Harrington Poker
Posted By admin On 03/04/22My One Minute Recommendation:
Harrington on Cash Games Volume One scores a 5/10. Players who are new to NLHE cash games will find it initially helpful, especially if they are interested in full ring play. Those who are already moderately successful at cash games will find little of use, especially if they are trying to improve at short-handed online games.
- Dan Harrington won the gold bracelet and the World Champion title at the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold em Championship at the 1995 World Series of Poker. And he was the only player to make the final table in 2003 (field of 839) and 2004 (field of 2,576) considered by cognoscenti to be the greatest accomplishment in WSOP history.
- Dan Harrington Poker Theory - Quick Definitions Of M And Inflection Points Harrington's 'M' is a number which shows your stack size in relation to the blinds and antes (if applicable). It is calculated by dividing your stack by the current total of blinds + antes in play.
Harrington on Hold 'em is a series of poker books about poker strategy, particularly for Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. They were all written by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie and published by Two Plus Two Publishing.
Overview
The original Harrington on Hold ‘Em revolutionized tournament poker, introducing tens of thousands of amateur players to what were then advanced moves and concepts: the continuation bet, the squeeze play, and M, the now-famous ratio of a player’s stack to the blinds and antes. This legacy created unrivaled anticipation for the Harrington on Cash Games (HOC) series, the first two volumes of which were released simultaneously last week.
So are they worth the hype? As with so many questions in no-limit hold ’em (NLHE), the answer is, “It depends.” Players who are new to NLHE cash games will have the most to gain, especially if they are interested in full ring play. Those who are already moderately successful at cash games will find few springboards to improvement, especially if they are interested in short-handed online games.
The books are wisely geared towards fans of tournament books who want to venture into no-limit cash games. Harrington writes primarily about full ring (i.e. 9- or 10-handed) games, and though his examples sometimes suggest otherwise, his advice is most applicable in smaller stakes, passive live games. Again, this makes sense given the implicitly intended audience, but it ought to have been made more clear.
Reading HOC Volume 1 should certainly make cash game novices safer and more confident at the tables. Harrington’s advice steers them clear of common and expensive pitfalls, particularly the perils of playing out of position and overvaluing one-pair hands. Armed with this advice, new players will be able to protect their bankrolls and avoid hemorrhaging money while they learn from the best teacher of all: experience.
This is a double-edged sword, however. Because so much of the advice in HOC Volume I borders on the formulaic and overly cautious, it carries the very real danger of delaying, if not stunting, the growth of advanced no-limit hold ’em skills. Reading an opponent’s hand and manipulating his range, which even 2+2’s David Sklansky has acknowledged as the most important and profitable NLHE skills, are not only lacking from but positively devalued by HOC Volume I.
The result is a manual that, though very good for turning a new player into a reasonably good player, may actually delay that same player’s transition to becoming very good or great. More experienced, higher stakes players, particularly those accustomed to more aggressive short-handed online games, will find little of use, at least in the first volume of the series.
Concepts and Theory
Harrington gets a lot of tricky bits of poker theory right, explaining them concisely but clearly and convincingly. He suggests some analogies and thought experiments that should be very helpful to players who lack a clear understanding of metagame, implied odds, equity, and the way stack sizes affect proper play. Reading these sections of HOC Volume I before starting a session could easily double or triple the educational value of the experience accumulated during that session.
Unfortunately, it will be necessary for the player to supply the experience himself, because Harrington’s practical advice and examples, though numerous, are often misleading and sometimes painfully bad. In his Introduction, for instance, the author analyzes a hand from High Stakes Poker where the players brutally bungle nearly every key decision point. They even violate Harrington’s oft-repeated warnings against overvaluing one pair, not giving opponents enough credit in multi-way pots, and bloating the pot from out of position. Despite all of this, the author concludes that, “This was a great hand, with a lot of excellent decisions by the three main players.”
Part of the problem stems from the fact that Harrington seems confused about the central objectives of the NLHE cash game player and how they differ from those of the tournament player. In the Introduction, he nonsensically asserts that, “in tournament poker, your time horizon is very limited. You need to seize every opportunity as it presents itself or risk getting blinded away. Cash games don’t have that same kind of pressure. They’re much more a game of patience. You don’t need to swing at balls that just graze the strike zone; you can wait for the fat ones that you can blast out of the park.”
