[jeffnc]

[ QUOTE ]
Internet Texas hold 'em is a great book too but I do find Matthew Hilgers pre flop strategy a little too passive for my liking. I would never open limp JJ or TT etc (in fact I never open limp any hand). If I do play AQ against a raise I am going to 3 bet or fold. I don't like cold calling and I try to never ever do it. Other than that type of advice I really do love that book too.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is a small grain of truth there, but only a small one. First, some of those recommendations are for beginners, and the beginners section is where you'll find it. If a beginner is losing money, that is certainly not the reason.

Second, such examples, which occur rarely and where the player is making a very small mistake (if any), are not really very important. In fact Miller himself says that debating the minor differences in starting hand play is not important. Of course he then can't resist discussing the wisdom of cold calling with AQ, but that's the nature of poker players. The fact is I made a lot of money with AQ cold calling with it as a beginner, so I just don't think it's very important. It probably represents less .1% of your success as a limit holdem player. Feeney, in Inside The Poker Mind, uses AQ as a sort of litmus test for your approach to the game. In that context it's fine. But ITH certainly does not teach you to be passive by any means, except for a couple minor preflop scenarios in the beginner section. The book teaches tight/aggressive play that will beat the online game still today.