Recommend a basic beginner book for my wife....

[LuckyTxGuy]

Any book advice would be appreciated. My wife knows the basics of NLHE. She can play it, she can deal it, she plays 1 or 2 $1-$5 MTT online every week, and she's played B&M $1/$2NL with me a few times. She's cashed in several of the online MTT's but she usually just gets into the money and busts out. Unlike many beginners she doesn't like to play every hand and she isn't a calling station. Just the opposite actually. She plays extremely tight and folds the best hand way too often. For instance, I saw her fold AQo in middle position, folded to her at a (very tight, friendly) $1/$2 B&M game we were playing at because she said "she doesn't like AQ". She's playing in a $5 MTT on FT right now and I'm sweating her cards. She just hates to raise because she doesn't like to commit chips to the pot. I've seen her limp with everything from AKs to 55 tonight. Heck a few minutes ago she folded 66 one off the button when it was folded her her. She also would have flopped a set but she just figured one of the remaining 3 players had a better hand or would out flop her. Basically she's playing scared. I also just saw her flop a set of 3's and just call with position all the way to the river.

Then on the other hand, every once in awhile I'll see her get married to a hand like 4 to the nut flush or pocket aces. She'll be so obviously beat and it's really an easy laydown when she's pushed for all her chips, and then she'll call. Later she'll fold AA on a perfect board if someone shows any resistance.

She hears me and all my buddies talk poker and theory and she likes to try to throw around some of the lingo, but honestly she doesn't grasp it. While she says she really wants to learn and I want to teach her, she's at the point that she needs a 3rd party (like a book) to take her to the next level, because she has a hard time sitting and letting me walk her through scenarios. She'll just say "ya I know" or "I get it", when I try to explain some concepts to her. I'm also not the one pushing her, she loves the game and says she wants to learn more about it. Truth be told if she'd study the game, she'd probably be very very good.

Sorry for the loooong post but I'm just curious if anyone can recommend a good beginner book for her that is easy enough to read and not something that is going to go over her head quickly like TOP or maybe even HOH.

Thanks for the help.

[Frond]

Miller's book "Getting Started in Hold Em" would be good. For many different games, I thought Hellmuths book, "Play Poker Like the Pros" has a good general rundown of a lot of games and explains them really well.

[AKQJ10]

GSIHE, definitely.

Playing too tight is better to start than playing too loose, but she needs to learn to spot when she can take advantage of the rest of the table's tightness. GSIHE won't exactly address that, but it will give her a good sense of the fundamentals so she'll understand why AQ requires great care when AK, QQ+ are a good part of your opponent's range.

By the way, take her to a casino and get her in a $1-1 or $1-2 short stack game. Outrageously tight play is a gold mine at those stakes, and getting married to your hand postflop isn't too bad because you don't have much money to left misplay.

But if she reads GSIHE, she'll understand that.

(BTW, Hellmuth's book is fine for everything except small stakes hold 'em, but for that it's awful.

[LuckyTxGuy]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. I really like Ed Miller's work and learned alot from SSHE. I'll buy her a copy of GSIHE.

AKQJ10, we live in Texas and the nearest casinos/poker rooms for us are in Shreveport, La, about 1.5 hrs away. We go over there very regularly and I play alot of poker, but the $1/$2NL game is usually very wild on the weekends with some very deep stacks or very rockish on the weeknights with very deep stacks. It's definitely a tuff game to cut your NLHE teeth on. However, I do agree that her tight play can be profitable in those games but with a standard raise of $15-$25 preflop it can become an expensive way to learn poker. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Either way, I agree with you, if she can get some basic concepts under her belt, she could really do well in those games. Also the smallest LHE game in town is $4/$8.

Thanks again for the advice guys.

[LuckyTxGuy]

Ok, I'm back. I just read alot of reviews on GSIHE and while most of them were glowing, most made mention that (they felt) the NL section was very weak and lacking of real substance, even for a beginner? Since my wife want to play NL, do ya'll still think this is the right choice? Just curious.

[captain2man]

The NL section in GSIH is relatively brief (compared to the bulk of the book which is about limit play) - but I would certainly not say it lacks substance.

Personally - I think she should read GSIH...even the limit section....have her certainly digest the content of the NL section.

Then - I'd move her onto Phil Gordon's Little Green Book. I think that's an excellent beginner NL book.

Between GSIH and LGB - that should keep her busy for awhile & will improve her play tremendously.

[AKQJ10]

[ QUOTE ]
[T]he $1/$2NL game is usually very wild on the weekends with some very deep stacks or very rockish on the weeknights with very deep stacks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Matters not a whit, unless the minimum buy-in is more than she wants on the table. When she reads GSIHE she can explain this to you if you're not aware of why the big stacks have no inherent advantage.

Moreover, if she quadruples through and has more on the table than she wants to play, she can always rack up and go to dinner.

[ QUOTE ]
It's definitely a tuff game to cut your NLHE teeth on.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not the way you've described it on the weekends! Somewhat high variance, though, but I'm quite sure the short stack approach in GSIHE will rout this game until your wife feels more comfortable with postflop.

[ QUOTE ]
However, I do agree that her tight play can be profitable in those games but with a standard raise of $15-$25 preflop it can become an expensive way to learn poker. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. If you're not bankrolled for it then so be it, but the play is so bad that even with the variance it shouldn't be that risky with a few hundred and $50 buy-ins.

The biggest risk with Short stack NLHE is, you buy in for $50, get all the money in with QQ, some oaf draws out with Q9s, and now you're down a whole buyin. Over time it's not high variance, but you can have a fun trip to the casino end too quickly that way. If you opt for LHE, GSIHE has a lot of good limit advice too.

[Frond]

I agree, almost forgot that Gordon's Little Green BK is a great place to start as well. My wife got me both the green and blue books for xmas. Read the green and it is easy to follow.

[Poker Plan]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree, almost forgot that Gordon's Little Green BK is a great place to start as well. My wife got me both the green and blue books for xmas. Read the green and it is easy to follow.

[/ QUOTE ]

Can anyone comment on whether the audio version of the LGB is as good as the hardcopy- does it cover everything in the same detail, or is it just more of a summary?

Thanks,
Ian

[jeffnc]

She should probably be reading Angel Largay's book on NL. It specifically addresses the modern 1/2 game.