My Poker Library

[Prelude008]

Hi Binion,

Thanks for offering to answer questions. I play Limit Hold 'Em 5/10 online at party and mainly 4/8 (sometimes 6/12) live. I've read Lee Jones Low Limit Holdem, Super System, and Hold Em For Advanced Players.

What do you think of Small Stakes Hold Em. I just bought it and wanted to know what you thought in relation to the games/limits I play and improving my game? That's it. Happy winning [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[binions]

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What do you think of "How good is your pot limit hold em" by Ciaffone.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, that book is by Reuben only. It helped my game. It's a good companion book to read after PL & NL Poker, which is a great book.

[binions]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi Binion,

Thanks for offering to answer questions. I play Limit Hold 'Em 5/10 online at party and mainly 4/8 (sometimes 6/12) live. I've read Lee Jones Low Limit Holdem, Super System, and Hold Em For Advanced Players.

What do you think of Small Stakes Hold Em. I just bought it and wanted to know what you thought in relation to the games/limits I play and improving my game? That's it. Happy winning [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

SSHE is a great book. You will benefit from it.

The preflop recommendations for the "relatively tight" games (ie 3-5 people see the flop) are not radically different from other books. SSHE recommendations for "no foldem holdem" are unique in the poker world (6-8 players see the flop on average).

Personally, I have found that 35-45% see the flop in online limit play at the levels you mention, which would be "relatively tight" under the SSHE definition.

However, as the book points out, preflop play does not win the money. The postflop chapters are the key to benefitting from SSHE.

[IzMan]

Great Library!

How are the Internet and online specific books? I've seen Hellmuth's online DVD. Is there really much to learn about online play?

I'm on my second time through SSHE. Great book! I play online low limit. Anything to recommend besides practice, practice, practice?

I will be learning some No-Limit as well. What's the first book you recommend after reading SSHE?

Thanks for your input!

Iz

[binions]

[ QUOTE ]

How are the Internet and online specific books? I've seen Hellmuth's online DVD. Is there really much to learn about online play?

I'm on my second time through SSHE. Great book! I play online low limit. Anything to recommend besides practice, practice, practice?

I will be learning some No-Limit as well. What's the first book you recommend after reading SSHE?


[/ QUOTE ]

Hellmuth's DVD about online play is complete crap. I sold it on E-bay.

For your current level of play, I would recommend you read Theory of Poker and Improve Your Poker if you have not done so.

As for online/internet specific books, ITH is not bad.

For no limit, the best book is PL & NL Poker to get you thinking about the right things.

[binions]

Graded on scale of 1-10. Some books only have the grade and not a write-up. Some not reviewed/graded at all.

Improve Your Poker by Bob Ciaffone: 9
Omaha Hold 'em Poker (The Action Game) by Bob Ciaffone: 9
Caro's Book of Tells by Mike Caro: 9
Mike Caro's Fundamental Secrets of Poker: 9
Hold 'em Odds Book by Mike Petriv: 8

Super/System — A Course in Power Poker (10) by Doyle Brunson.

This text is considered a classic source of information on most major limit games played, as well as on no-limit hold ’em. The book was written by two-time World Champion Doyle Brunson in collaboration with some of the best players in the world, including Bobby Baldwin, Mike Caro, Chip Reese, and David Sklansky. Unfortunately, as the years have gone by some of the information it contains has become outdated. For instance, most high-low split games are played today with a qualifier for low, and the excellent high-low split section does not discuss this concept. The structure of limit hold ’em has changed, and this dramatically affects some of your strategy decisions. And jacks-or-better draw poker is hardly spread anymore. However, the section on seven-card stud is still excellent and the book contains much general overall poker wisdom.

Pot-Limit & No-Limit Poker (10) by Stewart Reuben & Bob Ciaffone.

Without a doubt this is the best information ever put out on these games. It contains terrific discussions of no-limit hold ’em, pot-limit hold ’em, pot-limit Omaha, as well as some other games played with a “big bet.” In addition advice on tournaments and satellite play is given. And, to help you learn the material quizzes are provided. However, it is not an easy book. Much of the text is quite complicated and a quick easy read “won’t get it. But if you are interested in any of these games, and some of them do appear around the major tournaments, especially the World Series of Poker, it is must reading.

