books

matt berkey · #1 01-22-2005, 02:41 AM

I'm fairly new to higher stakes NL, considering over the past 4 months my bankroll has jumped from 1,000 to 15,000. I started playin .25/.25NL and now regularly play 5/5 NL. So my question to you seasoned vets is this...whats the best way other than table experience for my game to mature? What books beyond the basic Super System and Caro's book of tells do you recommend. I consider myself fairly knowledgable and mature for my 3 years of serious holdem but I know I have a LOT to learn and am eager to here any advice. Thank you.

KegNog · #2 01-22-2005, 02:47 AM

I think Phil Helmuth's Book (Play Poker Like the Pro's) has a lot of good NL info in it. Also check out anything written by Sklansky - Theory of Poker and Hold'em for Advanced Players will find tune some rough edges even though they're written for higher stakes limit games.

After that...practice practice practice.

Out of curiosity, where do you play $5-$5 NL at? Is it live?I like that blind structure but haven't found it on the internet anywhere.

matt berkey · #3 01-22-2005, 03:00 AM

I play at Salamenca Casino in Salamenca, NY. The 5/5 game is pretty nice, $200 buy in pretty live on the weekends. Occasionally they get a 5/10 game $500 max buy in. I almost always win at these games and would consider myself one of the better players. My concern is improving my game, not staying content.
I've read most of Sklansky's stuff as I played limit long b4 NL. As far as Helmouth's book I thought it was dumbed down and intended for absolute beginners. I have a fair amount of table experience (bout 20 hrs a week live and probably the same online) just not that of guys that have played 10 years and have played all types of limits w/all types of players. I guess my biggest concerns are bankroll management, when to up stakes, and how to keep my losses to a minimum.

zaxx19 · #4 01-22-2005, 08:03 AM

Bankroll wise and limits wise Id suggest staying in the 5/5 game for awhile until you atleast get yur roll doubled. At the higher games you are gonna need at least what 1500 to play?? Its nice when that constitutes less than 5% of your roll. If you are playing 40 hrs a week does this mean you are a pro already?? Are you in school...have another job??

Id also suggest learning-playing some other games well....
Some of the juiceiest games you can sit in from what I hear as a pro are PLO- 8OB games. Limit wouldnt be bad either.

Keep in mind Ive been playing poker for a grand total of like 7 months and have a roll alot smaller than yours...but hey I only deposited like 300 total so I feel my bankroll management is at least good. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

How much are you averaging a week in winnings??

matt berkey · #5 01-22-2005, 01:35 PM

Thanks for the advice. I'm averaging 800/wk from live play and my online play varies anywhere from 100 to 1000/wk depending on how well I'm playing. I usually play 10/20 and 50 SnG's so my profit varies. I wouldn't consider myself a pro by any means considering I'm a college sr. and a pitcher for the baseball team. However, poker is my only source of income at this time.

Stickmn24 · #6 01-22-2005, 06:30 PM

This is my first post here. Anyway...
I bought Phil Hellmuth's Play Poker Like the Pros and I agree with KegNog. I really enjoyed it, especially how it breaks down hold'em play as a beginner/intermediate/advanced player. I learned about many other types of poker in it too, including Omaha 8/better. Just my $.02...

tbach24 · #7 01-22-2005, 06:47 PM

I'm currently reading ToP for my third time and each time I read it I pick up something new. It's a really good book. Also, I liked Super System. It's a very good book. Lots of players don't like it but I find it to be very good. You just need to know to take everything in there with a grain of salt though.

amoeba · #8 01-22-2005, 07:43 PM

I just feel that Hellmuth is too much of an opportunist for me to give his book too much credit.

Also, he doesn't play cash games that much which further makes me wary of his cash game advice.

TM1212 · #9 01-22-2005, 10:32 PM

I usually hear people ripping hellmuths book apart, this is a nice change. I enjoyed hellmuths book, but it wasn’t great. I'd personally recommend No limit Pot limit holdem by Caffione. Also super system is a classic, a little outdated, but the concepts are still there.

One recommendation, if your winning with your current playing style, I wouldn't change it much. I’d use books to see a way to play from another person's perspective, and to cover concepts I possible had not though about. BTW, reading some of the threads here really can help.