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his starting hand charts for early position suggest that one caller is required to call with 88, 77, KJs and QJs. Am I missing something or is this unecessarily tight? I assume the reason is that each of these hands plays better in a multiway pot, and so having an extra caller means that one is less likely to be isolated

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My take on it is that he wants you to be sure that when you are playing marginal hands, the potential pay-off is there if you hit. Mostly, these hands will lose and are expected to. The reason you call anyway is because of the expected value when a lot of people call.

Say you get someone raising against 88. Heads up, perhaps you will win. But especially if that player raised from early position, you might be facing either a much stronger hand than a pair of 8's or something like AK which has an almost even chance to improve to one. You don't really know, but absent good reads on your opponent, you want to play these mediocre hands for their good potential if you trip up, in which case they become huge favorites. Since they will so often lose, you want to be sure that when you are in a hnad that wins, the pay-off will be great. That's why he wants you to have lots of other people in the pot before you call with this kind of hand.

His book isn't necessarily for new players or low limits at all, though its exceptionally good organization and writing make it ideal for lower limits and new players.

Like most books, you have to adapt. Most books don't count on completely crazy games, and there's really no other way to describe some games. Would you describe someone cold-calling a raise with queen-9 offsuit preflop tight, loose, or just plain crazy? I've seen that kind of thing over and over when I play the low limit games I'm used to.

The only book I've seen that correctly addresses the really crazy games is Ed Miller's Small Stakes Hold'Em book. But it assumes you have a certain amount of poker knowledge and relies on that. Fairly, not unfairly.

Matt Hilger's is the best book I know to get you there. Supplement it with Miller's book and you're seriously golden. But just remember to adapt all the way, think all the way. You just cannot let up for a moment on your thinking about anything. No rule is ever good and no problem is ever solved.

A word about his charts--they're better than Ed's for general play at a wide variety of levels. Start there and expand to include Ed's looseness in your repertoire if your game benefits by it.

Both these books are incredible gifts to slobs like me who wouldn't know their Ace from a hole in the ground. Hilger's can be applied by anyone and will last you well past the lower limits. Miller's can add a lot of refinement to Hilger's ideas and his ideas are key to refining your overall skill as a poker player no matter what limit you are at, but if you apply his ideas by rote and stop thinking, you're in for a world of hurt against better players at even the lowest limits. Hilger's ideas are safer and good for all levels, and can be applied fairly passively. Miller ideas aren't passive in the slightest -- they are the icing on the cake that makes it extra delicious -- but then again, they may throw you into a diabetic coma.