Positively Fifth Street (10) by James McManus.

The author is a well known writer who gets an assignment from Harper’s Magazine to go to Las vegas and cover both the Ted Binion Murder Trial and the 2000 World Series of Poker. This he does in a most spectacular fashion. McManus takes some of his $4,000 in expense money and buys his way into a one table satellite. He wins it but makes a saving deal at the end using up the rest of his bankroll. However, his Vegas odyssey has just begun.

When it’s over, we have read not only a fascinating description of the trial, but have looked over Jim’s shoulder as he manages a fifth place finish in the $10,000 No-Limit Championship that includes a quarter of a million dollar win. We meet many of the important people associated with poker and Las Vegas, and feel the tension and pressure of high limit tournament play. This is the best book of it’s type I have ever read, and once you start reading, it’s hard to put down.

Real Poker II: The Play of Hands (9) by Roy Cooke.

This text is especially helpful to those of you who are interested in the thought processes of an expert player when he is at the table. Cooke is at his best when he is stepping through a hand.

Winning Low Limit Hold’ em (7) by Lee Jones.

Years ago I received a proposal from a then unknown author concerning a book on low limit hold ’em. After reading the offer, which included excerpts from the forth coming work, I quickly rejected it. It was obvious to me that this text was going to contain a huge number of errors and it wasn’t worth our time and effort to take on this type of rewriting project.

Well the book was published by ConJelCo and true to form our expectations were met. In my opinion it was a confused work at best and with the exception of advising new players to play much tighter, it contained much erroneous and misguided advice. Thus we at Two Plus Two were glad that our efforts and energy went into different projects.

But an interesting thing happened. The opinion that David and I had of this text was in the minority. It not only sold well, but was praised by others. However, we stuck to our guns. The text was still badly flawed and we do understand how to play poker well, and despite what others might say, Winning Low Limit Hold ’em would not put you on the path towards winning play. It was that simple.

Of course we were accused of bashing the book because it just might be competitive to our products. Also, we believe that its author may have held some hard feelings towards us at times. But again our opinion was based on our knowledge of poker and hold ’em in particular — nothing more and nothing less.

Anyway, an interesting event has now occurred. Winning Low Limit Hold ’em has been rewritten and a new edition was released in year 2000. Furthermore, this is not a superficial change. Lee Jones even states in the “Introduction to the Second Edition” that it was necessary to make changes. In fact, to quote his words, “I was wrong. There — I said it.” indicates that he took many of the criticisms to heart and produced a much better book (and is now even an occasional contributor to our forums).

For example, part of the problem with the first book was that the author failed to recognize that against many opponents who play too many hands and go to far with them, automatically betting the flop with good (but not great hands) will just assure that many of your opponents are playing correctly. In the second edition, this is now addressed with the emphasis on finding the appropriate strategy so that your opponents will make mistakes instead of accidentally playing correctly.

However, the book still has some problems. For example, Jones continues to stress that when you hold a good hand to get as many bets in on the flop as possible. He doesn’t seem to understand that in loose low limit games where the pots frequently become relatively large that alternate strategies which have the potential to knock players out on a later street are often far superior. Also, by not playing fast on the flop you may save bets if the scare card does come or be able to collect extra double size bets on fourth street.

Another inconsistency is that on one hand the author wants to get as many bets as possible in on the flop to punish the draws but he also recommends that you “bet or raise your draws for value.” Well you can’t have it both ways, and Jones doesn’t seem to recognize the difference.

A final area where this version is still weak has to do with play on the turn and the river. Play on these streets is much more complex that the author seems to realize and correct strategy should often be impacted on what happened earlier in the hand. This “linkage” is an idea that doesn’t seem to ever be considered.

Nevertheless, despite these criticisms, this new edition is a much better work than the original version. If you are new to poker/hold ’em it should be helpful to you, but it probably still needs to be read in conjunction with some of the other/better books on poker and hold ’em in particular.


Internet Texas Hold ’em; Winning Strategies from an Internet Pro (7) by Mathew Hilger.

This text consists of chapters on various subjects such as poker concepts, starting hands, flop play, and so on which includes discussion of concepts followed by numerous hand examples. So in this sense it is similar to Middle Limit Hold’em by Ciaffone and Brier except that Higler does a better job with the sample hands. Specifically the hands described are played more realistically and are not flawed with constant recommendations to fold in close situations.