To the extent that there’s any truth to this claim, it is owing to the deeper stacks generally found in cash game play, not to any kind of time limitation. A tournament player can gladly felt an overpair in many situations simply because the money already in the pot is so large relative to the money remaining in his stack, not because he won’t have time to find a better opportunity. A cash game player with a similar stack would have no reason to pass on this opportunity, and a deep-stacked tournament player would need to be more cautious with all of his chips that have not yet been wagered.
In the very next section, Harrington offers a much more helpful summary of the key principles at work in NLHE cash games, which he calls “The Strength Principle” (bet strong hands, check middling ones, fold or bluff weak ones), “The Aggression Principle” (betting and raising is generally better than checking and calling), “The Betting Principle” (most good bets will either force better hands to fold, weaker hands to call, or drawing hands to pay too high a price), and “The Deception Principle” (“Never do anything all of the time.”) This is a pretty good introduction to deep-stacked NLHE play, and only the fourth principle is a bit incomplete. After all, many good players manage to be very deceptive while always playing a certain hand the same way simply because they also play very different hands in an identical fashion.
Though Harrington does an admirable job with these “Basic Concepts”, his explorations of these key concepts is ultimately shallow and rudimentary. This is part of what makes it good for beginners, but it is also the reason why more advanced players will have little to gain from this volume. Implied odds, for instance, are absolutely critical to NLHE and ripe for in-depth analysis, but HOC Volume I never gets beyond the elementary definition of ‘how much you stand to win if you hit your hand.’
But implied odds are about more than winning additional bets. They are about equity that can be accumulated on later streets, whether from value betting, bluffing, or all around out-playing an opponent because of a certain card that flopped, turned, or rivered Yet Harrington has little to say about how factors like position and bluff outs can influence the calculation of pot odds.
The second major part of the book focuses on “The Elements of No-Limit Hold ‘Em Cash”, topics like hand selection, pot commitment, and hand reading. Once again, Harrington explains these quite well and occasionally even rises to the level of insightful. A few of his gems may enlighten even some relatively knowledeable readers, as when he rather succintly states that, “By playing a mix of hands, you’re actually reducing your opponent’s implied odds on his speculative hands” or when he says, “you need to be sure that any betting action by you is capable of multiple interpretations by an observant opponent.”
The Tight-Aggressive Strategy
The bulk of the book outlines what Harrington names his “Tight-Aggressive Strategy”. Harrington’s emphasis on practical advice was a much-appreciated hallmark of his tournament series, but there is a reason why the better cash game books of late have focused on theory and principles. Even played full ring, deep-stack NLHE allows for a huge amount of flexibility in the play of any given hand. Nebulous factors such as history, table image, and meta-game can swing a call into a fold or a fold into a raise, but they are notoriously difficult to encapsulate in a playbook.
Harrington is on the right track by introducing a coherent strategy that demonstrates a possible mix of hand ranges in the situations he examines. However, readers rarely get more than a glimpse of the reasoning behind the particular frequencies and combinations he recommends. The author himself admits the haphazard nature of his strategy when he resorts to justifying a certain mix of checks and bets because it “feels about right.” Granted this is not going to be an exact science, but without a much more thorough explanation of how various plays and hands complement each other, the reader gets a recipe rather than a learning tool.
When Harrington does share his reasoning, it’s often disappointing. The fundamental problem is that he rarely argues in terms of equity. He prefers instead to talk about information, pot control, and “taking down the pot”, all of which ought to be subordinate to manipulating an opponent’s range so as to maximize your equity. Presumably hand-reading and equity analysis lie somewhere below the surface when the author indicates that a bet “smells like a bluff” or that it is “too soon to give up”, but he never reveals the warrants for his extra-sensory perceptions.
This flawed reasoning is evident when the author says things like, “A pot-sized bet is large enough to accomplish anything that a bigger bet could accomplish.” Although an overbet may provide as much information as a pot-sized bet and charge draws a good price, the one thing it does not accomplish as well ought to be obvious: putting more money into the pot when you have the best hand! Similarly, there is no intrinsic need to take a moderate but likely best hand to showdown. A bet that exposes you to a raise is not a liability if only hands that have you crushed will make that raise.
Harrington’s reasoning also tends to rely on assumptions about his opponents that will ring false to most players. They are people who fold AQ to a single raise on dry Ace-high flops and let the first person to bet at a paired board take it down, no matter how implausible his line.
