Review of Phil Gordon’s ‘Little Blue Book’
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Overview
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Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book [LBB] is a worthy follow up to Gordon’s Little Green Book, a great text that does a wonderful job of introducing players to advanced play in no limit cash games. In LBB, Gordon turns his attention a bit more in the direction of NHLE tournament play.
Book Structure
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LBB is essentially a string of hand examples sorted by game type. Gordon does a good job of bringing the hands to life by injecting at least small narrative into each one. His examples are drawn from a diverse spectrum represented on one end by low limit games played in the wee hours at Mndalay Bay and final table play at the main event of the WSOP on the other.
Unique Advantages
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LBB doesn’t offer advice you can’t find in other books. What it does offer is clear and compelling voice for communicating not just the strategy, but also the thought process behind a strategic conclusion. Gordon does a great job of showing you how to make sense of a hand.
Gordon’s writing is a pleasant find in the often hit-or-miss world of poker books. As I wrote in my review of Little Green Book:
“…the writing is clean, clear and to the point, and almost completely unburdened by self-glorifying anecdotes and name-dropping. It feels personal without sacrificing credibility, and it suffers none of the Sklansky-style ‘all readers are idiots’ condescension common to a lot of modern poker books.”
Disadvantages
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This book contains a few dozen hands, some of which cover fairly basic situations. Readers who are looking for a hardcore holdem workbook are probably going to be disappointed. I also could have done without the cash game examples at the start of the book; they don’t seem to add to the hands in LGB and they seem to split the focus of LBB unnecessarily.
Conclusion
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A solid addition to any poker library.
Focus: 7/10
Primarily tournament focused with some cash game examples
Quality of advice: 8/10
A little below LGB, but still a wonderful template for deconstructing hands.
Examples: 7/10
Some readers may find them to be a bit drawn out, but I think Gordon tells a good story and knows when to cut it short..
Readability: 9/10
Clear, clean and concise.
Appropriateness: 8/10
Everyone can probably benefit from this book.
Overall (not an average): 8/10
A great ‘tune-up’ book that will generate additional benefits via rereadings.
VERDICT: Buy it as a second option or request it as a gift.
