Middle Limit Hold Em Poker still champion

[spurgeon]

I think I have read almost every book in print on hold em. My favorite book is still Middle Limit Hold Em Poker by Ciaffone. I do not know what it is about this book, but I feel I have learned more from it than any other. Maybe my mind learns best by quizzes rather than by theory. I feel that I have learned more from this book than hold em poker for advanced players. My second favorite book is small stakes hold em. This book kind of makes all other limit hold em books obsolete. In some ways it kind of makes hold em poker for advanced players obsolete. The writing is so much clearer in SSH than in HEPFAP. You just have to make some adjustments as you move up in limits, but SSH should still be applicable. If you play no limit, get Harrington on Hold Em. These are the only books you need! Just get these three and memorize them. It will save you a lot of money. I have every hold em poker book written in the basement, and these are the three best. Just rotate reading these three books. Do not waste time on any others (if you want to get a fourth book get theory of poker).

[chaz64]

Is HOH good for both SNG and MTT situations?

I have TOP and SSH now; if I get HOH and MLH, am I really set for the rest of my hold 'em life??

[AKQJ10]

I haven't read the Ciaffone book, but IMO HEPFAP would be a million times better with quizzes. (Also organize it better and take out that idiotic Hemingway note, but that can wait for another day....)

[surfdoc]

I am reading this now and surprised by what seems to be pretty weak tight advice in a number of areas.

[onegymrat]

Hi Doc,

Ciaffone and Brier wrote this back in 2001/2002, and their regular 15-30 to 40-80 games were certainly not as nutty as nowadays. This is especially true since they are not referring to any online play, to which most of the posters here now refer.

I still think that this book offers much to learn since it prompts you to think about all aspects of your hand. It is solid advice and should be used as a complement to other quality books out there. The book's advice may never change while hold'em itself will keep evolving, but the teachings can still be used in many games today.

Remember that Jim Brier is not extinct, he is still writing in the 2+2 magazine as well as Card Player, and his stuff is still great.

[zeitgeist]

Middle Limit Holdem turned my game around.

One of the criticisms I see often (particularly on 2+2) is that a lot of its advice is weak-tight. When I first started reading the book, I thought the same thing myself: Ciaffone & Brier seemed to be telling me to fold an awful lot and seemed to be worrying too much about opponents having superior hands.

But as I got into the book further, I realized that this criticism is unfair: Against 4 or more opponents, the default strategy is, indeed, often a passive one. But against 1 or 2 opponents, the default strategy is aggressive (3 opponents being a borderline situation). Of course, I'm oversimplifying here, but that's the recurring theme.

Well, when you're facing 4+ opponents, a lot of the time you have to lean toward the weak side of the ledger; the chances you are behind have just gone up.

In the games I play in, at least, the authors' philosophy has worked out well for me. Many a time I have been in one of the situations discussed in the book and have adhered to its advice and folded, then watched the hand play out to showdown and found out that I had been drawing dead, or had only 3 outs, or something similar. In the past I would have stuck it out to the river and spewed multiple bets in the process.

Other positive aspects of the book: (1) great analyses of whether your outs are tainted (a concept touched on in other poker books but not at the same level as here); (2) even if you don't agree with a given play the problem is still useful for thinking about what the right play is; (3) a straightforward and easy-to-understand writing style; and (4) content, content, content - no swaths of white space with big pictures of cards in them.

MLH isn't without its flaws, however. Often the results of the hand are revealed, which IMO isn't relevant to what the correct play is. Plus, the results always seem to validate the suggested play (unlike, say, in HOH, where the hero often makes the right play and still loses). But I think this is a minor quibble.

It may be that the games I presently frequent (2/4 on Paradise and 10/20 live) are the most fertile ground for MLH's approach, or that its conservative style fits with my own personality <shrug>. But I can't recommend the book highly enough - I genuinely hope no one else buys or reads it [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[avatar77]

Hey Spurgeon,

Yes - I agree with your choices but I can not help but add 2 more books to your limit poker collection as 'must haves':
Internet Texas Hold'em by Matthew Hilger - even though this book has been criticized by Mason, I still believe it is one of the best written books on limit hold'em (whether you play online or live) - the section on pot odds is the most clear I have ever seen and the chapters are very well laid out.
The second book and is one of my all time favorites and probably the most under rated limit hold'em book is Real Poker II by Roy Cooke. This is the only book that actually lets you go through exactly how a winning high limit player thinks throughout a hand and how he learns and adjusts by the different circumstances that arise during a game (often called the 'texture' of the board).

Anyway, that is opinion - I will have to include Hilger's and Cooke's book.

[Crispy86]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Spurgeon,

Yes - I agree with your choices but I can not help but add 2 more books to your limit poker collection as 'must haves':
Internet Texas Hold'em by Matthew Hilger - even though this book has been criticized by Mason, I still believe it is one of the best written books on limit hold'em (whether you play online or live) - the section on pot odds is the most clear I have ever seen and the chapters are very well laid out.


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't have the book, so cannot comment, but in terms of clear pot and poker odds explanations, I quite liked:

http://teamfu.freeshell.org/poker_odds.html

[oreogod]

It will definitly teach u some things thats for sure. I thought it did a pretty damn good job all the way through...

for starters it will teach u to fold the turn more when u are beat.

[98romaine]

Does anyone know where to get a copy of Roy Cooke's book?