Editing in Getting Started in Hold 'Em

[ronniejames]

I should begin by mentioning that I am one of the two people who have proofread all three editions of Don Schlesinger's classic, Blackjack Attack. The significance of this spectacularly uninteresting observation is that Don is the sort of guy who gets exasperated if the third number following a decimal point differs from what appeared in the previous edition. If you miss that sort of thing, or allow a comma to slip by in a spot that cried out for a semi-colon, you can feel the hot breath of his disapproval on the back of your neck. So, when I read in the "Acknowledgements" that Ed Miller is indebted to several very bright people for "their hours of diligent editing and proofreading," I expected fastidiousness in the smallest details and I'm just anal enough to note that they overlooked the misspelling of "Acknowledgments" (trivial, but it's part of a proofreader's job) and wonder how all of them could concur that 6+8=12 (not quite as trivial). Take a look at the discussion of Hand Six-Middle Position (page 80): A four-player pot contains a little over six big bets. The turn has produced a King, the four-outer that fills the straight that you, the reader, were drawing to. Ed writes: "The preflop raiser bets. Both players call. You raise. Everyone calls. The pot contains 12 big bets now." This book is intended for complete beginners. What happens when one of them starts counting on his fingers--uh, one bet, followed by two calls, that's three altogether; I put in two more, making a total of five; all of my opponents call; that's three more, making a grand total of eight bets, no? Well, yes. Miller finishes the hand by adding three more bets on the river, which, he claims, yields "a 15 big bet pot." Only, it's a 17 big bet pot. If you think I'm nitpicking, then you need to explain what the duties of a proofreader are supposed to be. While we're examining Hand Six, please notice that every item in the chart comparing the number of outs to the break-even pot odds is slightly off. If you have one out, the odds against hitting your hand are, obviously, 46-to-1, not 45-to-1. Everything in Miller's chart assumes 46 unknown cards--fine for river situations, but the context makes it clear that he's talking about the turn. Incidentally, why should a rank beginner find memorizing these charts easier than setting up some simple ratios? Why not explain that you know five cards, the two in your hand and the three on the board, so the next card will be one of the forty-seven you don't know. Compare the number of cards that help to the number that don't and you can always figure out the pot odds. All in all, I highly recommend Ed Miller's book as an excellent primer. He teaches the basic strategy of Hold 'Em, something most authors gloss over, and does it in a clear, methodical manner that novices will be able to comprehend. I just wish that someone had taken the trouble to catch a few of the gremlins that plague every manuscript.