As for the strategy itself, it isn’t bad. Pre-flop, Harrington makes some good points about how and why to diversify your ranges. His central premise, that NLHE is about seeing a lot of cheap flops, can’t be true for everyone at the table, but it’s true enough if you’re one of the best. This section also debunks some common myths about pot odds and what hands should be played out of position for a discount.
The section on flop play in heads up pots is the longest in the book, and undeservedly so. Flop play has at least as much to do with how the board texture fits your opponent’s pre-flop range as it does with your own hand, yet Harrington’s analysis always proceeds from the latter. And despite its length, this section barely scratches the surface of possible flop situations. It’s an admirable attempt, but offering practical advice for every situation is simply impossible. Explanation of the decision-making process, which is so much more important, is the inevitable casualty.
This isn’t to say that there is no explanation of the decision-making process- quite the contrary. But as explained above, a lot of important stuff is left out. Covering those details would have been much more useful than a engaging in a precise and minute analysis of a few select flop situations from every angle.
The section on flop play in multi-way pots is both shorter and better. Rather than analyzing examples ad nauseum, Harrington concentrates on the big picture. He repeatedly hammers home his central thesis that play generally should and will be more straight-forward. For this reason, position is especially valuable. And despite what Harrington says, your bets should often be smaller, since the mere act of betting will command more respect.
Conclusion
Harrington reserves turn and river play for Volume II, which severely limits the stand-alone value of this book. Tournament converts will need the most help on these streets, and the fact that these sections complete the Tight-Aggressive strategy, HOC Volume I does not contain a fully playable strategy, even though the outlining of such occupies the bulk of the book.
Ultimately, the author’s preference for practical advice over theoretical discussion makes Harrington on Cash Volume I something of a crutch for beginning players, with all of the good and bad that that implies. It will surely plug some common leaks and keep them out of trouble, which means that smaller stakes games will probably start to get a bit tougher. Because the material on winning NLHE thought processes is so sporadic and flawed, however, this book may actually stunt a reader’s growth at some point and will certainly be of little use to experienced players seeking to improve or to short-handed players of any stripe. They might do well to read it anyway, however, simply to be up on the latest formulaic play likely to invade the NLHE scene.
Dan Harrington is a very talented poker player, who owns two World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title. Although he takes a more conservative approach to the game, he has still been able to find a great deal of success over the years.
Throughout his career, Dan has managed to win a combined total of 6.6 million dollars for live cash tournaments alone, which places him as number two on Massachusetts’ All Time Money List.
Dan Harrington was born on December 6th, 1945 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both of his parents were born in Ireland; his mother was from Waterford, while his father was from Cork. Very little is known about Dan’s childhood other than the fact that he spent a great deal of time honing his chess and backgammon skills. His hard work paid off when he was able to take first place in the 1971 Massachusetts State Chess Championship. He competed in and won many backgammon games as well.
While he was attending Suffolk University, he learned how to play poker. Although he didn’t compete in actual tournaments right away, he would travel to other universities and play against the students there. He would often travel to Harvard, where he once got the opportunity to play against Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who are better known today as the co-founders of Microsoft.
After Dan gained a little more experience, he started travelling to New York City on the weekends to play at the Mayfair Club. The core group of players that were often there besides Dan were Jay Heimowitz, Al Krux, Erik Seidel, and Steve Zolotow. Most of these men decided to dedicate their lives to a career in poker, but Dan wasn’t so quick to jump on that band wagon.
Dan graduated from Suffolk University with a Degree in Government and History; he continued his education and earned a Juris Doctorate. Dan spent the next ten years of his life working as a Bankruptcy Lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts. The job excited him at first, but he quickly grew tired of all the paperwork he had to fill out and he felt completely drained every day of his life. He found himself searching for more, so he started doing the one thing he always enjoyed doing: playing poker.
Dan first entered the World Series of Poker in 1986. Although this would be his first exposure to such a huge tournament, he still managed to place twenty-fourth at the $1500 Limit Hold’em event. The following year, he entered the WSOP again, but this time he was able to place sixth on the No Limit Hold’em Championship. During that tournament, he had the opportunity to play against very accomplished players such as Johnny Chan and Howard Lederer.
