Mason, Are your Book Reviews all in on place somewhere?

[AmericanAirlines]

Hi Mason,
Are your Book reviews all in one place somewhere that I could link to?

Sincerely,
AA

P.S. Have an opinion of Brier and Caifonne's Middle Limit Holdem Book?

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi AA:

My reviews are contained in an appendix in my book Gambling Theory and Other Topics. However, the most recent edition of thes book is 1999. So the I have posted as I produce them any new reviews -- more recent than 1999 -- on this forum. Below is my review of the book you asked about.

best wishes,
Mason

Middle Limit Holdem Poker (6 + or - 2) by Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier. This is a very extensive and detailed text on how to play hold ’em. As the title says, it is designed for middle-limit play (which usually means $10-$20 thru $30-$60) where many tough players can be found, but where significant money can be won by experts. The book includes discussions on how to play in many situations and over 400 hand problems.

For those of you who already have a pretty good understanding of how to play well, you may find this book extremely valuable. The hand problems will essentially be good practice away from the table, and you can debate with the authors as to whether their solutions and advice are the best strategies to follow, and this debate should prove quite valuable.

Unfortunately, that’s also the difficulty with this text. Much of their advice, and answers they give to the sample problems, I find somewhat questionable. For instance, while they seem to be too tight in many spots, they call too many raises in my opinion before the flop. Usually these are hands that I would fold, but sometimes they are hands that I feel should be reraised. For example, I consider it to be routine strategy to reraise an early or middle position player with ace-king. But as you read the hand problems, you will notice that they almost always call here. Another example is their play out of the big blind. Here they state: “Being half way in is a strong incentive to call a single raise from your big blind. Here is how to play against a raise that is not a steal raise. Call with any pair or a suited ace. Call with an A-K, A-Q, A-J, A-T, K-Q, K-J, K-T, Q-J, Q-T, and J-T.” My opinion is that if you routinely call a legitimate raise with many of these hands, and you are against only one or two players, it should prove expensive, especially in tougher games.

Other problems include an over-fixation on avoiding draws that aren’t to the nuts, ignoring implied odds with two cards to come, seemingly unaware that check raising is a necessary tool in limit play, always assuming that your opponents have exactly what they are suppose to have, and the examples don’t usually indicate what your opponent might be putting you on.

There is one problem with their advice I find a little more troublesome, and it made this book very difficult to rate. By my count there are just over 100 hands where the authors say to fold. I question many of these folds. There are also a fair number of hands where the authors say to call where I consider raising a reasonable alternative. Now when I question, it doesn’t mean that Ciaffone and Brier have it wrong, or even that their advice is wrong the majority of the time (in these spots). But it does mean, to me, that their propensity to constantly attempt to save bets, especially when the pots are large, could eventually cause those who follow this advice some problems.

Put another way, if you are unknown to your opponents and play like they describe, you will probably have no difficulty. But as you become known, some of your opponents should begin to exploit this flaw, and your ability to win should begin to fall off. In fact, if and when I feel someone plays as the authors describe, I’ll work an extra bet or raise in every now and then. If enough people begin to do this, and this should eventually happen to a regular player, some pots that should be yours will be taken away from you, and your overall results should deteriorate.

So this brings us to the rating. If you understand this flaw and are able to work around it, this book is much better than a 6 and has a great deal of value. If on the other hand, you are relatively new to poker, or just don’t grasp the flaw very well, a 6 is being generous.

[DeliciousDi]

Hi Mason
If you have a moment! I would like to order some books - please tell me what to order for Tournament Hold'em, Intermediate Hold'em and Advanced Hold'em. Thank you.

[AmericanAirlines]

Hi Mason,
Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Especially since I don't have sufficient background to judge the work of the author's. They're all beyond my level by light years.

Sincerely,
AA