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 enlarge | Author: Mike Caro
Publisher: Cardoza
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $11.39
You Save: $13.56 (54%)
New (41) Used (31) Collectible (1) from $8.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 6948
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 1580420826
Dewey Decimal Number: 795.412019
EAN: 9781580420822
ASIN: 1580420826
Publication Date: March 18, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A handy tool if you use absorb it and apply it January 3, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
First off, this is an older book that does not cover online games. If you only play online, pass on this book.
I've read a few poker books so far, and all of them have mentioned this book as "the" book to read on poker tells. Since pros were recommending this book I decided that I needed to pick up a copy.
This is the only poker book I've read twice.
Caro's book contains just over 20 tells, with a chapter on each tell, it's variations, and how to exploit it. It also gives a reliability scale for each tell which shows how effective it is against beginners, intermediates and experts. Surprisingly, beginners and experts are about equally vulnerable to some tells.
Caro shows that there are two types of tells, those from people who are unaware, and those from people who are faking the tell (actors). He gives guidelines on how to help determine if the tell is real or just an act.
I laughed out loud several times because Caro would come to a tell that I had. I found myself saying, "I do do that!" or, "Hey, my buddy does that!"
That being said, tells are not the Holy Grail of poker. Nobody can look at another person and instantly know they're holding a pair of Queens. Certain behaviors make it MORE THAN LIKELY that someone has a monster hand, or is bluffing, or doesn't want to be called. It doesn't guarantee it.
Even if you can put someone on good cards or bad cards, at a full table you'll rarely be in a position to exploit it because you have to worry about the other eight players and the strength of your own hand.
Also, some tells only work for draw poker, so if you only play Hold'em they're not directly applicable.
Over the long term I'd say that if you really sat down and studied/digested this book it will add about a 3% to 5% advantage to your game. More if you play against amateurs, less if you play against good players.
 Educational, but with Potential to Confuse December 6, 2006
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
First off: you are probably (definitely) better off buying this book than not buying it. It makes you aware of just what the tells are that your opponents might be exhibiting at the table, and this is necessary knowledge if you wish to be a good player.
However, Caro seems to have a slightly annoying habit of not only recycling the same tell so that it features in more than just the one section it should feature in were the book to be a little more efficient; he also splits the tells down the middle; that is, "honest tells from non actors" and "false tells from actors".
Very useful I'm sure it is (seriously), but what you are left with is a 50/50 split that every major tell exhibited at the table could be genuine or could be a deliberate throw-off. So a guy hammering his chips in could be making the classic mistake of giving away his weak hand by trying to compensate for it by representing physical strength through his betting action: or he could really have a strong hand and be foolish enough to let everyone know by making a correlatory strong betting movement or he could be a crafty player with a massive hand wanting you to read him and put him on a no-hoper cos of his tell.
Confused?
You will be.
But I guess it's all in the game and in fairness to this book, which could do with being revised in terms of overall presentation (clear, colour photos of people not looking like they just stepped off the set of boogie nights would be nice - it is 2006!) and structure and "get-into-ability" - it does arm you up with a knowledge of what to look for and then I guess it's on you to decide whether your foe is exhibiting a genuine tell or not.
Game on!
Tells are of second nature in poker!!!!!!! October 18, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mike Caro is really a genious at his craft. This book really isnt for the faint of heart. If you truely want to win at poker and be a consistent winner you must put in the time. Yes poker is gambling and in an essence everything in life is a gamble, but just like a Doctor or a lawyer or teacher they all had to learn there craft and then master it. This book is a key ingredient to success in poker, yes the book came out a long time ago and I wish I would of known about it because its hard to break old habbits, but this book transformed my game to new heights. If you dont like money theres always the 9-5 job:)
excellent book October 10, 2006
Just a great book - a classic. Must read for all players at all skill levels.
Cheesey Pictures / Useful Information September 1, 2006
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
So the pictures look like your uncle on a three day bender, human nature doesn't change and in that lies the value. If you can get past the wide-tab-collars there are nuggents in there that might make the difference.
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