SSH Reviewed

[Franchise (TTT)]

The evidence that this book was needed has been mounting for some time. It was quite easy to flip through the posts of the small stakes forum and find all sorts of great advice that had yet to be put into print. It didn't take an MIT graduate to realize that 2+2 had a hole in its poker literature lineup, as noted posters such as Clark, Dynasty, Ulysses, et al. were constantly baiting Mason and David's about how out of touch the 2+2 authors were with the low-limit games of today. However, Ed Miller (the majorkong) actually went out and wrote the book the rest of us have always wanted to write. Small Stakes Hold Em taps into the goldmine of exploding poker popularity with a book aimed at beginners who are serious about the game.

The book flows in a logical order: an introduction to gambling math and logic, pre-flop play, flop/turn play, river play, miscellaneous topics, and then hand quizzes. With 150+ pages of the book devoted to postflop play, it is definitely a much richer read than some of the other glorified starting hand charts that pay only cursory attention to postflop play.

SSH is 300+ pages long (even without counting the standard Q&A at the back), already making it one of the (if not the) largest low-limit hold em books around. Then factor in the fact there's no discussion on discipline, swings, playing professionally, not tilting, and so on, and you have yourself a dense yet large source of information.

The bad (put up here because it's shorter, and because I don't want to sound like an infomercial):

There's only one topic that is a glaring omission from a book that would have been useful when I was learning the game: dealing with maniacs. It's a bit odd that Inside the Poker Mind has some of the most complete advice on dealing with maniacs around, but that the book is tailored toward mid-high limit players (where the concentration of maniacs is much lower). So, I'd have to recommend that portion of that book to any beginner as well.

And of the topics addressed, I found it a bit conservative that Ed recommends overcard outs are evaluated at half price. But seeing as I haven't sat in a loose low-limit game in quite some time, that advice might be better for a beginning player. In an otherwise thorough book, rife with footnotes and parentheticals and exceptions, he doesn't mention in the outs section of the book that perhaps Aces should be discounted a bit more as overcards than the other high cards, due to reverse domination (though reverse domination is dealt with elsewhere, just not in the counting outs section).

The good:

If I had to sum up the book in one word, it would be: thorough. Short of the advice contained within these forums, there is no single resource available (including the other 2+2 books) which would enable a beginner to graduate to a small stakes behemoth that is anywhere near the level of this book. Advice is not only given, but its ramifications and alternatives are examined with mathematical and logical arguments which convince the reader the advice is solid.

Two central themes which good players take for granted but beginners need to learn are conveyed throughout the book: money is made postflop in hold em, and hold em is a complex game for which formulaic advice will not work.

The hand quizzes could have been lifted straight out of the small stakes forum. Those of you who post here will find them very familiar. I believe they add enormous value to the book for the large majority of readers who will not seek out this forum after they read the book. Like some of the columns in "Inside the Poker Mind" (another favorite), the walkthrough format is great for not only giving the correct answer, but for showing the type of thinking that should go into making decisions.

Before, I used to recommend to my beginner friends the following path: read Lee Jones, read Lou Krieger, read Gary Carson, read the micro limits/small stakes forums. I think it's safe to say this one book is comprehensive enough to replace all four of those in one shot. It's truly a one stop $24.95 manual to turning the average fish into a small-stakes monster. (Of course a truly serious player would read other books eventually).

(Oddly enough, the book repeatedly references readers to read a further discussion of preflop concepts in Gary Carson's book. And Gary Carson is convinced that 2+2 is his public enemy #1, so points for objectivity on the part of the authors.)

Excellent chapters that make this book stand out from the competition:

"Some quick notes about the (preflop) recommendations"
"Counting Outs"
"Two Overpair Hands"
"Betting for Value on the River"
"Playing Overcards"

There are two ways in which people learn: stated knowledge, and insightful examples. These chapters are full of both. And if that's not enough, there are the 50+ hands in the back which span about 50 pages.

