His book, The Final Table, was on Gareth’s to-do list for a while, and then things lined up perfectly just at the right moment. The result is that aspiring tournament players across the globe have been gifted another poker strategy masterpiece.

As you can guess from the title, The Final Table is all about tournaments or, more specifically, about that last stage of any tournament, where there are only a few people standing between you and the coveted top spot.

James certainly doesn’t lack credentials as a player, so I was eager to read the book. While the topic was clear, I was curious to see how he approaches this extremely important segment of tournament play.

A Proper Tournament Textbook

If you’re looking for some light poker reading, this book isn’t it. Gareth James’ The Final Table feels more like a poker textbook designed to teach you everything you need to know about the final stage of any tournament. Some people may love this approach, and some may not, but it boils down to what you’re looking for. If your goal is to significantly improve your final table strategy, this book can definitely get you there.

What I really liked is that James makes no assumptions about his readers and thus makes sure the book is useful to everyone. The first part breaks down all the important theoretical concepts, such as ICM, risk premium, and bubble factor, offering detailed explanations and hand examples of each.

Even if you have no knowledge of poker theory and only play poker recreationally, you won’t feel lost reading this book. The first few sections set up the foundation for the lessons to follow, and you’ll be able to keep up.

At the same time there are a lot of examples and detailed calculations for different spots for more advanced players. These are useful on their own, but are also a great resource to help you come up with more examples to think about.

After laying down the groundwork, James continues to build upon it, combining ICM with postflop strategy, focusing on different board textures and situations involving different positions and stack sizes.

This is where things start to get more serious, as you’ll come across many tables, calculations, and breakdowns, and the only way you’ll profit is if you take the time to really read and understand them. Using a poker tool that lets you set up hands and play through them is probably a good idea here. It will allow you to visualize the concepts being discussed in the text, making it easier to remember the examples and making the learning process more engaging.

I was quite pleased to see that an entire segment of The Final Table was devoted to those final tables where you’re still not in the money. While this is not a situation that most players think of when discussing final tables, it happens quite often in small-field tournaments. So, if you happen to play a lot of these, this section will be very helpful.

READ ALSO: Course Review: Train and Play Like the Pros by Gareth James

Teaching Through Examples

There are many different approaches to teaching poker, and all of them have their good and bad sides. For his book, Gareth James decided to teach through examples of actual hands, breaking them down and offering solver-approved solutions for various situations.

You’ll get every segment of play covered in detail in its own section, from the start of the final table, with eight to ten players, all the way to the final skirmish. Every single example can help you learn something. However, this only works if you really apply yourself. Just skimming through the hand history and analysis will do you no good. There are a lot of numbers in there, so you will want to pause and really think about it all.

I don’t suggest trying to read The Final Table in one sitting. In fact, I don’t suggest trying to “read” it at all. Instead, I’d say it’s much better to treat this tome as a proper textbook. The first few chapters, can be read in one or two sittings. This will help get your fundamentals in order, especially if you don’t have a good theoretical poker background. Once the book moves on to actual examples, the best way to proceed is to take the time to go through a few hands and really think about what you’re reading.

You’ll find hundreds of hand charts and tables inside this book, and it’s impossible to memorize these in one or two sittings. Or, at least, it’s impossible for most people. If you happen to be someone who can do it, you probably have a very bright future in poker.

But even more than that, a methodical approach will help you develop a deeper understanding of  the advice and suggestions make sense, even if they seem counter-intuitive at first. Developing a deep understanding of the concepts will serve you much better in the long run than mechanically memorizing some charts.

Should You Read The Final Table?

If you enjoy reading and learning poker through books, I’d argue that The Final Table is worth your time for the introductory section alone. Gareth James does an excellent job of explaining some crucial concepts that will definitely change the way you approach tournament final tables.

As for the rest of it, you can really pace your study however you want. The hand examples provided inside the book are “evergreen,” so they’ll be just as relevant a couple of months from now or even a year down the line.

You can always combine hands from different segments, too, if you want to gradually improve all aspects of your play (three-hand, five-handed, etc.) instead of focusing on just one area before moving to the next one.

If you’re looking for purely fun poker content, you won’t find much of that inside The Final Table. Gareth’s style is very detailed and methodical. But as a resource for learning to play final tournament tables, this book delivers in every way.

To have entered the contest, all one needed to do was enter their contact details and register for the Shop.WSOP.com mailing list. Among the thousands who entered, it seems like Linda was really “Lady Luck”. In addition to winning two tickets and have front row seats on July 20-22 as poker’s world champion is crowned, she also won $1,000 to put towards travel – a nice extra bonus!

