Ciaffone's Omaha book

[happyjaypee]

Hi all,

I was about to order Ciaffone's omaha book on amazone when i read the fellowing review:

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I was looking forward to this book on Omaha Holdem for several reasons: a) there are very few books on the game available and b) Bob Ciaffone has written some good books on other forms of poker. But this book gets a thumbs down and here's why:

1) It's way too short at just 106 pages. That just isn't room to even begin to go into Omaha Holdem.

2) There's very little information here: Page one is devoted to the "Popularity of the Game." Page two "The Rules". Page 3 "The Showdown." Pages 4-5 "Origin of Omaha." Pages 6-8 are about community card poker. Pages 9-13 are about betting and the blind structure. Page 14-15 are about learning to read the board in Omaha (you must use 2 cards from yourhand and 3 from the board). Pages 16-18 are about "Should you learn Omaha?". Pages 19-23 are about comparing Omaha and Texas holdem. And remember, this book is only 106 pages long so there's no much left for actual strategy.

3) Pages 91-97 are about tournaments.

4) pages 98-101 are about "Future Ideas for Omaha".

I simply found that there was barely enough information to even get started. For some reason this book is shorter than any of Ciaffone's other books even though Pot Limit Omaha
"represents the ideal form of poker" to the author. I wish there were more information here but there simply isn't. Buyer beware, this book is short, not in-depth, and will provide only the very basics of beginning Omaha.

[/ QUOTE ]


I'm already a decent PL omaha HI player but I'm looking to improve my play. I got Ciaffone &amp; Ruben PL and NL book and like it enough to recommand it. I was really looking for a "in depht" look on omaha but this book seems to hold very few information.

As anyone read it? If so, what do you think of it?

thanks.


-Happy [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[Andy B]

Well, it's true that it is short, but I really think that there's a lot less to say about Omaha than other games. You sit around and wait for the nuts and try not to fall asleep. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] If you're going to play O/8, Ray Zee's book is about all you'll ever need, but I think that Ciaffone's book is good for high-only. And how much is it, like ten bucks? How much information does it have to have to make it a worthwhile investment?



I suppose that I should offer the disclaimer that I have played very little high-only Omaha.

[happyjaypee]

Well it's actually 20,00$ while TOP and HPFAP are at 20,97$. I own the later two and think there worth there weight in gold. Not really sure about Ciaffone's omaha book thought.

[Andy B]

OK, I paid a lot less for it but I got it used. HP4AP has a cover price of $29.95, if I'm not mistaken. I've probably gotten a few thousand dollars worth of information out of HP4AP, so it really doesn't matter whether it was $20 or $30 or $100. If you're going to play Omaha for any meaningful stakes, you're probably going to get more than $20 worth of information out of Ciaffone's, so why not just buy it? I bought Ray Zee's high-low split book for $35 at a time when I was only playing in a 50-cent home game two or three times a month. That book still paid for itself quickly. This is not an area where I worry too hard about saving money.

[Rolf Slotboom]

Even though the book is only 106 pages or so and you are right, there IS quite a lot of info that is not particularly relevant for the relatively new player, there is a lot of excellent information in the book as well. If you want to improve your Omaha game, then Mr. Ciaffone's works are must-reads, and this book is no exception. Regards,
Rolf.

[Noo Yawk]

This book is a must read. Don't let the number of pages fool you. I ordered directly from Bob, and he will answer any questions about his books or the info in them you may have.
Go to favorite links, click on his website, and you can read a preview chapter and get his phone number to order. He's a real nice guy, and will answer any questions you have.

[Mason Malmuth]

Here's my short review from my Gambling Theory book.

Omaha Hold ’em Poker (The Action Game) (9) by Bob Ciaffone. An excellent book written by a professional player. It currently offers the most accurate advice for the relatively new game of Omaha and also includes a section on Omaha high-low split eight-or-better. My only complaint is that Ciaffone did not divulge more secrets. Nevertheless, anyone who studies this text, is well-disciplined, and does not play too big should have no trouble winning.

[happyjaypee]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
you're probably going to get more than $20 worth of information out of Ciaffone's, so why not just buy it?

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Good point Andy.

Thank you all for your reply, you conviced me, I'm ordering it right away.

-Happy [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

PS: congratulation to Andy for is 300th post! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Jim Brier]

I am not an Omaha player but I have read Bob's book and in all fairness, Bob is trying to cover a lot of ground. You have Omaha-high which can be played limit or pot limit. These are very different games. Then you have Omaha-8 or better which is usually played limit. (If played pot limit there would probably be too much business going on). But Omaha-8 or better is really a very different game, requiring a book on its own.

I think Bob is trying to give players an introduction to the overall game of Omaha. To do this, he has to devote some time to the basics like the importance of using precisely two cards in your hand and precisely three cards on the table (which sometimes confuses even experienced players many of whom have a hold'em background). Also being able to evaluate an Omaha hand plus read the flop while understanding the phenomnena of "wraparounds" and other things unique to Omaha is something an author has to spend some time on in order to discuss the game with beginners.

With regard to limit Omaha-8 or better, Ray Zee has a book which discusses this game. Next year, Mark Tenner and Lou Kreiger will be publishing a book on Omaha-8 or better.

[Clarkmeister]

The book is worth purchasing simply to read the single greatest line in the history of poker books:

"...I don't want any part of your piglet hand"