The reason I don’t rate it higher is that there are, in my opinion, some errors in the text. For example, on page 63 we find “Trying for free cards works best when there is some chance that your opponents will fold, since you now have two ways for your raise to be successful.” The problem here is that buying a free card, as the author points out, is essentially a flop play, and it is very unusual for someone to bet the flop and then fold for one small bet.

Some of his starting hand advice is also questionable, particularly if there has already been a raise. While the author recognizes that you need to tighten up quite a bit if there is a raise, he still has you routinely calling with ace-queen offsuit which is clearly a mistake against players requiring good hands to make it two bets. And from the big blind he writes: “Other hands to consider calling against a lone early or middle position raiser include: TT, 99, and two suited T and above, AQ, AJ, AT, Axs, KQ, K9s, QJ, and QT.” When I’m in this spot, most of these hands will quickly hit the muck.

I also question some of his comparisons to live play. For instance, the author states in many spots that players on the Internet bluff more. While this might be true, I also get the impression (from reading the book) that Hilger’s live play experience is limited, especially at middle and higher limits. So if you’re an experienced live game player, who’s giving the Internet a shot, my advice would be to consider these statements when making your decisions, but not to take them as absolute truths.

Another complaint I have about the book is that many of the ideas and concepts come from other books, yet the author gives virtually no credit to these sources. Many passages in the book are clearly just rewrites of material in either The Theory of Poker or Hold ’em Poker for Advanced Players, and to increase his credibility as a legitimate authority worth listening to, Hilger should have included many appropriate references.

Here’s an example. On page 212 in “The Turn” chapter Hilger writes: “When you are worried that an opponent may have hit upon a draw and he checks, tend to check hands with outs and bet hands with few or no outs. If you are check raised when you have few outs, you can safely fold.” Many of you should recognize that this concept comes out of Hold ’em Poker for Advanced Players. By the way, as Hold ’em Poker for Advanced Players also states: “Tough players will raise on the turn if they hold a mediocre hand that has some potential to become a very strong hand. An example is middle pair on the flop that has now picked up a flush draw. Those of you who automatically fold when raised in these situations are giving up too much.”

Middle Limit Holdem Poker (6 + or - 2) by Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier.

This is a very extensive and detailed text on how to play hold ’em. As the title says, it is designed for middle-limit play (which usually means $10-$20 thru $30-$60) where many tough players can be found, but where significant money can be won by experts. The book includes discussions on how to play in many situations and over 400 hand problems.

For those of you who already have a pretty good understanding of how to play well, you may find this book extremely valuable. The hand problems will essentially be good practice away from the table, and you can debate with the authors as to whether their solutions and advice are the best strategies to follow, and this debate should prove quite valuable.

Unfortunately, that’s also the difficulty with this text. Much of their advice, and answers they give to the sample problems, I find somewhat questionable. For instance, while they seem to be too tight in many spots, they call too many raises in my opinion before the flop. Usually these are hands that I would fold, but sometimes they are hands that I feel should be reraised. For example, I consider it to be routine strategy to reraise an early or middle position player with ace-king. But as you read the hand problems, you will notice that they almost always call here. Another example is their play out of the big blind. Here they state: “Being half way in is a strong incentive to call a single raise from your big blind. Here is how to play against a raise that is not a steal raise. Call with any pair or a suited ace. Call with an A-K, A-Q, A-J, A-T, K-Q, K-J, K-T, Q-J, Q-T, and J-T.” My opinion is that if you routinely call a legitimate raise with many of these hands, and you are against only one or two players, it should prove expensive, especially in tougher games.

Other problems include an over-fixation on avoiding draws that aren’t to the nuts, ignoring implied odds with two cards to come, underestimating the value of check raising in limit play, always assuming that your opponents have exactly what they are suppose to have, and the examples don’t usually indicate what your opponent might be putting you on.

There is one problem with their advice I find a little more troublesome, and it made this book very difficult to rate. By my count there are just over 100 hands where the authors say to fold. I question many of these folds. There are also a fair number of hands where the authors say to call where I consider raising a reasonable alternative. Now when I question, it doesn’t mean that Ciaffone and Brier have it wrong, or even that their advice is wrong the majority of the time (in these spots). But it does mean, to me, that their propensity to constantly attempt to save bets, especially when the pots are large, could eventually cause those who follow this advice some problems.

