Is SSH the best book for the micros???

[HouseCalls]

Alright, I'm pretty new to this, but I have a question. I have always assumed that SSH is the Bible of the micros, but being a newbie I have very recently started playing at PS .10/.20 with Poker Tracker and Poker Aces HUD turned on. The stats I've seen from the tables have really surprised me.
First these games are not as loose as the loose games preflop guidelines in SSH require. Most games I've been in have been between 3 and 5 to the flop on average and it seems very unusual to see 7 or more players to the flop listed for any game when I look at the stats in the lobby. Just based on this it seems that the games are toward the tight end of what SSH is discussing.
In the games I tend to find a fairly even mix: about 1/2 rocks, fish, and calling stations but also about 1/2 TAG, TPA, SlLPA etc.
I'm wondering if these are really the games SSH was designed for or does becoming more familiar with HEPFAP even at these low limits make sense.
What do you think??

[MrWookie47]

This has been discussed extensively before. Yes, SSH is still best. Rocks still suck post flop. However, HPFAP has some great material that applies at all levels, so read it too. Learn which is which. SSH's preflop chart is far from eveything, and if you're good postflop, you can play looser against bad players, even tight ones.

[silencio]

I think Ed wrote book while playing live small stakes games. These are much looser than the average online game you will find today. His advice is still top notch. Luckily, when he suggests plays that you should only make when 7 players see the flop, he mentiones that you should only do it if 7 players see the flop.

I read several posts from people here who said that after reading SSH their results worsened. The improtant thing to understand is why you make the play that you do and not doing it like a robot. Concentrate on the concepts and adjust for your table's playing style

HEPFAP was written towards thinking players who play against thinking players. A lot of the advice there does not fit for the micro limits because most micro players don't think about your cards, they only care about their cards. Misusing some of the fancy plays there is not recommended at the micros.

This book gave me immediate results...as in same day results. If you can take away and understand all of the concepts in this book you will be "Winning Big With Expert Play".

When I first read SSH I went out and quickly lost more money than I would care to admit. I thought Miller Sklansky and Malmuth were a bunch of con men who wrote some crappy book to take more money from me. However, A friend recommended Getting Started in Hold em by Ed Miller and I think it was the greatest book I have read on poker.

If you are having trouble successfully incorporating the concepts of SSH you would do well to read GSIH, playing a few weeks and then rereading SSH.

[ QUOTE ]
When I first read SSH I went out and quickly lost more money than I would care to admit. I thought Miller Sklansky and Malmuth were a bunch of con men who wrote some crappy book to take more money from me. However, A friend recommended Getting Started in Hold em by Ed Miller and I think it was the greatest book I have read on poker.

If you are having trouble successfully incorporating the concepts of SSH you would do well to read GSIH, playing a few weeks and then rereading SSH.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is exactly what I did. I read GSIH 3X mixed in with playing and posting and when I was comfortable I did/am doing the same with SSH.

MrWookie
After reading GSIH & SSH what would book would be recommended to read next: HEPFAP or TOP? (taking into account the player is only a micro-limit player)

[NateDog]

[ QUOTE ]
MrWookie
After reading GSIH & SSH what would book would be recommended to read next: HEPFAP or TOP? (taking into account the player is only a micro-limit player)

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd reccomend reading SSH again. I have TOP and HPFAP, and some of the topics are pretty complex and will have you doing things at a micro table that are not as correct as the same sitiuations as they are applied in SSH. (The AQ differences for example IIRC). I would tend to refer you to King Yao's book or Feeney's, as they are a little more 'practice' and a little less theory.

As you progress, absolutely get the whole dang library and read/re-read them all. Your game will evolve naturally and the concepts that you gleam with find their way into your game.

[MrWookie47]

I'd probably go with TOP. I haven't finished Yao's book, but that's decent as well. However, you're going to want to read the SH section of HPFAP sooner or later.

Thanks NateDog & MrWookie

[ QUOTE ]
As you progress, absolutely get the whole dang library and read/re-read them all. Your game will evolve naturally and the concepts that you gleam with find their way into your game.

[/ QUOTE ]
This cannot be overemphasized. You will not absorb all the key concepts in any one book after one reading (or two or three, for that matter). I've read SSH three times cover-to-cover so far, and I've picked up large patches of info I missed the first two times. Also, do the hand quizzes every so often.

I'm reading the SH chapter of HPFAP now (clever cover, BTW, with the 83o river suckout and the gun), and will probably start from the beginning once I move up to 3/6.

[Felipe]

*grunch*

yes..it is.

now to take a look at the replies (or not)! /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Greg J]

King Yao's book (Weighing the Odds in LHE) IMO compliments SSHE very well. I think it actually approaches the quality of SSHE (it could be a 2p2 book -- it's that good). TOP is the best book on poker probably ever written. Both are must haves.

[Reqtech]

Yes, SSHE is really the best book once you know the basic mechanics of poker. Don't expect to find loose (as defined in SSHE) tables online above the nano-limits, though...they pretty much don't exist online (though they are definitely around in B&M).

I'll go ahead and disagree with TOP being next, though. I feel that it's HEPFAP due to its shorthanded section which is where all the action is past .5/1. I still need to pick up this weighing the odds book, so I can't comment on that.

My best piece of advice is to:

1) take the number of times you've read SSHE

2) double it

3) repeat /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[silencio]

[ QUOTE ]


I'll go ahead and disagree with TOP being next, though. I feel that it's HEPFAP due to its shorthanded section which is where all the action is past .5/1. I still need to pick up this weighing the odds book, so I can't comment on that.

[/ QUOTE ]

I read several comments that say that the SH section in HEPFAP is outdated/not suited for online poker. Do you agree with that?

[MrWookie47]

Not at all. But you don't want to blindly follow it, either. The SH section introduces a new way of thinking about the situation. It's good to get a new perspective, even if you know that sometimes it doesn't always apply to every opponent. You'd be surprised how much it does, however.

[Reqtech]

[ QUOTE ]

I read several comments that say that the SH section in HEPFAP is outdated/not suited for online poker. Do you agree with that?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm probably not entirely qualified to comment as to whether it is outdated, but it puts the concepts of blind play in an entire new light which was very valuable. There really isn't a whole lot of discussion on what to do on a 5-6 handed game, more towards 2 and 3 handed. The rest of HEPFAP is good though, since SSHE didn't give very much insight into the world of 2 or 3 to the flop which you deal with more often in 6max.

[milesdyson]

janine garafalo's book did wonders for my game

[Reqtech]

[ QUOTE ]
janine garafalo's book did wonders for my game

[/ QUOTE ]

Kinda like how Tolstoy did wonders for your sense of humour?

[milesdyson]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
janine garafalo's book did wonders for my game

[/ QUOTE ]

Kinda like how Tolstoy did wonders for your sense of humour?

[/ QUOTE ]
yes, Bill Tolstoy is a great comedian