From time to time you can find Poker in the place you least expect it. On a trip to the library with my wife I found a poker book written by Lou Krieger. He first learned how to play poker by watching his father play in a weekly home game. Lou has been touted as one of the most influential gaming writers by Casino Journal Magazine, when he is not writing about poker he is often found in a card room in Southern California. I was first shocked to find at the public library but after reading this one I have requested that my library branch try to get in more to keep up with pokers current popularity and bring people back to the library.

The Poker Players Bible Raise: Your Game from Beginner to Winner was published in2004 and is very current in its ideas and strategies for playing a few different poker games. Krieger's book covers most poker basics including the most popular forms of poker (Texas Hold’em, 7 card Stud, and Omaha). It provides fundamental information about how to play starting hands and how to develop a smart play all through the game. The book also analyzes the use of a correct poker strategy and explains how picking a style and using game stratagems can help any player to seriously improve his or her game.

There is a good section on poker basics covering the hand rankings, poker glossary and terms, table analysis and information on how to read your opponents. There are also a few areas on starting hands, how to play pairs, position play, complex situations, judging your hand and ante stealing. The chapter on playing your hands provides good ideas on semi bluffing, calculating odds versus outs and also raising and slow playing. Krieger’s book also covers how to begin playing poker tournaments and a few great charts how to play starting hands from each position and how to bet, call or rise from different positions.

I really liked this book and would recommend it to intermediate to advanced players, in particular as a guide to revisit and utilize as a poker resource.  This book covers great material on several different game types and can help players progress at each. My favorite section was the chapter explaining pot odds and implied odds in Hold’em and calculating outs.