The examples and problems in this book are very instructive and represent actual play. Harrington explains not only the various possibilities at each point, but the many considerations that go into each decision. A valuable resource, definitely recommended.

Better than many on this topic, but strategy doesn't seem to work very well for online games.

This is probably the best of the poker books I've read lately. It fits my learning style - practical lessons complete with a whole series of hands, played all the way through, at the end of each chapter, explaining thought processes and mistakes along the way. Dan Harrington I think thinks like I do - his style is naturally on the conservative side, which is how I've found I generally play, and he's a very logical player, a former chess and backgammon champion before he became a pro poker player. That makes this a book for the strategic and tactical game player, as opposed to the one I am reading by David Sklanksy, which is full of valuable theory and algorithms, but extremely mathematically-oriented.

Harrington on Hold'em Volume I covers strategic play - a lot of it is the basics that will be covered in any good poker book, like pre-flop and post-flop betting, reading the table, pot odds, continuation and value bets, bluffs and semi-bluffs, etc. But as I said, for me the real meat of the book was the illustrative hands that demonstrated each theory in practice.

Nothing in this book went over my head. It all seems perfectly sensible, even easy to put into practice. If only it were so easy to keep all this stuff in mind when you are actually in a hand!

Keep in mind this book specifically covers NLHE, not any other variety of poker. And it is mostly focused on tournament play, so I guess you'd probably want a more advanced and specialized book for playing ring and cash games. Since I play in a bar poker league, it is very appropriate for my venues, even though I am unlikely to ever see even a satellite tournament for the WSOP.

I'd say this a strong candidate for being a book I might recommend as the first book a starting poker player might want to read.

I used to play poker 3x a week in a casino. The difference this book made to my game was unreal! I learnt so many new things. It also opened my eyes up to just how in-depth the game of no-limit hold'em really is! What amazed me how was how it made an almost instant impact on my results at the table. At the moment I don't have as much time to play as I once did, but when I get back into poker properly again, I thoroughly look forward to reading this book cover to cover again!

This guy is a beast.

If you want no frills how-to on playing NL poker, this is it. Don't go any where else.

One of the best books read in a while, regardless whether you play Poker or not.

Results yet to be seen

Now I know a little more about poker...kinda.

A must read

This book breaks down each scenario that could occur in the early stages of a poker tournament. The authors teach the reader how to calculate pot odds which I never knew before (which are how much it costs you to be part of a pot). This book has inspired me to try a poker tournament at my local casino. I believe anyone can learn to play hold 'em with this book and practice.

I’m a very new poker player, and found this book incredibly helpful. I have a much better understanding of the fundamentals of how and when to bet, and when to fold. There are extensive examples throughout, presented as problems “What should you do in this situation?” which really helps reinforce the theories presented.

It has improved my game massively, and would recommend it to anyone looking to gain a better understanding of poker.

I loved all of Harrington's books. They read like textbooks and they have problems for solving. I learned more from this series than from any other poker book. I reread them from time to time for a refresher. . . I should probably do that again.