How good is your Pot Limit Omaha by Stewart Reuben

[Al Mirpuri]

I just purchased this on the strength of Reuben's collaboration with Ciaffone (Pot Limit and No Limit Poker).

For those who have not read it, it is an extended quiz format book with analysis(the quality of the analysis seems okay but will have to read it from cover to cover to fully comment upon it).

Do people have any opinions on it?

[clovenhoof]

Where did you get a copy? According to amazon.com and some other online distributors, it won't be released until July.

'hoof

[Al Mirpuri]

Hi Clovenhoof,

I am posting from the United Kingdom and I got my copy from Waterstone's bookstore (they are a large chain in the United Kingdom).

[crockpot]

the cheapest i could find to get it shipped to the US was about $30 on amazon.co.uk. i'm waiting to see some positive reviews before i shell out that much rather than just waiting for it.

[Al Mirpuri]

I have started reading this and as I am now upto hand 26 (there are 57 hands for analysis) I feel I can comment upon the text.

The book suffers from poor editing (but that is nothing new with poker books). Someone has also cleaned up Reuben's written English. The book veers from very formal English to colloquialisms.

The analysis is somewhat cursory. It should have been deeper. However, Reuben makes it clear that he expects his readers to have read a number of books including Pot limit and No Limit Poker and Omaha Hold'em Poker. This is not a book for beginners.

There is a term from chess, 'justification by annotation' that is if you write the notes then you get to justify your play (no matter how poor it was). As a rule, Reuben does not indulge in this. His play is often poor and he acknowledges it. However, on occasion he fails in this.

Does the book have value? Yes. Is it a great poker book? No.
Should you buy it? Yes - if you are interested in playing pot limit Omaha and have enough grounding in poker theory to sift the wheat from the chaff. Mason Malmuth would probably give it a 7 at most.