I got in touch with Linda to ask her some questions about winning the tickets to watch the WSOP Main Event Final Table. Let’s all live vicariously through her; I hope you enjoy this short winner’s interview.

How did you first hear about the contest?

Well, actually, my husband and I were planning  getaways  during summer break. We looked up things happening in Las Vegas, as well as looking at rooms at any of the Caesars Entertainment Group of Hotels, and this contest somehow “just popped up”.  I thought, “wouldn’t it be fun to win, and be right in the action?”  I love to not only see how things work, but when you have the opportunity to feel  the energy – it’s great.  So, I entered, and fortunately won.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you first got into poker.

Well,  I’ve lived in Los Angeles most of my life.  I am an educator, and have had the privilege of teaching others about the rich history of Los Angeles. I feel so fortunate to live in such an exciting city and I try to take part in whatever the city has to offer. We attend concerts, exhibits, festivals, as often as possible.  I live in a high-rise, and feel  the beat of Los Angeles  from my home!  I also appreciate that we are only a few hours driving time to Las Vegas.  Since I was a kid, I loved the shows, the entertainers, the lights, and of course the food. I also love video poker slots,  a trait I inherited from so many relatives.

Have you been to Las Vegas before? The WSOP?

I’ve been to Las Vegas zillions of times! Of course, I still long for “old Las Vegas”, and really hated every implosion of the “classic hotels”.  We did manage to go to some auctions and we have silly memorabilia from the best. With all of that said, I have never attended the World Series of Poker, so you can imagine how excited I am!

Who are your favorite poker players to watch on TV and why?

I enjoy watching poker tournaments on television. I think I take in all the emotional drama being played out at the tables. I do tend to pick a personal favorite and root for them. Sometimes, I disagree with their decisions, but then I realize “what do I know?” But I really do enjoy celebrity tournaments. I’m not so tense and I find them very entertaining. The spontaneous remarks from the commentators – Norman Chad and Lon McEachern – are hysterical and the (recreational) players’ facial expressions are so animated,  in contrast to (those of) the pros.

LISTEN: Interview with Poker Commentator Norman Chad

Who will you be taking with you on your special winner’s trip? How did they react when you told them you had won?

I am taking my husband  with me. Dennis and I are so excited. This opportunity will really be the highlight of our summer.  We are now “prepping” to be familiar with the players so that we can be 100% emotionally involved.  We love excitement and drama,  so to be in the same room – at the WSOP Final Table – is unbelievable!

Listen to our interview with 23rd place finisher Yuval Bronshtein, where he predicts who will win!

Here’s a rundown of the remaining players and their chip counts:

Get Used to Seeing These Guys on TV

Jesse Sylvia                 43,875,000

Andras Koroknai        29,375,000

Greg Merson               28,725,000

Russell Thomas           24,800,000

Steven Gee                  16,860,000

Michael Esposito         16,260,000

Robert Salaburu          15,155,000

Jacob Balsiger             13,115,000

Jeremy Ausmus          9,805,000

Last Women Standing Go Busto

With 27 players remaining to start of Day 7, one of the main storylines was the presence of two women in the field, Norway’s Elisabeth Hille and France’s Gaelle Baumann. They represented the final two of 211 women who had entered the Main Event. Despite the recent bracelet wins of women like Allyn Jaffrey Shulman and Vanessa Selbst, no woman had made the Main Event final table since Barbara Enright back in 1995, when she finished in fifth place. Each year of televised coverage over the past decade has had at least some focus on who would be the “last woman standing”. Some women who come to mind in that regard are Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle, who made deep runs in recent years. Either Hille or Baumann would be the guaranteed headliner if they had managed to make the final table but the fairytale was not to be, as they busted in 11th and 10th place, respectively.

Player Profiles

Of the remaining players, the best known is arguably Greg Merson, who won his first bracelet earlier this year in the $10,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event. His $1.1 million cash in that event, as well as having made the money in two other events during the World Series helped Merson accrue 481 points in the Player of the Year race. Even if he finishes ninth come October, he’ll overtake Phil Ivey at the top of the leaderboard.

The lone non-American left is Andras Koroknai, a 30-year old Hungarian poker pro who won the L.A. Poker Classic in 2010. Aside from him and Merson there are four other professional poker players at the final table: the chip leader (Sylvia) and the short stack (Ausmus), Robert Salaburu and Steven Gee, a 2010 WSOP bracelet winner. Gee is the oldest player left at age 56, while Jake Balsiger is the youngest, at 21. Aside from Balsiger, there are two other amateurs at the final table, in Russell Thomas and Michael Esposito.

The Main Event resumes on October 29th.