How good is your limit hold'em

numbnuts007 · #1 04-01-2007, 04:14 PM

I just started reading this book and wanted to get a few opinions on my observations so far. I mostly play 3/6 both live and online, i was excited about this book b/c i thought it would be a big help for both but i'm finding that it's more aggressive than i'm comfortable being in my live games, not necessarily online though. Has anyone else found this? Suggestions like betting on the turn into a passive player who raised pf and on the flop when you bet with top pair of 10's with an A kicker. For the passive players i play with live this screams over pair.

I'm tentative to continue this book right now and am considering saving it until i move up in limits a little. Any suggestions from others who have already gone through it?

phydaux · #2 04-01-2007, 06:16 PM

The best thing about the book is that, even if you don't agree with the author, you at least have to formulate a reason in your mind why you think he's wrong and you're right. You can then continue thinking about the situations and discussing them with poker buddies live and on-line. Look for those situation while you're playing, particularly when not you but other people are playing the hand, and see how things play out.

Then, months later, it really won't matter who was right and who was wrong. You will have been thinking about your game and thinking about poker at a very high level for a very long time.

And that's the whole point of reading books like this one - to get you thinking criticly and objectivly about the game.

amulet · #3 04-01-2007, 06:43 PM

the book is good, and the authors are almost always correct. it will apply to both live and online games.

numbnuts007 · #4 04-01-2007, 07:13 PM

wow amulet, that's sassy and totally not helpful, thanks.

phydaux · #5 04-01-2007, 07:35 PM

I'm not sassy? [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

numbnuts007 · #6 04-01-2007, 07:45 PM

okay phydaux, you were sassy too

amulet · #7 04-02-2007, 10:36 AM

there was nothing sassy in my response. by saying that the authors know what they are doing, and that the book is good, i was attempting to let you know that you should use their information. as players start to move up in hold em or play at low limits, they often think that their game is different and that certain books don't apply to their game. this is common. however, if the book is good it is very unusual for the information, if understood correctly, not to apply to their game. that includes your games. i didn't answer your specific question, but answered the broader question.

JJay1231 · #8 04-02-2007, 08:18 PM

I received this book a couple of days ago and havent got around to reading it yet, but I cant believe how short it is. 191 pages?? come on...

and the 2nd one which will be out soon isn't that much longer either, 205 pages!

It could have easily been a 1 volume book, but then again 2 books is more profitable than 1, (for the publisher that is)

I know the 1st is about 2 years old, but there is no excuse for the 2nd to be so short aswell. Maybe for the 3rd they may be able to squeeze it up to a whopping 250 pages....

smbruin22 · #9 04-02-2007, 08:44 PM

personally i found some of the advice a little strange to me, but i do think it's because i seldom play in games like those.

there is a sample chapter at d&b if anyone wants to debate it.

this is one of the few good books that i skipped buying, partially because i'd already moved to NL when i first saw it.

ByronJacobs · #10 04-03-2007, 12:28 PM

Thanks for the interest in this book. A friend of mine recently complained that he had read it, tried to put the strategies into practice and it had been disastrous for his game. Turns out he plays $0.50-$1.00. The basic premise of the book is that the edges in non-short-handed limit are tiny and so if you want to get anywhere you have to push very hard every time you spot something that looks remotely like an edge. However, these aggressive strategies work best at the middle limits. When I wrote the book these were 15-30 and 20-40. Nowadays I think they go all the way up to 50-100.

I am currently writing "How Good 2" which will focus exclusively on short-handed and very short-handed limit. I am about half way through and we anticipate publishing around July/August this year. It will be around 300 pages long and in a similar format to HG 1.