Put another way, if you are unknown to your opponents and play like they describe, you will probably have no difficulty. But as you become known, some of your opponents should begin to exploit this flaw, and your ability to win should begin to fall off. In fact, if and when I feel someone plays as the authors describe, I’ll work an extra bet or raise in every now and then. If enough people begin to do this, and this should eventually happen to a regular player, some pots that should be yours will be taken away from you, and your overall results should deteriorate.

So this brings us to the rating. If you understand this flaw and are able to work around it, this book is much better than a 6 and has a great deal of value. If on the other hand, you are relatively new to poker, or just don’t grasp the flaw very well, a 6 is being generous.

Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold ’em by T. J. Cloutier with Tom McEvoy (6).

This book covers some of the same material that the Reuben, Ciaffone book does, but not at the same level of detail. Even so, Cloutier does a reasonably good job of discussing many topics. These include starting hands, play on the flop, turn and river, and reading your opponents. He also gives pretty good advice on how to play in no-limit and pot-limit tournaments.

I do however have several complaints about the book, and because of this, I do not rate it higher. First, there are too many stories about T.J. Cloutier as well as other filler material. Second, the authors need to learn that six-five suited is really a better hand than six-five offsuit, and that the “bunching factor” has virtually no effect in hold ’em. And third, I strongly disagree with the constant reminders that no-limit or pot-limit is more difficult than limit play. I believe the opposite is true. In fact, the best part of the book are the sample no-limit hands at the back of the text. What is interesting is that virtually everyone of these hands would be more difficult to analyze and play correctly if it were limit play.

Championship Omaha (6) by T.J. Cloutier and Tom McEvoy.

This text covers the games of Omaha high-low-split eight-or-better, limit Omaha high, and pot limit Omaha. Despite its title, most of the advice is written for a beginner, and as with the other books in this series the advice tends to be weak-tight in spots. For example, in the Omaha high-low-split section we are told “that you always want a hand with an A-2 or A-3 in it and at least one other low card” and not to play hands like KQJ6 for half a bet out of the small blind. Unless the game is very tight, this should encourage you to pass on many profitable situations.

I did find the section on pot limit Omaha to be reasonably good, especially if you are new to the game. That’s probably because when you make a mistake in this game instead of losing an extra bet all your chips can disappear. So advice to be overly cautious makes more sense.

The sample hands should also prove valuable to someone starting out. However, a few of the hands that they fold I would play, but in fairness the decisions are close.

Finally, there is another problem in this text which occurs in all the books in this series. It is that the writing could be much better. Not only does the language need to be tightened up, but the authors can’t stay on topic. For instance, when you read “say that you call a $500 bet in a no limit hold ’em tournament that you’re not suppose to call,” you can’t help but wonder what this is doing in the section on limit Omaha high-low-split eight-or-better

The Complete Book of Hold ’em Poker (5) by Gary Carson.

As hold ’em books go this is more interesting than most. Unfortunately, interesting and accurate are not always the same thing. While the book does contain some worthwhile and thought provoking ideas, it is flawed in other spots.

To be specific, it has excellent discussions on different types of games, how hand values change, and how different concepts come into play in different games. For example, Carson correctly points out that tight games are basically a “struggle for the antes” while aggressive games “add value to very strong draws.” He’s aware that when a multiway pot develops in a tight game it is different from a multiway pot in a loose game and that this can dramatically affect the value of your starting hands. He’s also aware that good draws gain value in loose games and should be played strongly at times, that not all flush draws should be played the same, and that backdoor draws add value to your hands. There are also discussions on other topics such as game dynamics and cheating that some of you may find interesting.

But the book does have its problems. Carson mainly ignores games where people are trying to play half way decently. Once that’s true, many of the hands that he recommends playing are unplayable. Many of the hands he would raise for value are no longer worth raising with, and most importantly he omits opportunities to raise to knock people out since presumably he would claim they won’t fold anyway. There is also virtually no discussion on how to play fourth street or the river.

In conclusion, this should be a very dangerous book if you are fairly new to hold ’em. That’s because Carson puts so much emphasis on ideas that can be very expensive once you are up against players who have any idea what they are doing.

