Book review: Hellmuth presents Read 'em and Reap

[Douggyfr3sh]

Full book title: Phil Hellmuth Presents Read 'Em And Reap: A Career FBI Agent's Guide to Decoding Poker tells

ISBN: 9780061198595

Price: USA $18.95 (worth every cent and then some)

Author: Joe Navarro, FBI Special Agent Retired

http://www.navarropoker.com/

This book is an excellent walkthrough of the general various tells players exhibit at the tables, backed with scientific evidence as well as years of FBI experience in using "tells" to take down the bad guys. The book is a very easy read, about 200 pages with many example photos. I read it in 4 hours, finished it the day before my 2nd live holdem tournament ever. It was a small local event, $50+5 NLHE with no rebuys and insanely quick blinds (no antes). There were about 40 entrants with top 5 paying. I ended up making the final table and busting out in 7th after getting horrible cards all day. As the tournament progressed, I noticed that there were some $1/2 NLHE side games starting up. I went home, got $60, and came back to play. I turned 60 into 231 in less than an hour, covering my entry fee and then some. Read 'Em And Reap undoubtedly gave me a huge edge in both the tournament and the cash game. I distinctly remember profiting over $80 in one hand because I spotted a tell, and bet accordingly. In the tournament, I also bluffed at 2 large pots to win- all because of the tells I was picking up as a result of the book. I am still very slow at picking them up, but on my first day of applying these techniques I was very profitable for it. Thanks Joe!

 

[OzExorcist]

Yeah, I've been ranting about this book to whoever will listen some time now.

Seriously, anyone who recommends Mike Caro's Book of Tells over this text almost certainly hasn't read it. For casino NLHE it's perfect. It's well written, set out in coherent sections, the photos are large, clear and make sense and the scientific theory the whole thing is based on is very hard to fault.

Worth it for the concealing tells section alone.

 

[lektrikguy]

Hellmuth's first book blew chunks. Hope this one really is better. Have to check it out.

 

[Reducto]

Hellmuth didn't write this one - he just contributed his name and a few anecdotes where he talks about how great he is. Navarro is the primary author.

It's a really different book from Caro's - they cover very different ground in different ways. Anyone who plays live should read both books several times IMHO.

 

[luckforsome]

hmmm...thanks for notifying about the book..ill go get it, ie struggled to enjoy the last few ive read...Reducto are you sure Hellmuth didnt write this...and would you know which of his is best to read...?

 

[LarkMarlow]

This guy is the real deal. I've read numerous articles by him and heard pros (other than Hellmuth) rave about the guy. As the OP said, check this out: www.navarropoker.com .

 

[Poker Orifice]

hmmm...thanks for notifying about the book..ill go get it, ie struggled to enjoy the last few ive read...Reducto are you sure Hellmuth didnt write this...and would you know which of his is best to read...?

NONE of Helmuth's books are best to read (read poster above...'read Phil's book... it blew chunks') ... he's not exaggerating. I've read dozens of poker books & Phil's would have to rate down at the bottom with the worst of them (too bad... I like Phil).
Read 'em & Reap is the only one I haven't read but have read alot of Navarro's articles and have lots of them saved on my computer (he really goes into some in-depth stuff on tells).

Oddly enough I was out with a friend on Saturday and visited a mall in another city and of course.... straight to the bookstore. There was only one poker book on their shelf that I hadn't read (yet) and it was Read'em & Reap.
Do you think it's really worth getting even if you're able to just read Navarro's stuff online? If so, I'll probably pick this one up too (haven't been able to order thru the local library via an 'inter-library book loan').

Good to hear you were able to put it to good use right after reading it. Pretty sure all can relate to those smaller buyin live tourneys (ie. ~$50) where blinds escalate like crazy and avg. chipstacks end up being under 5bb's (seems most of the players don't understand that they need to be getting their chips in >>>> limp, call, call, call, call.. FLOP.. minbet...call.. fold fold... turn> minbet.. call...river.. check.. check... oh.. your hand is better than mine.. you flopped bottom pr. with your Q3sooooted.

 

[Douggyfr3sh]

Poker orifice- yes, I think it is worth getting even if you can read his articles. It is well-written and has all of the information in one nice neat place. Has anyone read Caro's book of tells and do you think it would be worth it for me to pick that up also??

 

[M33K3R]

I'll have to check this book out. Thanks for the info!

 

[Douggyfr3sh]

Definitely. No problem!

 

[OzExorcist]

hmmm...thanks for notifying about the book..ill go get it, ie struggled to enjoy the last few ive read...Reducto are you sure Hellmuth didnt write this...and would you know which of his is best to read...?

It's absolutely 100% certain - Phil Hellmuth did not write this book.

It's written by Joe Navarro, a career FBI agent who isn't a poker player and IMO the book is all the better for it. Ever watch that Lie to Me show? Navarro is kinda like a real-life version of Cal Lightman. Guy knows what he's talking about.

