker books this week, the top 50 saw few changes. Only 6 new titles entered the top 50. The hot mover of the week was Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Texas Hold’em, which lifted 6 spots to number 12. The big loser of the week was Tournament Poker for Advanced Players: Expanded Edition, which declined 10 spots to number 46.

There was just 1 brand new item on the list this week, The Tao Of Poker: 285 Rules to Transform Your Game and Your Life at number 34.

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Every week, we showcase an Amazon user review from an item on the current Poker Movies Pop Fifty list. Here’s your review of the week for this week!

Review of #15 “Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer - Double Feature (More Than Murder / Murder Me, Murder You)”

Review by Languatron of the Sci-Fi Channel Board: “Stacy Keech is Mike Hammer”

This reviewer’s rating: 5/5, average reviewer rating: 4.5/5

These two Mike Hammer movies starring Stacy Keech are bubble gum for adults. Mike Hammer is surrounded by voluptuous women while making hilarious wisecracks via voice over narration. The plots really don’t matter. Stacy Keech swaggers into one situation after another surrounded by women, and one in particular is literally dropped in his lap while she delivers his lunch. How is that for service? Keech should have been a stand up comedian, as his voice over comments are priceless. All you can do while watching these movies, is to envy the Mike Hammer character, as the entire female species is on the prowl for him, and Hammer doesn’t put up a fight. No one but Stacy Keech could play this role, and any other actor who would dare try would pale in comparison.

Click here to see the full review for “Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer - Double Feature (More Than Murder / Murder Me, Murder You)” >>

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Every week, we showcase an Amazon user review from an item on the current Poker Books Pop Fifty list. Here’s your review of the week for this week!

Review of #27 “Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book: More Lessons and Hand Analysis in No Limit Texas Hold’em”

Review by 2many2read: “Sequel just as good as the original”

This reviewer’s rating: 5/5, average reviewer rating: 4/5

This is the companion to Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book. LGB focused on poker theory — readable and concise, but theory nonetheless.

Here Phil Gordon explains, round by round, the hands he’s played. Sometimes of the hands he has misplayed: like losing on the first hand of tournment because he paired an ace. (No, he wasn’t playing pocket aces, just an A with a middling kicker.) It’s good to have poker mistakes explained by a pro candid enough to admit them. I can’t think of another poker instruction book that shows the author’s mistakes. Usually, any of the losing hands we read about are bad beats.

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Click here to see the full review for “Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book: More Lessons and Hand Analysis in No Limit Texas Hold’em” >>

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This week, the poker movies top 50 had moderate changes. 17 new titles entered the top 50. The hot mover of the week was Casino Royale (40th Anniversary Edition), which returned to the list at number 8. The big loser of the week was Casino Royale (UMD for PSP), which plummeted 28 spots to number 46.

5 items made it to the list for the first time this week:

• The Grand at number 19
• Poker Cheats Exposed at number 24
• Southern California Poker Tour -… at number 32
• Lets Play Roulette at number 39
• Fit Models Totally Exposed at number 48

Click here to see the current Pop Fifty Poker Movies list >>