On the other hand, if you are an experienced player who is having success, and you like to read poker books, you may want to view this book as supplemental reading. Just make sure that if you incorporate any of the unusual advice, that you have thought it through very carefully.

Killer Poker; Strategies and Tactics for Winning Play (4) by John Vorhaus.

Even though this book is written in a very entertaining style, I only felt a moderate amount of the material was of real value. Much of the book is a lecture on play your best, stay off tilt, and review your play. But very little is specific enough to lead any reader in any direction. Also, strategies like distract your opponents by talking to them, yell at the football game, and make fake angry phone calls on your cell phone might have a little bit of value if you already play very well, but again I didn’t see much that would lead you towards that goal. In fact, you might discover that following advice like this might “worsify” your game.

Championship Hold ’em by (4) Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier.

(This review is for the revised edition: January 2002.) The first edition of this text was without a doubt one of the worse poker books ever written. It was filled with much ridiculous strategy which had to be highly embarrassing considering how well known the two authors are. Well, with a little help from some others, this version is basically a cleaned up reproduction of the original mess. Gone is most of the erroneous advice and what is left is a rambling conversation between the two authors as they talk about various topics.

However, the conversation is still a problem. The authors are unable to stay focused and at times you’re not even sure the book is about limit hold ’em as they talk about no limit and even Omaha on occasion.

Another major problem is that they, like many tournament players, don’t seem to have a good understanding of how to play multiway pots. For example, they don’t discern how being suited can add much value to your hand, they state that “when playing a flush draw in a multiway pot, it had better be the nut flush draw,” and they have you automatically folding bottom pair being totally unaware of the size of the pot in the “rammin’ - jammin’ games” that they constantly refer to.

The tournament section of the book is much better. Now their strategies which address players who are playing tight because they can’t buy back in if they lose a couple of hands are far more accurate. In addition, this section is written more concisely than the rest of the book.

So in summary, even though this revised version is a significant improvement over the original text, I still don’t recommend it. This is especially true considering the $40 price tag that it carries.

Zen and the Art of Poker (3) by Larry Phillips.

This text is about applying ideas from Zen Buddhism to poker in order to help your game and it may have a little value for those of you who have discipline problems. Phillips emphasizes remaining calm, taking a long term view of poker, and not being results oriented. But there is also a major problem. The author seems to believe in luck. That is he attempts to find those times when you are running lucky as well as those times when the opposite is true. Once you have recognized your lucky state, you then make adjustments in your game. Well, it doesn’t work this way. While it’s possible to look at your recent history to see if you were lucky or unlucky, you can’t predict your future. If you could, there would be no reason to play poker.

Poker Nation (2) by Andy Bellin.

This is a book that describes the first hand experiences of the poker playing author in all sorts of different environments from his childhood, to his college dorm, to the underground clubs in New York, to the World Series of Poker at Binions Horseshoe in Las Vegas, and to some of the giant poker clubs in California. Throughout the text there is one over riding theme. Virtually everyone who plays poker is some sort of degenerate. They’re either on drugs, become cheaters, lose virtually every time they play, and never sleep, and the women will do anything they can to get a stake as they keep playing in the filthy disgusting places where poker is offered. And of course, the author himself is included in this group.

My impression is that Bellin must be someone who doesn’t understand how to play poker very well — he seems to think that tells is where it’s at — and has written this book as a way to get back at all those people who understood the game better and constantly out played him. Perhaps home games and the underground clubs is a vastly different environment than what I’m use to, but if that’s the case, then Mr. Bellin has a lot to learn about what poker and the people who play it are really like. Needless to say this book is not recommended.

Play Poker Like the Pros (1 & 6) by Phil Hellmuth.

This text covers most poker games played in major cardrooms. It includes three chapters on limit hold ’em strategy, and one strategy chapter each on no-limit and pot limit hold ’em, limit hold ’em tournaments, Omaha eight-or-better, pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud, razz, and seven-card stud eight-or-better.