As to whether it's worth buying the book if you've read several of his articles... I dunno, I haven't read the articles in question. I've read a few things he's submitted to bluff though and they do seem to cover the same ground. He wrote an article about "the most honest part of the body" for Bluff, for example, and it was basically the same as what's in Read 'em and Reap.

What are the photos like in the articles you've read? If they're small or not included then it's definitely worth getting the book, because the photos are excellent and really add to the understanding.

 

[Theblueduce]

Thnaks for the intel on this. I will check it out. I liked Phils book "Play Poker like the Pro's" was OK. I thought it had some great fundamentals.

 

[Douggyfr3sh]

Okay I don't know if I was unclear about this or what, but Phil Hellmuth DID NOT WRITE THIS BOOK. Joe Navarro (www.navarropoker.com) did. Basically, Phil just throws in his 2 cents at the end of each section, sometimes giving an example of a real world application of the techniques Navarro discusses.

 

[valientone]

i havent read that book yet, but from what i can tell its been getting some pretty good reviews... and hellmuth has always been my favorite player

 

[LarkMarlow]

I finally got around to reading this book--bought it because of the OP--and wow IMO is it ever packed with valuable information.

The large photos are indeed really helpful, and Navarro definitely knows what he is talking about. I was fascinated by his stories about how he picked up the subtle tells he describes in detail while working for the FBI and how they apply to almost every human situation, not just the poker table.

There are lots of books that I read only once--this is one that I'll definitely read again. I also earmarked certain pages that I will review before I play live after the holidays are over.

 

[Douggyfr3sh]

I finally got around to reading this book--bought it because of the OP--and wow IMO is it ever packed with valuable information.

The large photos are indeed really helpful, and Navarro definitely knows what he is talking about. I was fascinated by his stories about how he picked up the subtle tells he describes in detail while working for the FBI and how they apply to almost every human situation, not just the poker table.

There are lots of books that I read only once--this is one that I'll definitely read again. I also earmarked certain pages that I will review before I play live after the holidays are over.

Lark- Glad you decided to pick up the book, and glad I influenced your good decision! If you ever get around to seeing this thread again, can you post how it has helped you? Thanks.

 

[salim271]

This sounds really promising... I have to remember this book if I ever decide to get serious playing live... I wish it was endorsed by negreanu instead lol ^_^.

 

[Sean Pilgrim]

Hellmuth didn't write this one - he just contributed his name and a few anecdotes where he talks about how great he is.

That's all Hellmuth does isn't it?

 

[rugby0]

Love the comments but if you believe that this book or navarro are the cutting edge in this area i want to play with you. Lie to me was based on another persons work as are all of navarro's writings. Find sybil Thompson.

 

[Poker Orifice]

Love the comments but if you believe that this book or navarro are the cutting edge in this area i want to play with you. Lie to me was based on another persons work as are all of navarro's writings. Find sybil Thompson.

Just curious... how much of Navarro's stuff have you read? Have you attended any of his seminars? .... etc.
I've never met him but have read this book (which was just a starter imo) & have read many of his articles, which personally I found to be excellent in great depth.

 

[OzExorcist]

Love the comments but if you believe that this book or navarro are the cutting edge in this area i want to play with you. Lie to me was based on another persons work as are all of navarro's writings. Find sybil Thompson.

Has Sybil Thompson ever written a book on poker tells?

 

[rugby0]

TO answer your questions. I believe I have read all of navarro's available books and articles and have copies of most of it. All if it ties back to Sybil Thompson"s 4 volume set of work. This very dense writing and a real effort to read. These volumes are great but you will have to do the poker tie-in yourself as he was not writing for the poker crowd.

 

[OzExorcist]

Right... while I'm glad these works exist and I'm sure Navarro and several others have studied them extensively, I'll stick to the authors that both know what they're talking about and cut to the chase.

 

[onetime]

Poker tells

That's fine and all but personally when it comes down to it all I don't think a book will carry you that far at the table.Instincts is what it's all about.Sure you can read tidbits of information that will help but I'd much rather follow my own gut feeling when it comes to making decisions when playing.

 

[Poker Orifice]

That's fine and all but personally when it comes down to it all I don't think a book will carry you that far at the table.Instincts is what it's all about.Sure you can read tidbits of information that will help but I'd much rather follow my own gut feeling when it comes to making decisions when playing.

You obviously don't know what stuff is in this book... it's about reading non-verbal clues, some of which can get pretty in-depth.
As far as other books containing 'tidbits' of info.,... you might be very surprised if you were to pick up a good book, ie. "collin moshmann's sng strategy"... or how about "Winning Poker Tournaments - One Hand At A Time" (< about 250+ pages of 'tidbits' in that one, lol)