[mchilger]

I have received many questions and comments about the book over the last year and am always open to suggestions. Whenever I see that someone didn’t fully understand a particular passage or misinterpreted it then I always go back and see if maybe there is a better way to explain the concept. As a result there have been several small wording changes made over the last year to try and improve how the book reads.

In the first edition there is the following passage, “Trying for free cards works best when there is some chance that your opponents will fold, since you now have two ways for your raise to be successful.” Mason put in his review “The problem here is that buying a free card, as the author points out, is essentially a flop play, and it is very unusual for someone to bet the flop and then fold for one small bet.”

The first thing to realize is that on the page before (p. 62) I list out the main advantages for trying for a free card. The statement on p. 63 is a secondary statement explaining one additional thought to think about in a specific situation. When taken out of context it makes it appear that this was the only situation where I indicate one should try for a free card.

Mason is correct in that it is not common that players will bet and then fold but that doesn’t make my statement an error. Sometimes your opponent will fold and you can win the pot immediately. This chance, although small, could be the difference when you have a borderline decision on whether or not to try for a free card. So I disagree with Mason that the concept is incorrect but his comment made me take a second look at the text to see if it could be more specific or clear.

I therefore changed the text to “Note that whenever there is even a small chance that your opponent might fold with a hand like middle pair you have even more reasons to try for a free card.” The concept has not changed but I just give a more specific example for when it might apply.


Matthew