To accurately review the book, the three limit hold ’em strategy chapters need to be separated from the rest of the text. Simply put, this is some of the most bizarre advice I have ever read. Here we are told to cap the betting with hands like ace-queen and a pair of sevens, but “you might want to back off” if a timid player raises or reraises, to three bet with small pairs, always raise if first in with ace-little suited, and to usually call three bets out of either blind with queen-jack suited or jack-ten suited. The play on the flop and beyond is also incredibly aggressive. And, in my view, I don’t believe anyone can win in full ring games playing like this in the long run. However, on a given night, this maniac aggressive approach could produce a lot of chips if you run extremely lucky.

The rest of the book is actually quite different (and thus the dual rating). Now most of the advice is pretty reasonable, and I even thought the chapter on limit hold ’em tournaments was very good. But there were still some thoughts that I disagreed with. Two examples are to usually start with the best hand in seven-card stud and to call for two bets cold on fourth street in razz when you catch bad and your two opponents both catch good. (That’s because the pot will almost always be capped here. Also, Hellmuth does give some stud exceptions, but there are far more exceptions than he seems to realize.)

There are also two other problems with the book. The first is that virtually nothing is said about how to play in multiway pots. This may have something to do with the fact that large multiway pots, which are common in standard ring games, don’t develop very often in tournament play, and the author is mainly a tournament player. But it is still a major omission.

The second problem has to do with the book itself. Even though it is called Play Poker Like the Pros, almost all the material is at a beginner level. So despite the fact that the non-limit hold ’em material is okay, there is a lot more to playing these games than what appears here.

Championship Hold ’em by (1) Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier.

This book is so bad it’s hard to know exactly where to begin when writing a review. But here goes. As I see it, there are two main problems. First, is that it is filled with much specific information that is just plain wrong and contradictory to other advice given in the text. For example on page 30 the authors write “Several poker mathematician types mentioned that you should average a certain number of bets per hour when you play poker. I think that notion is erroneous.” But two pages later the text states “If you’re a serious player, you have to figure that your time is worth X-number of dollars per hour and you should play in a game that will compensate you accordingly.”

Other ridiculous advice includes not to call in multiway pots with big-little suited cards such as K6, why it’s better to play low connectors unsuited rather than suited, why when you have the kill you should never let the money you post influence the way you play, why you should not bet J9 (because of your bad kicker) when the flop comes J32 and you are in the big blind against four limpers, why in a jackpot game “you must constantly try to overcome the disadvantage of having all kinds of players take the flop with bad hands so that virtually any strong hand is going to go way down in value,” why when playing a flush draw in a multi-way pot “it had better be the nut flush draw,” why when you have a hand like AK on the button and five or six players are in you should check after the whole field checks and the flop is JT2, why the size of the pot should never influence your last bet (particularly if it is a calling bet), and finally why you should often fold a set on the turn when there is a four flush on board.

But there is also another problem with this text. It is simply that the basic philosophy of how to play limit hold ’em is wrong. Timid players do not do well in this game. It is also true that some players are overly aggressive, but always being afraid of better hands when you don’t hold the nuts and adjusting your playing strategy because of this should prove very expensive. You will allow free cards to beat you, won’t extract the maximum when your hand is best, won’t knock other players out when it is right to do so, and will fold hands that you should be continuing on with. I don’t believe that anyone can win playing like this unless your opponents are extremely weak and limit hold ’em should be a very frustrating (and expensive) experience for you.

The Secret to Winning Big In Tournament Poker (1) by Ken Buntjer.

This author managed to win three tournaments in a row several years ago at the Gold Coast. There’s no question that this was quite a feat, and he has done well in many other tournaments. However, his book contains virtually no information as to what a successful tournament strategy might be. The text doesn’t begin until page 19, and the last 30 pages are appendixes which include the rules of Texas hold ’em and the rules of some of the more popular tournaments such as the Gold Coast Open (now the Orleans Open). In between, there are numerous pages that also contain no text, and Buntjer’s book only addresses limit hold ’em.

The book starts by recommending extremely tight play. But it doesn’t seem to say much as to how you are suppose to play after that. It also spends several pages talking about different animals who represent the psychological make-up of different poker players. There are lions, lambs, and alligators among others. Apparently you should strive to be an alligator since that is what the best tournament players are. But exactly how you become an alligator or exactly how they play is never spelt out.

The book also has many omissions. Rebuys are never discussed, and the short section on deal making says to make the best deal you can. However, the author does not give any advice as to what the best deal should be or how you can go about making it. This book is not recommended.