Over the next decade, Dan would continue to enter these tournaments and he would continue to land cash finishes. It wouldn’t be until 1995 that he finally caught the break he was looking for, when he won his first gold bracelet on the $2500 No Limit Hold‘em tournament game. Dan used the $250,000 cash prize he won from his tournament to enter that year’s championship event. He knew the competition would be fierce, so he wasn’t expecting to go very far.
However, when he made it to the final table, things started to look promising. He wasn’t the chip leader, but he did have a good understanding of the playing styles of the other competitors. He offered the players a nine-way split of the winnings, but they refused. He was going to have to win this money the hard way. So he continued on with the competition, and slowly but surely the other players started to get eliminated.
Finally it came down to him and Howard Goldfarb, who had twice as many chips as him. Despite being the underdog, Dan won the championship that year through safe plays and strategic planning. He was ironically given the nickname “Action Dan,” even though he’s actually a very tight player.
Winning the WSOP main event gave Dan the confidence he needed to enter other tournaments he was afraid to try before. Just a few months after winning, he travelled to London to compete in the Festival of Poker. Dan was surprised to find he was capable of taking home the first place prize of over $100,000. He would eventually go on to enter other tournaments as well including the World Poker Tour and the Carnivale of Poker.
Dan Harrington took several years off from playing poker to venture into the business world, which we explain in more detail in the section below. When Dan came back, it was like he had never left. He made the final table of the World Series of Poker Tournament in 2003, taking third place out of 839 entrants and $650,000 in prize money. The following year he made it to the final table again, but this time he placed fourth out of 2,576 entrants, earning himself $1.5 million.
Dan didn’t just do well at the World Series of Poker after he returned, but he actually landed several cash finishes at the World Poker Tour as well. In 2007, he accomplished what only few people before him have done. He won the WPT’s No Limit Hold’em Championship Event for the grand prize of $1.6 million dollars, making him the proud owner of both a World Poker Tour title and a World Series of Poker bracelet.
In 2010, Dan Harrington was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame alongside eight time WSOP gold bracelet winner, Erik Seidel. At the time of induction, there were only forty members and only a few people get selected each year. This is a very exclusive group of poker enthusiasts, and being a part of it means that you are one of the best. After the induction ceremony, Dan received a signature glass trophy, which he’ll always have to cherish.
Although Dan would consider himself to be retired, he still makes time to travel to some of the major tournaments. Most recently, he has been travelling to Ireland to compete in PaddyPower’s Irish Open. Dan hasn’t made any significant wins at the tournament, but he just enjoys visiting the area his parents grew up in. He also enjoys exploring the city of Dublin in between poker sessions. In an interview with PokerListings in 2015, Dan said,
Dan didn’t want to just pour all of his winnings back into poker, but he instead wanted to start investing with it. He started his own business called, Anchor Loans, which serves as a mediator for both borrowers and lenders. On average, this company has over 1000 active loans that consistently amount to over $500 million.
Dan would use the profits from this business to invest in the stock market and to buy real-estate. He officially retired from the company in 2010, giving his ownership over to Jeffery Lipton and Steve Pollack. He’s still a majority shareholder to this day, and can give credit to this business for the majority of his wealth.
With the help of Bill Robertie, Dan has written a plethora of poker themed books over the years. These books are packed full of valuable advice from two men who are extremely knowledgeable on the subject. They are known to have set the standard for poker strategy books in the future. Each of these books were published by Two Plus Two Publishing, and they are listed for you below.
Harrington on Hold’em: Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments (Volume I: Strategic Play)
Harrington Poker Room
~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2004)
Harrington on Hold ’em: Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments (Volume II: The Endgame)
~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2005)
Harrington on Hold ’em: Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments (Volume III: The Workbook)
~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2006)
Harrington on Cash Games: How to Win at No-Limit Hold ’em Money Games (Volume I)
~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2008)
Harrington on Cash Games: How to Win at No-Limit Hold ’em Money Games (Volume II)
~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2008)
Harrington on Online Cash Games: 6-Max No Limit Hold ‘em
~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2010)
Harrington Poker Player
Harrington on Modern Tournament Poker: How to Play No-Limit Hold ’em Multi-Table Tournaments
~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2014)
Harrington Poker Tournament
All of these books come highly recommended. Poker News released an article about these series in 2008, saying this in regards to the book series,