Limit holdem books- playing overcards.
 

I was sent an email the other day from a guy who is just starting out playing limit holdem online.
He has read the Lee Jones book.

He asked me a question about playing overcards when the flop misses.
I quickly looked around and noticed the advice on this topic is quite sparse (from what I can remember!) considering its a very frequent event.
Lee Jones book says basically forget it and move on.
Middle Limit Poker says almost the same thing.
(I can`t recall what HFAP says because I lent it to someone!)

The best advice by far I found was in SSH by Ed Miller so I advised him to look at the overcards section in SSH which is by far the best I have read on the subject especially for todays internet games.

My question is are there any other limit holdem books which contain better advice than SSH on playing overcards?
Its a tricky topic because its often texture and player dependant.

D.

Re: Limit holdem books- playing overcards.
 

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My question is are there any other limit holdem books which contain better advice than SSH on playing overcards?
Its a tricky topic because its often texture and player dependant.


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SSH is definately the best material on overcards that I have read...

Re: Limit holdem books- playing overcards.
 

My personal opinion is that "Middle Limit Holdem" has the best advice regarding overcards with tons of examples. Yes, some of the plays may be too tight, but they are generally marginal situations in most cases. The overcard examples are good for even a beginning player with knowledge of the mechanics of the game to look through. Ed Miller's book is the best starting place for the general beginner concepts.

Re: Limit holdem books- playing overcards.
 

I think that for the 'obvious' situations MLH gives correct answers but it's wrong on a lot of the close ones.

Re: Limit holdem books- playing overcards.
 

I think the chapter on overcards in Middle Limit Holdem is by far the best treatment of the topic I've seen in any book. Of course, you may need to adjust the specific recommendations if the opponents you play with aren't like those in the book, but that is true for any book.

Re: Limit holdem books- playing overcards.
 

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I think that for the 'obvious' situations MLH gives correct answers but it's wrong on a lot of the close ones.

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Well, in dealing with a marginal situation it is most often better to make a mistake by folding than making a mistake by calling. Typically, we are talking about the early streets of multiway pots here where the possibility of making your hand and still being behind or being outdrawn (given aparticular cited board) tends to make what might be a close call into a fold.
I'm not saying this book is the end all, but I have seen some pretty poor books and articles that fail to take in all the factors when making these decisions. If what you say is true regarding the authors merely being right in the obvious situations, then most 10/20 limit players I have faced online DO NOT make these obvious folds.
Enough can't be said about the power of actual played hands being critiqued. This is a great learning tool, and whether you agree with their decision or not, ity does force you to attempt to see WHY you think they are wrong. Highly recommended.

Re: Limit holdem books- playing overcards. Thanks for the replies.
 

Thanks for all the replies.

I like middle limit hold em a lot but I don`t think much of the overcards section.
Especially relating to the aggressive middle limit online games we have today.
IMHO having the ability to have substantial stats on each player in real time allows you to play overcards fast for profit.
When its shorthanded I am certainly not even thinking about calling with them.
I am thinking raise or fold.

The typical situation online is you have AK-AJ and raise pre-flop and get 1-2 callers out of position.

Most books don`t deal with opponent dynamics much either.

Again thanks for all the comments.

Re: Limit holdem books- playing overcards. Thanks for the replies.
 

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The typical situation online is you have AK-AJ and raise pre-flop and get 1-2 callers out of position.


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This is a situation that we face many time per day. It is hard to cover in a book because it is so dependent on the particular situation--number of opponents, texture of the flop, character of opponents, 6 max vs full ring, blah, blah, blah. In other words, there is no formula for playing overcards. I think SSH, MLH, and playing a couple of hundred thousand hands will make anybody more comfortable playing missed overcards.

Re: Limit holdem books- playing overcards. Thanks for the replies.
 

there is also an interesting treatment of overcards in Internet Texas Hold'Em by Hilger.