April 12 2012, Chad Holloway

Last year, I had the opportunity to review Jonathan Little’s Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume I, which I found to be quite impressive. At the time, I knew a follow-up was planned, aptly titled Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume II (SOPTPII). This book recently hit the market.

Like Volume I, Little has personally written every word in the SOPTPII, and as I said in my previous review he has a natural ability to transfer complex concepts and thoughts to paper in an uncomplicated manner. The same holds true here. He has taken his years of experience as a poker instructor and written a text that connects with the reader.

As Little explains: “In this book I will explain how to alter your game at each level of a tournament and squeak the most equity out of every situation.” Little focused on tournament fundamentals in Volume 1, but he has now taken things to the next level by focusing on the more minute details of tournament play, some you may have never considered.

For example, while Little talks about traditional things like Stages of a Tournament, Short-Handed Play and Practical Tips for Tournament Play, he intersperses more innovative sections like Breathing, Endurance and The Long Run. Take the section on Breathing as an example. How many of us really pay attention to our breathing at the poker table? I don’t necessarily mean when you’re trying to run a big bluff; I mean your breathing throughout the day. I know I didn’t.

In SOPTPII, Little points out that this is a big mistake and that most people tend to breath incorrectly all the time. Seriously? As Little explained:

“Learning to breathe optimally is important for numerous reasons. Just about everyone breathes incorrectly. Their shoulders rise when they inhale. The correct way to breathe is for your stomach to extend outward when you breathe in, with little to no movement of the shoulders. This helps your body get the most oxygen from the air. I suggest that you learn to breathe this way all the time so that is happens naturally when you play poker.”

After reading this and examining myself, I discovered that, sure enough, my shoulders rose every time I took a breath. The very next time I sat at the poker table, I tried Little’s breathing advice and immediately felt more relaxed and refreshed. In general, players these days know what they’re doing when they play poker, meaning often the differences between success and failure lay in the details. The breathing section is a great example of such a detail, and just one of many you’ll find in SOPTPII.

Here is a quick look at some of the other sections in SOPTPII:

• Be Open Minded but Skeptical
• Tells Based on Who You Associate With
• Poker Gear Tells
• Checking in the Dark
• Do Not Talk to the Person you Just Beat
• Do Not Set Silly Goals
• Do Not Try to be Macho

Of course, that is just a small sample of what you can expect to find in the book. Little not only shares strategy, but also gives plenty of advice. For example, there is a whole section on Going Pro where he hits you with some hard truths and tells you what you’d best expect if you want to make that leap.

Another thing I liked about SOPTPII is that it can stand apart from its counterpart. By that I mean if you haven’t read the first volume, or are confident in you tournament fundamentals, you could pick up Volume II and find it worth your while. In fact, I think the second volume provides a plethora of pertinent and interesting information that would appeal to both new and existing readers of Little.

The book is priced reasonably at $27.95, which includes free access to Little’s videos and a one-month membership to his training site, FloatTheTurn.com. In addition, it is available on the Kindle.

Little readily admits that one day his books will be rendered obsolete as the game of poker progresses and transforms; however, Little’s knack of getting you to think about poker from unexplored angles ensures SOPTPII remains relevant for quite some time.

To get your copy of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume II, visit Amazon.com today.

Have you read Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume I or II by Jonathan Little? If so, give us your thoughts in the comments section below. In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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September 12 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

It’s Monday, so we’re back at it. Over the weekend, Sorel Mizzi added a high-roller title to his already impressive list of earnings. On top of that, we learned a little bit about the cast of the new Survivor series, and more. We’re going to share that with you now, so enjoy.

In Case You Missed It

We know that being healthy is important to a lot of poker players. One way to do that is with fresh produce. For the latest episode of the Sin City Series, Sarah Grant got to check out the farmers market in downtown Las Vegas recently to speak with some of the vendors and the organizer.

Just because the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker is off and running doesn’t mean the Sunday Majors are taking a break. Get caught up on all of the results from some of the biggest Sunday tournaments in the Sunday Briefing.

On Day 8 of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker, no bracelets were awarded, but two of the series’ biggest prize pools were created. Check out our daily WCOOP recap to find out who moved on to Day 2 of Events #21 and #22.

Looking for a book to help advance your poker game? Check out our book review of Jonathan Little’s Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker.

World Poker Tour Paris High Roller

On Friday, the “15,000 buy-in high roller kicked off at the 2011 World Poker Tour Rendez-Vous à Paris. Among the 36 players who entered was last year’s winner, Freddy Deeb, and last year’s runner-up, Sorel Mizzi. Would history repeat itself? A “521,100 prize pool was created and “234,495 was reserved for first place.

Mizzi moved into the second day of play as the chip leader, and when five players were left on Sunday, Mizzi tweeted:

Sure enough, it was déjà vu for Mizzi and Deeb, but this time, there was a twist. On a flop of Deeb shipped his remaining stack in the middle holding . Mizzi snap-called, tabling . The turn and river blanked for Deeb, giving Mizzi the title and the “234,495 first-place prize.

WPT Paris High Roller Results

Read more at FR.PokerNews.com.

The Tribe Will Speak – Eventually

Survivor: South Pacific kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. EDT. We’re not huge Survivor fans, seeing as how there is nothing about living on an island with little to no food, with people we would probably loathe that’s appealing. Regardless of our thoughts on the show, there’s a poker aspect to the new season, and that’s why you’re reading about the reality show in the Nightly Turbo.

One of the 18 Survivor: South Pacific cast members is a bit of a poker player. Jim Rice, or James Rice III if you searching him on Hendon Mob, will be part of the Savaii Tribe this season. In his bio on CBS.com, his current occupation is listed as a medical marijuana dispenser. Other than working on Wall Street, his personal claim to fame is winning over 40 poker tournaments. We’re not sure which poker tournaments he’s talking about, probably home games, because his Hendon Mob results only lists five cashes, one of which was a win.

We’re just curious if he reached out to Jean-Robert Bellande for tips on surviving.

Find out more at CBS.com.

UKIPT Dublin Update

The PokerStars UK & Ireland Poker Tour kicked off on Thursday last week. Through two Day 1 starts, the field attracted 718 players, creating a prize pool of “348,230. Among the field were notables, Dermot Blain, Liv Boeree, Rebecca McAdam, David Vamplew, Andy Black, Dominik Nitsche, and Jude Ainsworth.

McAdam finished in 55th place (“975) and Dermot Blain bowed out in 16th (“2,050). PokerStars player Jason Tompkins went into the final table with the chip lead but could not hang on to it. He was eliminated in fifth place. PokerStars qualifier Joeri Zandvliet ended up walking away with the “83,500 first-place prize when he rivered the holding and bested Chuck Fabian’s on a board of .

To get a look at all of the action from the UKIPT, check out the PokerStars Blog.

Partouche Poker Tour Begins

The Partouche Poker Tour kicked off on Monday in Cannes, France, at the Palm Beach Casino. The “8,500 buy-in event boasted a guarantee of “4 million. A number of well-known pros showed up for the event, including Vanessa Selbst, who won the event last year, Jean-Robert Bellande, Arnaud Mattern, Phil Laak, and Men Nguyen.

We’re not fluent in French, so it’s difficult to bring you updates, because it’s all in French, but this video is an interview with Phil Hellmuth and half of it is in English, so bon appétit!

There are chip counts for the event at PartouchePoker.com.

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Follow Elaine Chaivarlis on Twitter – @LaneyLV