The Middle Zone; Mastering the Most Difficult Hands in Hold'em Poker

by Annie Duke, John Vorhaus

So often in Texas hold’em poker, you just don’t know where you stand. Do you have the best hand? The worst? Within the great gray area between the stone nuts and a pure bluff it’s often hard to tell. But take heart, because in this innovative new poker single, Annie Duke and John Vorhaus dive deep into the murky decision space of the middle zone, show you what it is, how to avoid it, and what to do if, alas, you step in something sticky.

In The Middle Zone, you’ll learn…

• How to forecast your prospects for a hand
• How to sidestep pot-size mistakes
• How to win pots that don’t belong to you
• How to turn accidental bluffs into intentional ones

The middle zone is one of hold’em’s most common decision spaces – and one of its most commonly misplayed. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Just read and study The Middle Zone and you’ll walk away with a simple, reliable strategy for navigating this tricky space effectively on hand after hand, and turning a cloudy poker situation into a clear – and clearly profitable – one instead.

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Annie is the co-founder of The Alliance for Decision Education, a non-profit whose mission is to improve lives by empowering students through decision skills education. She is also a member of the National Board of After-School All-Stars and the Board of Directors of the Franklin Institute. In 2020, she joined the board of the Renew Democracy Initiative.

Reviews

[Matt Cannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't play poker, but I am appreciative of the mechanics and psychology of it. This "book" (guide) does a great job of explaining proper approaches to the "middle zone". This is where you know you don't have the worst hand or the best hand. The little bit of knowledge I have with poker recognizes that matches can go either way. I like how she emphasizes the randomness of every hand and she stays away from having the book being a step by step, do this then do that type of guide. She covers the conceptual thought process on how to approach things from a macro level, which I found to be very helpful.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a huge fan of "Decide to Play Great Poker" and Duke & Vorhaus deliver here again. It's clear, well-written, and tackles one of the trickiest problems in poker. Shorter than a book, but longer than an article, this offers some great ideas for the price of a big blind in many games. Looking forward to the next in this series...

[obs20 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim. I am not much of a poker player but I do find the game fascinating. this work discusses situations when you are unsure of the strength of your hand, which is a common predicament for most of us.

[Angela McVay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book while I cleaned my bathrooms. It was helpful in determining on where I stand in a poker hand. It's easy to figure out when I have the worst or the best hand. But what do you do in the middle zone? I found the tips to be helpful and hope it helps to improve my game.

[Allan Van]

Some good fundamentals explained