[Jim Brier]

Hi Everybody!

A few months ago a friend showed me Mr. Hilger's book, "Internet Texas Hold'em". I did not actually sit down and read it in detail, but I was stunned at how similar it looked to "Middle Limit Holdem Poker" by Bob Ciaffone and me. While there had been many books written on limit hold'em, the format and teaching approach we utilized were unique at the time it was published in 2002. I know this to be true because I had read most of the major books on hold'em that were currently available.

But "Internet Texas Hold'em" looked almost identical to our book in terms of the way Hilger described the game, the specific action taken on each hand, and the manner in which the answer was explained. While he does mention our book in passing as "Recommended Reading," he never pointed out that he was utilizing our teaching technique, with its emphasis on practical examples centered around a specific idea, as the basis for his book. Much of the narrative and detailed answers emphasize the same considerations we emphasized in our book like the number of opponents, the texture of the board, and so forth. Most importantly, some of the hands he described looked very similar to the ones we described.

I talked to Bob Ciaffone a month ago about this book. Bob has been very busy and has not had a chance to look at "Internet Texas Hold'em". I doubt that he will be able to find the time in the near future since he is busy with other projects.

In closing, I am not accusing anyone of plagiarism or copyright infringement. I have no problem with other authors utilizing our ideas and approaches. But I do feel that credit should be given where credit is due.

Regards,

Jim Brier.