Far from the conventional parenting book, Know When to Hold 'Em will encourage readers as they see parenting and fatherhood through a new lens--that of adventurer, risk-taker. Blase moves into new territory to invite fathers and parents to look at the risk and challenge--and great rewards of parenting--as he invites readers into his imperfect, yet loveable home Written with the raw prose of one who is there, smack dab in the middle of possibly the greatest challenge of a person’s life, Blase says, “What I’ve seen so far has convinced me that being a father is a lot like gambling--fatherhood is a risk-tasking venture Featuring an intensely personal voice and filtered through a brass-knuckled optimism, this book offers what very few books on parenting do--the real, true, raw reality and joys of fatherhood.

Daisy needs a sugar daddy, STAT. Lucky for her, her stepdad's regular Friday night poker game has the perfect clandestine component for her to secure one. Or three. Daisy's mom walked out on her when she was only twelve, leaving her with her stepdad, Joe. He isn't exactly the nurturing, fatherly type but he has provided for Daisy and he's been kind these past six years. Their relationship has changed recently though. Daisy's no longer a little girl and Joe has a much better idea how to handle her now. He's taught her quite a few things since her eighteenth birthday. Daisy is a smart girl who's heading off to her top-choice college in a few months and she appreciates everything Joe has done for her, but even after scholarships and financial aid, she is going to need more than her stepdad can provide. And she's holding a few cards that just might get her everything she needs.

Texas Hold 'em is not an easy game to play well. To become an expert you must balance many concepts, some of which occasionally contradict each other. In 1988, the first edition appeared. Many ideas, which were only known to a small, select group of players, were made available to anyone who was striving to become an expert, and the hold 'em explosion had begun. It is now a new century, and the authors have again moved the state of the art forward by adding over 100 pages of new material, including extensive sections on "loose games," and "short-handed games." Anyone who studies this text, is well disciplined, and gets the proper experience should become a significant winner. Some of the other ideas discussed include play on the first two cards, semibluffing, the free card, inducing bluffs, staying with a draw, playing when a pair flops, playing trash hands, desperation bets, playing in wild games, reading hands, and psychology.

Want to play — and win — poker's hottest game? Turn on the TV, drop by a newsstand, or just browse the checkout your local supermarket and you'll see firsthand that Texas Hold 'Em is the poker game everyone's playing. It's a game that's deceptively simple, yet within its easy framework you’ll find truth and trickery, boredom and fear, skill and misfortune—in other words, all the things that make life fun and worth living! Texas Hold'em For Dummies introduces you to the fundamental concepts and strategies of this wildly popular game. It covers the rules for playing and betting, odds, etiquette, Hold'em lingo, and offers sound advice to avoid mistakes. This handy reference guide gives new and even seasoned players winning strategies and tactics not just for playing the game, but for winning. You'll learn: Rules and strategies for limit, no-limit, tournament, and online play How to "play" the other players The importance of your bankroll—recommended sizes and more Hands you should and should not play How to camouflage your play and dodge traps When, who, and how to bluff How to maximize your win with check-raising and trapping The different approaches for playing in private games, casinos, card rooms, tournaments, and on the Internet How to use mathematics to your advantage Texas Hold 'Em is a game of both skill and chance. But it's a game that can be beaten, and whether you want to make money, sharpen your game, or just have a good time, Texas Hold 'Em for Dummies will give you the winning edge.

