Others say...

"good common sense information"
This was well worth the money and brought up some things that I have not seen anywhere else

"Well worth it if your not a guru"
I found most of the information useful and while nothing made me jump out of my seat, I felt like I got a boost in my game. I gave it 5 stars because I dont have much of a baseline for holdem instructional dvds abd I found it very informative. I bought it over a week ago and watched it twice.

Annie kind of hesitates sometimes or her timing is a tiny bit off, but I am glad she is a poker expert and not an actor(but then shouldnt a great poker player be a great actress!?), so thats not an issue for me. I skipped right past her beginners video and had no trouble keeping up with this one.

I have been playing holdem online about 40 hours a week for 4 months, just so whoever is reading this review knows where im coming from.

Also this is Richard not my wife Stephanie, we share the amazon account

"Good but not Great!"
Annie starts the video by explaining that this is geared towards the advanced player. By advanced she means you've read poker books, watched other DVDs, and understand poker terminology. At first I felt the the movie had some promise as it was produced a little better than other movies I've watched by The Masters of Poker.

One of the finer points of hold'em is to make sure you don't put your self in tough choices constantly, a very simple concept. She briefly touches on slow playing a hand on a dry board verses a draw heavy board where it would be wrong to slow play. This point to me is not so advanced and really should be common sense to her target audience here. Themes like this are stressed through out the video, but I still think even the top level advanced player can walk away with a few tips.

The DVD seems to focus heavily on tells and profiling as this is repeated in later chapters. These are very important concepts to understand if you're trying to move up from a level one thinking. I found one of the tells discussed to be new to me and that was blink rate. I also though it was a good reminder to stress the importance of talking to your opponents about everyday things that relate to their life so you can read body language about things that they are comfortable with and not so comfortable with, such as; dogs, kids, work, ect.

Bluffing, Semi-Bluffing, trapping, implied odds, and controlling pot odds are covered in the middle chapters of the DVD. A few examples of how to execute bluffs are given and for the most part this section is covered well. I like that in this section she mentions 9-2 off is slightly more than a 2-1 dog to AK.

Playing against maniacs, emotional control, and money management are covered at the tail end. While the maniac section is covered very well, the latter two seem to just be filler and should really be covered more in depth.

The bonus features are really not worth taking a look at. They start out with different levels of thinking but only get 3 levels deep. The levels are well discussed through out the DVD though they aren't addressed specifically as "levels". A lame endorsement for Commerce Casino is in the bonus features as well.

Overall I think it was a 2 and a half star DVD. The only reason it's slightly above 2 stars is the fact that it reminded me of a few things I had forgotten and was decently produced. I discussed things I liked in my review but here are a few things I did not like. She talks too much with her hands and says literally too much. Some of the concepts are geared towards the beginner and not the advanced player. Each section could have been discussed more in depth and different variations on hand examples should have been given. If we're calling DVD's like this "for the advanced player" then I really can't wait until a DVD comes out for the "expert" player.

Enjoy!

"Put up yer Dukes...!"
Nice, direct approach to the genre of teaching video, Duke's vulnerability in from of the camera is a perfect foil for her strength of character at the poker table. Concise, witty and fun, the video is full of gems that I believe will help me relieve the donkeys of their hard-earned money..!

"Good tips, Good Value"
"Advanced" can mean different things to different people. Let me start by telling you what it means here. It means you already know how to play the cards. This DVD will not tell you when to raise with pocket 7s or how to play when you flop a straight. This DVD is about what you need to know after you already know that. This is not about the "advanced" secrets of playing your hand. If you are looking for advice on how to play your two cards, this is not your DVD.

So what does it cover? The main claim to fame is the section on Tells. Annie covers techniques that the FBI uses to know when someone is lying for example. She emphasizes that you need to watch your opponents before you end up in a hand with them to get a baseline. For example, rapid blinking can be a sign of lying (bluffing), but if you haven't noticed the player before now, how do you know if he is blinking a lot? Some people just blink more than others. Also included are sections on playing against certain types of players (the maniac for one) as well as things like figuring pot odds and so on.

Yes the production values are minimal. Yes, Annie sits at the same table the entire DVD, but the advice is good and there is nothing to distract you from getting it.

If you already are confortable with playing your two cards then this DVD is a good way to help you move to the next level where what happens above your cards is just as important on what is on them.