Message Board : Harrington on Holdem III, The Workbook. Thougts and a request for more books like this.

Hello,

On the subject of Harrington on Holdem III, I would like to mention two things about the book:

1) I think poker players need more books in this format, and I wish that people like Ed and other talented writers would do some in the workbook format.

2) There are a couple of problems I have with Harrington on Holdem III  that could be corrected in any new books of this type:

a) If you are going to be co-playing a hand with a noted pro his name and style should not be stated at the beginning of a hand.  In the book, when this happens, you almost automatically try to emulate what you think that pro would have done in the hand.  I am referring to  problem Problem 10, page 83.  And sometimes the pro may be playing hyper-aggressively or incorrectly.   

b) The topic or theme of the hand should not be announced at the beginnng as this, too, will influence your decision making during the hand.  For instance, in problem 10, page 83, the authors have as a heading:  Phil Ivey — Maneuvering with Nothing.  Again, you want to emmulate your co-player's style and sometimes this leads to wrong decisions, though in this case when Ivey calls from UTG+2 with 93o, you are given full credit for the fold (3 points) and no credit for calling as Ivey did.  This is not always the case!  Here, I was thinking, “Ivey has to play the hand, he is aggressive, and to finish the problem he has to at least call here.  I would fold, but the authors must be looking for a call or a raise here.”  So, if you are mislead by the Phil Ivey name and the title and don't choose FOLD — the correct move in almost all similar situations, you don't get full credit.

Still, very paltry criticism for a great book that will be worth it's value many times over.

Here is a recommendation: I made photo copies of the pages in the back of the book where you mark your answers, put them together in the correct order, and stapled the edges to create a little booklet that keeps you from going back and forth on each step of the way to mark you answer and then again while reading the solution to mark your points scored.

I will keep this booklet when I am finished, and on subsequent readings and working of the problems in the future, it will be available as a baseline against which I can compare any progress.

Natcheztoo