Tom McEvoy and Brad Daugherty are both WSOP Main Event champions, so the credentials are unquestionable. Their No-Limit Texas Hold’em is aimed squarely at beginners getting into tournament play — and at that specific job, it’s solid if not spectacular.
McEvoy won the 1983 Main Event (the first satellite qualifier to do so) and Daugherty took the 1991 title. Between them, that’s nearly $5 million in combined live earnings and decades of tournament experience. The authority is there — the question is whether the book delivers on it.
What’s Inside
Betting fundamentals
The book opens with the basics of no-limit play and a section on proper betting patterns. This is more important than it sounds — anyone who’s played low-stakes tournaments has seen players make minimum preflop raises after four people have already limped. McEvoy and Daugherty explain why this is wrong and what to do instead.
Hand-by-hand position play
The next section details how to play specific hands from specific positions. For beginners, understanding that the same hand plays differently from early position vs. the button is a critical breakthrough. The authors are thorough here, covering overvalued hands like Ace-rag and small pocket pairs — the two biggest leaks in beginner tournament play.
What’s missing
The biggest gap: no ring game advice. The book is purely tournament-focused, and with cash games becoming increasingly popular online, the absence feels like a missed opportunity. Experienced players may also find the material too basic — but that’s by design.
The Review
Some readers complain this book is too simplistic. That misses the point entirely. It’s supposed to be simple. New players need simple. Experienced players who are still making fundamental mistakes — and there are more of those than anyone likes to admit — need simple too.
The hand selection advice is thorough, the betting guidance is practical, and the overall philosophy is sound: play tight, bet with purpose, respect position. If you’re coming from limit poker or have never played a tournament before, this covers exactly what you need to know.
Being simplistic for new players isn’t a flaw — it’s a feature. The fundamentals in this book will prevent the most common and most expensive mistakes that new tournament players make. Master these basics first, then graduate to Harrington.
Where the book falls short is depth. Once you’ve internalized the basics — which won’t take long — there’s not much to come back to. Compare this to Harrington on Hold’em, which rewards rereading for years. McEvoy and Daugherty get you started; Harrington takes you the rest of the way.
About the Authors
Tom McEvoy
Born in 1944 in Michigan, McEvoy was the first player to win the WSOP Main Event via a satellite qualifier (1983). With $3 million in live tournament earnings and 14 poker books to his name, he’s one of the most prolific author-players in poker history. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2013. His writing career started with Tournament Poker in 1995, and he’s published steadily ever since.
Brad Daugherty
Born in 1951 in Missouri, Daugherty discovered poker in high school in 1969 and moved to Reno in 1978 to play professionally. His breakthrough came in 1991 when he won the WSOP Main Event for $1 million. Apart from this book, he co-authored Championship Satellite Strategy with McEvoy.
No-Limit Texas Hold’em is a competent beginner’s guide written by two Main Event champions. It does what it sets out to do: teach the fundamentals of tournament no-limit to new players. The advice is sound, the credentials are impeccable, and the writing is accessible. It just doesn’t go deep enough to be essential once you’ve moved past the basics. A good starting point, not a lasting reference.