Question #2 - Going to Vegas in 9 Days

I will be playing in low limit games... 3-6/5-10.


If I follow the advise in Lee Jones book; Wining Low Limit Hold'em, will that be a good idea? Are my chances of winning pretty good or is the book inaccurate?


I also have Sklansky and Malmuth's; Hold'em Poker For Advanced Players. I've read the chapter on Low Limit games.


What are your recommendations as to what would be the most advantageous and profitable material (and topics) for me to learn in order to (possibly) walk away with some money?


I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING IS... with only 9 days until my trip, where would be the best place to spend my learning efforts?


I know these questions are a tall order, so any comments and opinions will be GREATLY appreciated.


Kindly,


Ezinestein

I have some advice that you might find helpful


1. For now don't bother with holdem for advanced players. It is a terrific book, but much of the information is to be used against players who pay attention to how you play. At the lower limits the best way to win is to play your hands in a very straight foward manner. Spend time with that book after your trip.


2. If you have already read Low Limit by Lee Jones, you should spend your free time the next few days rereading it. This book will teach you a solid technique to beat the low limit games. I started with that book to build my bankroll in the low limit games (and havent played with my own money since). Over the next few days study the concepts until you are comfortable with them.


3. If you want to do some more reading give More Holdem execelence by Lou Kreiger. It will give you more of the same solid info that you got from jones, but will give you some helpful big picture info in the later chapters. If you do read this, only do so after you have really understood the info in Jones book


4. I THINK THIS IS MY MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE TO YOU. When you are playing you have to keep in mind how you make money in poker. What I mean by this is that you win money in poker by putting your self in situations where you are putting money in the pot with positive expectaions. Betting when you have hands before the flop that are strong in the position you are playing them in, and betting after the flop when you have either a strong hand, or a hand that is drawing to a strong hand. Assuming that you are taking a vacation for a week, you need to keep in mind that you could play perfect textbook poker for the whole time and loose quite a bit of money. (here comes the adivce). If you find this happening it is crucial that you keep your hand standards up. Not playing substandard hands when you are running bad could be the difference between loosing %500 for the week or $2000. . Remember, Poker is a game that the score is kept in the long term (years).


I hope this info is some help to you. Enjoy your vacation.


-Brad


P.S I dont mean to be a doom sayer, If you follow the books you could also win a few hundred if the cards fall your way.

Brad's post is very good. If you have the 21st Century edition of Hold 'Em for Adv. Players I would re-read the loose games section. Many of those concepts are applicable to low limit Vegas games. Also make sure you have a good grasp on starting hands. Use HPFAP as a guide, especially in terms of relative strength of hands (ie. ATo and 56s are very close in their groupings, play them nearly the same). As Brad said, playing tight will give you a better edge over your opponents.


You might want to consider playing some at IRC poker. Do a search on Google to locate where to download it. Its free but pretty competitive. It can help you see many situations and get a feel for what hands play well under what circumstances. Nothing replaces the value of playing against real people. I have found that IRC is the most competitive free poker online.


KJS