Sklanksy's Book - Tournament Poker

Sklansky's Book - Tournament Poker for Advanced Players


I think advanced players already know most of what's in this book. IMHO,

the average or weaker tournament players would benefit far more from

this book than the advanced player. (It's probably a clever marketing

ploy using "Advanced Players" as everyone thinks they play pretty good

and will buy the book quicker.)


The chapter on the Gap is probably the most important but the quizzes

are good as they make you think. My favorite part, though, was the

section on "The System". The System is about Stupak's daughter playing

in the $10,000 buy-in event at the WSOP when she turned 21 - and she

didn't know anything about poker! This section alone is worth the price

of the book.


There was one example about hands you would play in a live game but not

a tournament, however, that suprised me. You raise in RAZZ holding a

6-5-2 and get one caller. On fourth street, you catch a ten and your

opponent catches a Jack. David recommended you check in a tournament

here.


I would venture that if you watched ten top players play this hand that

at least eight of them would bet this hand on fourth street. I just

can't see top players checking this hand on fourth street. (And I would

bet they wouldn't.)


Mike Sexton

I think the idea is that many "advanced" players haven't played much tournament poker and can get filled in on the details.


On the other hand none of the other tournament books I have seen seem useful at all so it probably is the most advanced tournament book out there.


What kinds of things do you think are missing from it? Or is there just not that much to tournaments, separate from the game itself, that there can be an advanced book.

D.

RAZZ: n.

1) theoretical tool used by sklansky to show "real-world" examples of giving up small edges for other small edges.


I imagine he's talking about reducing variance in a tournament at the expense of tiny EV losses?


He also whips it out in TOP for playing with no ante (the guy playing three-card 4s and 5s beating the guy that only plays A-2-3) and in HEPFAP (don't reraise with a 3 card 6 when a fish raised into you with a 7 showing- if the pot gets big enough, his chasing won't be incorrect any more)


Seems razz has found it's calling as an example rather than a live game!


2ndGoat