The book, Championship Hold’em Tournament Hands, is essentially a two-in-one. Positively, the strategy parts were penned by a WSOP Main Event victor, Tom McEvoy. The downside is that more than half of his chapters are about Limit Hold ‘Em. On the bright side, excluding those, the book still spans over 200 pages. However, the drawback is that the 1983 champion dedicates 22 of these pages to the strategy of playing a pair of Aces in the hole, a hand that only appears once in every 221 hands.
Luckily, the section of T.J. Cloutier’s book that discusses key tournament hands is outstanding. Regrettably, it only constitutes less than one-third of the entire book. On the bright side, the majority of the hands discussed are the crucial ones from the World Series of Poker Main Event. However, the downside is that the coverage only spans from 1978 to 2001, meaning that a whole decade was already omitted when the book was first published (and now it represents less than half of the years).
McEvoy advocates for an extremely cautious style of play, particularly when in an early position. The players he labels as “Super Aggressors” would be deemed roughly average by today’s standards.
In the No-Limit Hold ‘Em section, McEvoy provides brief guidance on each of the top nine hands (Aces through Tens, Ace-King to Ace-Jack, and King-Queen):1 as well as Ace-Wheel,2 Middle Pairs, Small Pairs, and Middle Suited Connectors, advising that all other hands be folded. These sections are occasionally divided into Early, Middle, Late Position, and sometimes the Blinds. While this advice may be accurate, it is fairly succinct. Generally, McEvoy advocates for a very conservative playstyle, which is certainly suitable for beginners.
There’s a strong emphasis on pre-flop hand selection in the advice given, with little focus on the subsequent play. The implication is that choosing the correct hands to play will lead to positive outcomes. More information on post-flop play would have been beneficial.
The latter part of the book analyses 44 important hands from the WSOP Main Event and one from the 2002 Four Queens Classic.
Around 25% of these cards constitute the concluding hands of the tournament. Cloutier provides background information where applicable, encompasses most aspects such as blind, stack, and bet sizes, and conducts an analysis of some of the most significant hands in poker history.
Please note: McEvoy and Cloutier also published Championship 107 Hold’Em Tournament Hands in 2003, which comprises largely of the same content but arranged in a different manner (Limit Hold ‘Em starting hands, WSOP Main Event final table hands based on the number of remaining players, and No-Limit Hold ‘Em starting hands). It includes a larger number of hands if you are mainly interested in the WSOP history but it also has many more errors and seems to be the precursor book.
In the poker universe, TJ Cloutier and Tom McEvoy are two prominent figures who command immense respect among their contemporaries. This book encapsulates the wealth of knowledge they possess about holdem play in both cash and tournament formats. The strategies for the contemporary game are presented here in a conversational writing style, making it easy to comprehend.
With the potential to become a timeless classic, Championship Holdem is a must-have addition to the book collection of every poker enthusiast.
Experience the intensity of hold’em as it is played in the present day, encompassing both limit cash games and tournaments. Receive invaluable guidance on how to increase your winnings in high-stakes games, kill-pot, jackpot, shorthanded, and other cash game variants. Gain insights into the thought process before the flop, on the flop, on the turn, and at the river, along with specific recommendations for reacting to both favorable and unfavorable circumstances. Additionally, you’ll benefit from twenty illustrated hands accompanied by step-by-step analyses.