One last thing, there's no "Note about the English". The book is excellently written. It's an instant classic.

[maurile]

Good review, Franchise. Thanks for writing it.

[Franchise (TTT)]

No problem. Surprised there aren't any other reviews up yet, guess nobody else opens the mail, sits down for N hours, and reads the whole thing in one sitting.

[charlie_t_jr]

[ QUOTE ]

Small Stakes Hold Em taps into the goldmine of exploding poker popularity with a book aimed at beginners who are serious about the game.


So, I'd have to recommend that portion of that book to any beginner as well.


If I had to sum up the book in one word, it would be: thorough. Short of the advice contained within these forums, there is no single resource available (including the other 2+2 books) which would enable a beginner to graduate to a small stakes behemoth that is anywhere near the level of this book.


Two central themes which good players take for granted but beginners need to learn are conveyed throughout the book:



Before, I used to recommend to my beginner friends



[/ QUOTE ]

Good review, but its mentioned time and again, that the book is NOT a beginners book.

Good work though.

[MicroBob]

i enjoyed this review as well.


also - when it says it's not a 'beginners' book i take that to mean that the reader already knows how to play hold-em.
he already knows what a big-blind and a dealer's button are, etc.
he may even have a decent knowledge of what some of the better starting-hands are (but may make typical fishy mistakes like over-valueing KTo, etc etc).


for example, i could NOT recommend this book to my Dad because he doesn't even know how to play hold-em.


FWIW, WLLHE claims to not be a beginners book either because it doesn't explain the rules of the game.

i believe that PPLTP actually DOES explain the basic rules of the game.


anyway, i think that anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence who has actually played 1 or 2 games of hold-em (and thus understands how the game is played) should be able to learn the information in the book.
if you have NEVER played before or NEVER watched it on TV then you are a TRUE beginner and the book will obviously be a bit tough for you.

[avatar77]

What are the following acronyms for?
FWIW and PPLTP

Maybe we should post a list of acronyms for some of the newbies - I get TOP, WLLHE, HEPAP and of course SSHE but every now and then I see some that seem to come out of nowhere....

[MicroBob]

for what it's worth.

play poker like the pros (hellmuth's book)

[Blarg]

ic - tyvm! j/k

[Blarg]

Great review, and the most detailed one I've read yet. I wouldn't mind even more detail, but your comparing it with other books is interesting and makes up somewhat for the lack of digging into the book's strategies and concepts much.

I would have bought the book even if there were bad reviews, just to see for myself and make my own judgments. Right now, I'm just patiently waiting for the book in the mail.

[Matt Ruff]

[ QUOTE ]
Before, I used to recommend to my beginner friends the following path: read Lee Jones, read Lou Krieger, read Gary Carson, read the micro limits/small stakes forums. I think it's safe to say this one book is comprehensive enough to replace all four of those in one shot. It's truly a one stop $24.95 manual to turning the average fish into a small-stakes monster.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree that this is a useful book, and I think it's already improved my play. By not automatically crediting my opponents with the best possible hand, I've been able to win a number of large-sized pots that I might previously have given up.

That said, I wouldn't recommend this book to the average beginner at all. For someone with little or no experience playing hold 'em, there's just way too much information. What most people want when they are starting out is a simple set of guidelines to keep them from hemorraghing money while they are getting a feel for the game. Of the books I've looked at, I think Lee Jones' is still the best for that. SSH seems better suited for folks who've been playing long enough to feel comfortable wrestling with heavy theory (of course, some people like their theory up front, and for them, it really is a beginner's book).

What I'm curious about is whether it would be possible to take Ed Miller's advice on post-flop play and boil it down into a more user-friendly Jones'-style presentation. Maybe it isn't -- and maybe that's why previous "beginner's" books tend to skimp on post-flop strategy -- but it'd be interesting to see someone try. Maybe in 3rd edition WLLH...

-- M. Ruff