[CurryLover]

This is a brilliant book. Every month or two someone posts about how it's not that good etc. Sometimes they say that it is all very basic information that might help a beginner, but that most other players will already know everything that it discusses! Nothing could be further from the truth. I think these people just haven't read it properly, and haven't understood the depth of ideas and concepts lurking beneath the surface of the text. It is possible that you have to reach a certain standard of play before you see that the book is actually rather deep.

And you've got to read THE WHOLE BOOK, not just the sections on Hold'em. Many of the important big bet concepts are outlined in chapters on, for example, London Lowball. These concepts are applicable to Hold'em too, even if they do not appear in as pure a form. If all you've done is read the Hold'em sections through once and maybe skimmed some of the other chapters then you are not placed to judge this book.

Mind you, I think the Hold'em sections are really good anyway. Ciaffone's chapter discussing starting hands is superb and is one of the best things written about the relative values of starting hands in NL/PL vs Limit. And there are some great discussions of how stack size and position can affect the play of a hand.

Ok, there are now other good books out that deal with big bet poker. And some important concepts and ideas are discussed more clearly or in more depth in these more recent books. And it is not perfectly written (Reuben has a unique style which is a little irritating to most people I imagine). However, there is a lot of meat in this book. You just may have to suck some of it from the bones.

Read it again. It must be one of the ten best books written on poker, and probably one of the very few truly exceptional books written on big bet cash game play.