Poker star Dusty Schmidt presents his first book [¬" one that stands to shake up poker in the same way Moneyball did for baseball. Schmidt offers an inspiring look at how in just five years, he went from not knowing a thing about poker to netting a seven-figure annual income. Far from a mathematical or technological genius, Schmidt says what guides him through is a fundamental understanding of business. Treat Your Poker Like A Business provides a foundation upon which all poker will be evaluated in the future, and will help an entire generation of poker players evolve their games into empires. A consummate "grinder," Dusty Schmidt has played nearly 7 million hands of online poker over more than 10,000 hours during his five-year career. He's won over $3 million during that period, and has never experienced a losing month. In 2007, he achieved Poker Stars' SuperNova Elite status in just eight months while playing high-stakes cash games exclusively. Schmidt posted the world's highest win rate in both 5/10 NL and 10/20 NL in both 2007 and 2008. In a four-month period between Nov. 2007 and Feb. 2008, Schmidt won in excess of $600,000 in high-stakes cash games. He is now a highly respected instructor at Stoxpoker.com, and plays as high as 25/50 NL. As a young man, Schmidt was a top-ranked golfer. He broke two of Tiger Woods' junior records, and was the leading money winner on the Golden States Tour when, at age 23, he suffered a career-ending heart attack. Schmidt returned to golf in 2009, winning medalist honors in qualifying for the Oregon Amateur Championship. Later that year, Schmidt famously represented himself in federal court in his suit against the United States Golf Association, which controversially stripped him of his amateur status, in part due to his poker profession. Schmidt is now a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Oregon's men's golf team, working under his good friend, Head Coach Casey Martin. Schmidt is also a successful entrepreneur. He is part-owner of Stoxpoker.com and Imagine Media, and the creator of 10thGreen.com, the first social network for golfers. His story has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Card Player, Poker News, Golf Magazine, Fairways and Greens, Golf Week, Golf World and the Portland Oregonian, as well as on ESPN, cnn.com, wallstreetjournal.com, forbes.com, fortune.com, espn.com, golfdigest.com and golf.com, among many others. He recently founded the House of Cards Project, a philanthropic effort to provide food and shelter to disadvantaged families. His life story will be told in the book [¬Raise: The Impossibly True Tale of Dusty Schmidt, [¬? to be released later in 2010. He lives in Portland, Ore., with his wife, Nicole, and daughter, Lennon.

"[This book] ..teaches theoretical sound poker, and thus the ability to create the best-sizings and ranges that will beat the better players ... Many confusing concepts such as overbetting, balancing multiple bet-sizing ranges, donk betting, and check-raising as the preflop raiser are crucial to a player's strategy, despite few players implementing them or talking about them. ..reading this book, you should be able to not only conceptually understand these ideas, but also know how to begin to incorporate them into your game and thereby successfully complete against tough opponents"--Back cover.

Excelling at Tough No-Limit Hold'em Games is a must-have if you have ambitions to move up the stakes. Renowned poker player and leading coach Jonathan Little brings together ten No-Limit experts to provide cutting-edge information for the keen student. All the authors are established coaches for pocarr.com, the prominent backing company. Pocarr has helped numerous players to climb the poker ladder and succeed at the highest levels in events such as the WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) and SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker). Success beyond the lower stakes demands a highly specific skill set. Excelling at Tough No-Limit Hold'em Games will show you how to develop this skill set so you can rise to the top of the game. Topics include: * Quick tips for beating the low stakes games * Adjusting your preflop strategy * When to c-bet (continuation bet) * How to defend against c-bets * Navigating multi-way pots * Basic ICM (Independent Chip Model) and advanced ICM * Medium stacked final table strategies * Strategies to crush live poker Excelling at Tough No-Limit Hold'em Games is the essential guide for anyone who is serious about wanting to succeed at the high stakes and make a significant income from poker.

For anyone from raw beginner to the advanced player, this book shows how to develop a dynamic poker playing style that can be adapted to varying table conditions. Photos.

Spencer Hightower's job is cleaning up other people's messes. And she is damn good at it. Unfortunately, being a supremely organized workaholic, she doesn't always easily meet guys—until Liam Connelly shows up, all high-powered and really, really sexy. Sure, he makes Spencer's pulse thump...but he's also the biggest pain in her professional life. Liam can't believe his lousy luck when he learns that Spencer is his opposition in a high-profile scandal. She's the best at what she does and the worst possible opponent. Of course, a little professional animosity can't hurt a guy's chances for a date, can it? Even as Spencer tries to keep her distance, their attraction grows stronger...and hotter. But once they cross all kinds of professional—and personal—boundaries, the situation snowballs into a disaster that even the great Spencer Hightower can't fix...