02-10-2002, 11:31 PM
This is my review of Ciaffone and Brier's "Middle Limit Holdem Poker," for what it's worth, which is not much obviously, but I figure what the heck. I just finished reading this book the first time through this weekend.
What can I say, I really love this book. I think it is INVALUABLE for a hold 'em player. I have read all the "standards" like HPFAP, TOP, etc., and in my opinion if you are serious about hold 'em you would be foolish not to buy this book. As far as organization goes it is organized into the standard Preflop, Flop, Turn, and River sections, but as the authors point out, what separates this book from others is the huge volume (over 500) of practical examples they have for all of the sections and topics. for instance, they will have a chapter titled "Introduction to Flop Play," where they will go over their general thoughts and guidelines about flop play, but then after that have a few dozen "problems" or hold 'em hands illustrating their points, where you are asked what to do in a certain situation and then they give their answer for what they think you should do and their reasons behind it. As they point out, it is much more instructive to have concrete, specific examples illustrating a given strategy such as check raising, then to just be fed the strategy and some general comments about when and when not to implement it. That is what sets this book apart from others that I have read, the specific examples that they have. These make you think more about the proper strategy and force you to apply it. For me it also was rather humbling to realize how far I yet have to go. I would read one of their problems and think of what I thought was the right answer, and then after reading theirs wince and say, "son of a b****!" They consistently point out things that I did not even think of. This is a good way to chart your progress if you refer frequently to the book; their are too many examples to memorize the answers to all the problems, and as you get more accomplished you should notice that you tend to get a higher volume of answers correct. Conversely if you think you are hot stuff when you aren't, these "problems" can be pretty sobering. This book is very dense and has no illustrations of hands or cards, etc, it is all text. It is very much a textbook.
As far as weaknesses, though only thing that I can see people complaining about (aside from some minor strategy quibbling over a few of the answers to the hands they give), is that they tend to not gear it too much toward varying your play to your opponent. In the introduction they say that they assume opponents that play pretty typically, "our book is for the center, not the poles," I believe they say. This book is a comprehensive guide to strategy againts typical middle limit opponents as the authors' see them, not strategies against extreme players at either end of the spectrum. For specific strategy changes geared toward unusual opponents it is probably better to refer to HPFAP and Inside the Poker Mind. This book (Ciaffone/Brier book) is not concerned too much with the psychology of the game or reading opponents, it is concerned with other technique. There are no sections on psychology or reading opponents.
Perhaps this is because Ciaffone has said in the that his strength as a poker player is his knowledge of technique, and not his ability to read other players. This would certainly explain the approach of this book. My own opinion from watching others play is that many focus too much on the psychology and trying to read their opponents, when they have not even nailed down solid technical skills. I think this is like trying to run before you can walk. You can be a better than average reader but if you have lousy pre and post flop technical skills that is a problem. Reading that someone has you beat is not much help, you would have been better off if you would have known enough not to have been in the pot in the first place. But I digress. Anyway don't read this book thinking it will make you a better reader of other players, read it to improve and hone your technical skills. I have never read a poker book as comprehensive at doing that as this one.
As far as the inevitable comparisons to HPFAP goes, in my opinion (again not worth much of course, but it's just waht I think), these 2 books are on the same level. I think it is foolish to read one without the other though, as they cover the material in different ways that are both hugely insightful and compliment each other. What you can't find in one, I believe you can find in the other. I don't think you can have too many great books, and this one is definitely a must read if you are serious about hold 'em at all, no matter what limit you are playing at.
Tim
What can I say, I really love this book. I think it is INVALUABLE for a hold 'em player. I have read all the "standards" like HPFAP, TOP, etc., and in my opinion if you are serious about hold 'em you would be foolish not to buy this book. As far as organization goes it is organized into the standard Preflop, Flop, Turn, and River sections, but as the authors point out, what separates this book from others is the huge volume (over 500) of practical examples they have for all of the sections and topics. for instance, they will have a chapter titled "Introduction to Flop Play," where they will go over their general thoughts and guidelines about flop play, but then after that have a few dozen "problems" or hold 'em hands illustrating their points, where you are asked what to do in a certain situation and then they give their answer for what they think you should do and their reasons behind it. As they point out, it is much more instructive to have concrete, specific examples illustrating a given strategy such as check raising, then to just be fed the strategy and some general comments about when and when not to implement it. That is what sets this book apart from others that I have read, the specific examples that they have. These make you think more about the proper strategy and force you to apply it. For me it also was rather humbling to realize how far I yet have to go. I would read one of their problems and think of what I thought was the right answer, and then after reading theirs wince and say, "son of a b****!" They consistently point out things that I did not even think of. This is a good way to chart your progress if you refer frequently to the book; their are too many examples to memorize the answers to all the problems, and as you get more accomplished you should notice that you tend to get a higher volume of answers correct. Conversely if you think you are hot stuff when you aren't, these "problems" can be pretty sobering. This book is very dense and has no illustrations of hands or cards, etc, it is all text. It is very much a textbook.
As far as weaknesses, though only thing that I can see people complaining about (aside from some minor strategy quibbling over a few of the answers to the hands they give), is that they tend to not gear it too much toward varying your play to your opponent. In the introduction they say that they assume opponents that play pretty typically, "our book is for the center, not the poles," I believe they say. This book is a comprehensive guide to strategy againts typical middle limit opponents as the authors' see them, not strategies against extreme players at either end of the spectrum. For specific strategy changes geared toward unusual opponents it is probably better to refer to HPFAP and Inside the Poker Mind. This book (Ciaffone/Brier book) is not concerned too much with the psychology of the game or reading opponents, it is concerned with other technique. There are no sections on psychology or reading opponents.
Perhaps this is because Ciaffone has said in the that his strength as a poker player is his knowledge of technique, and not his ability to read other players. This would certainly explain the approach of this book. My own opinion from watching others play is that many focus too much on the psychology and trying to read their opponents, when they have not even nailed down solid technical skills. I think this is like trying to run before you can walk. You can be a better than average reader but if you have lousy pre and post flop technical skills that is a problem. Reading that someone has you beat is not much help, you would have been better off if you would have known enough not to have been in the pot in the first place. But I digress. Anyway don't read this book thinking it will make you a better reader of other players, read it to improve and hone your technical skills. I have never read a poker book as comprehensive at doing that as this one.
As far as the inevitable comparisons to HPFAP goes, in my opinion (again not worth much of course, but it's just waht I think), these 2 books are on the same level. I think it is foolish to read one without the other though, as they cover the material in different ways that are both hugely insightful and compliment each other. What you can't find in one, I believe you can find in the other. I don't think you can have too many great books, and this one is definitely a must read if you are serious about hold 'em at all, no matter what limit you are playing at.
Tim