No Limit Texas Hold ’em; The new Players Guide to Winning Poker Biggest Game (8) by Brad Daugherty and Tom McEvoy.

This is the first book in what is being called “The New Player’s Series,” and to that end it provides a short but fairly concise strategy for an inexperienced player who is interested in entering no-limit hold ’em tournaments. The advice is in general to be selective with the hands you play and to make sure that you stay out of trouble with the hands that you play. There is also heavy emphasis on how your opponents play and how this should affect your strategy. For those of you new to no-limit hold ’em tournaments, I think this is right on the money.

One problem I do have with the book occurs in the very short section on no-limit cash games. It’s the idea that in a cash game players are more likely to have chips on fourth and fifth street. This changes hand values relative to a tournament and can also change some of your strategy. But this is never mentioned.

Again, this material is aimed for someone just starting out, or who might be a regular player but with virtually no experience at no-limit. So many of you will want to read it.

Winning Omaha 8 Poker (3) by Mark Tenner and Lou Krieger.

In many ways, this is simply the worst book I have ever read. It has three problems. First it contains a great deal of unnecessary filler material. Second, it seems like every other sentence contains a cliche, and after a while all these cute expressions will drive you crazy. For example: “Suppose you’ve been dealt Q-J-T-3. The three ten pointers are components of a playable hand, but the trey is almost useless. You got a three legged stool with a dangler. Now three legs might suffice if you were milking a cow, but they’re not good enough to milk money from an Omaha pot. And third, and most important, when you finally get to the strategy it’s presented in such a complicated and repeating manner — along with all the cliches, that most readers will simply find it unintelligible.

The reason I rate the book a 3 instead of a 1 is that in my opinion some of the strategy advice is fairly good, but I don’t see how a typical reader will get anything out of it. Needless to say, this text is not recommended and many should find it painful to read.

Championship Satellite Strategy; How to Turn a Toothpick into a Lumberyard (7) by Tom McEvoy and Brad Daugherty.

This is easily the best book that McEvoy is associated with. The writing is more concise, doesn’t stray from the subject at hand, and the constant self aggrandizement is gone. In addition, the advice is tight-aggressive as opposed to weak-tight which permeates much of his other writings.

The book does have a significant flaw. The authors seem to have very little awareness that in tournaments where more than one place is paid, the “chips change value.” For example, Daugherty does talk about sometimes playing your hands differently in a super satellite because you are playing for a “seat” as opposed to all the chips — he even gives an example of when it would be correct to fold a pair of aces before the flop. But in their discussion of one table satellites they don’t seem to be aware of this concept and don’t address the value of sneaking into second (or third) place when more than one prize is given.

Another error is that the authors are too results oriented. (This may have something to do with the fact that authors are always discussing specific hands instead of the underlying concepts that govern play.) For example, Daugherty tells about a hand late in a no limit tournament where he held ace-queen and bet half his chips only to get put all-in by another player with ace-jack and of course a jack flopped. His conclusion was that if he would have bet all his chips this “bad beat” would not have happened since the player with the ace-jack would have probably folded. However, even late in a tournament, you should still usually want to play your ace-queen against an ace-jack since the first hand is such a big favorite over the second. The situation would have to be very extreme for this not to be correct.

In spite of the above, I can recommend this book with reservations. If you are new to these type of tournaments and keep the above errors in mind, this text should be worthwhile.

[cowboyzfan]

I have a question about a DVD not in your library. I asked this question before a while back but nobody answered it. Has anyone else seen Lederer's "LIMIT" hold'em DVD? I just can't believe he made this DVD just for me.

I was hoping to get a Mason review since he reviewed the No limit offerings.

[binions]

Haven't seen it.

Lederer is considered the best tournament limit holdem player.

Of course, tourney limit play and ring limit play are quite different.

[IzMan]

Thanks for the reply!

I agree with you on the DVD. Not much info really.

TOP was next on my list. I'll consider the NL books too. Thanks for the suggestions.

Iz

[arabie]

what do you recommend?

I play 5/10 6max, and full ring.

I've already read:

SSH
Play poker like the pros
Pot limit and NL by C & R
Caro's book of tells
TPFAP
WLLH
More nl secerets by lederer
supersystems