Learning Limit after NL

[aesic]

I am looking for a book to teach me the ropes of limit poker. I have played only NL, starting with NL ring games and in the past couple monthes have moved exclusively to NL SnG's. I have been playing poker for almost a year and have played enough so that it is supporting my college spending habits. I have recently become intrested in learning limit poker beacuse I am turning 21 soon so I will be able to play at the local poker rooms. I have read HEPFAP and TOP. I am thinking about getting SSH but am looking for the best book for my situation. Recommendations and reasons for them would be greatly appreciated.

-aesic

[Oblivious]

hefap and sshe are the ones you need.

[aesic]

Any other recommendations or is SSH really the best book for me? Looking for a few more opinions.

Also, what sections of each book are the best. For example, which book has the best PF and post-flop stragey, bluffing information, etc. I know every book has its strong and weak points so I'm wondering what parts to pay particlar attention to and what to take a little lighter.

Since I'm already posting in the books forum I'll ask another question. How important or useful are the quiz/question parts at the end of poker books? When I first started reading them they seemed like repetition of what I just read earlier in the regular chapters so I skipped them. Are they helpful and useful enough to read?

-aesic

[Beavis68]

I was in the same boat as you. I would highly recommend SSH, you already know how to play the big hands and obvious draws if you play NL, SSH is will give you the rest of what you need.

Just from listening to people talk about limit, I thought myself that something like SSH would be a good method for play, so it was nice to see my vague idea written out so specifically be someone that knows what they are doing.

[sammy_g]

I learned limit first. I imagine, though, that someone who played NL before limit might have trouble with two concepts:

(1) In large pots, you frequently have correct odds to chase, even with weak hands like middle pair, gutshot straight draws, and possibly just overcards. In NL, you rarely have odds to do this since the bets are much larger relative to the size of the pot.

(2) You somtimes have to employ creative strategies to protect your hand, such as check-raising or waiting until the turn to raise. In NL, you can simply make a pot-sized bet to wreck others' odds.

SSH talks about both of these concepts in depth, so I think it would be a terrific book for you. If you were able to understand HPFAP, then you should have no trouble with SSH.

[sammy_g]

[ QUOTE ]
Any other recommendations or is SSH really the best book for me? Looking for a few more opinions.

[/ QUOTE ]
You might consider picking up Internet Texas Hold'em (Hilger). It's a good introduction to limit hold'em.

[cowboyzfan]

ITH then SSH

[aesic]

It seems like the decision is between SSH and ITH, which are the two books I was debating between. After reading reviews about ITH in this forum, I have recommended ITH to my friends who are just learning how to play poker/holdem. However, for myself I was thinking that I would get SSH because I have been playing for almost a year, have played extensively and have been "successful" at NL. Is it necesary for me to get ITH first or can I go straight to SSH due to my prior NL experience? Is there anything in ITH that wouldn't be in SSH or something that would be missed if I skipped ITH? Thanks for the replies and information.

-aesic

[cowboyzfan]

I think SSH assumes a pretty high level of limit competence. At least a sound weak tight game as taught by WLLH.

I think if you are new to limit you could learn a heck of a lot from ITH. I have been playing limit for over a year, have read several poker books, and i still learned from ITH.

For me, the most powerful advice was a statemt by SSH's author that ITH plus SSH is better than SSH alone.

[Phat Mack]

If you are a solid NL player, I would recommend Inside the Poker Mind by John Feeney. It's touted as a psychology book, but it's really a mid-limits strategy/tactics book, and will take you step by step through how a top limit player thinks about hands. For a big-bet player, this can be a revelation.

I've touted it to several PL/NL players, and they all liked it.