This book is actually far shorter than it would first appear because the bulk of the book is taken up simple method of breaking down the probabilities/odds is really great for anyone without an extensive understanding of how odds/probabilities in poker hands are calculated because it really breaks it down in an easily understandable step-player who takes the probabilities calculations to heart and uses them appropriately.

The poker world needs more books like Practical Poker Math. This book made difficult topics like odds, probabilities and game theory easy to understand for a beginner like me.

But I almost didn't buy the book because of the review by Herman Jackson and now I'm glad I ignored his review in favor of all the other unanimously favorable ones. And, after having read Practical Poker Math, I know I made the right decision. In Herman's example of the Nut Low, he says the author is talking about flopping a wheel when plainly the author is talking about flopping the nut low to a random board i.e., to a board of 6,7,8,J,J an A2xx is indeed the nut low hand and it is not a wheel. This obvious distortion of the author's intent caused me to look for other reviews he'd done. It seems suspicious that for another odds book (where he was the only reviewer) he gave it a great review while distorting the presentations in Practical Poker Math. Makes me wonder about Herman's hidden agenda.

Anyway, I for one got great value from Practical Poker math and give it 5 stars. I loved the tables and presentation and already it's helped my game as much or more than any other poker book.

I started playing poker with some friends about 1 1/2 years ago. After going through a learning curve I was winning more than I was losing. I then thought I'd try online poker and found that the caliber of players was higher than I was used to and realized I needed to improve my chances. I happened upon Pat Dittmar's book Practical Poker Math and thought I'd take a look at it. I'm a computer professional and the book struck a chord with me because it's very logical. It also doesn't get so complicated that you lose interest and put it aside. After putting some of Dittmar's ideas into play I soon found I was holding my own with the online players. As I get more disciplined about sticking to the math and not letting my adrenaline carry me away I'm winning more and more. This book has paid for itself many times over.