Professional No-Limit Hold 'em Volume 1 Review Thread

[Rizzo]

hmm, this book really gave me a headache. it really gives you the impression (although thats certainly not the authors intention) that the game is all about commitment and SPR and stuff like that...

i played a bit of nl50, and i really couldnt play my a-game because that spr and commitment stuff was all around floating in my mind and blocking my "normal" thoughts...

it jsut feels totally weird, in every nl video ive seen, for example the cardrunners-videos, they use the standard preflop raise etc... and they are making profit with it. they dont mention spr etc.., but of course they mention stack-sizes, but i feel like i kinda knew that stuff before.

[vaNq]

Looking forward to picking up a copy of this ASAP.

[eMbAh]

When will Vol 2 be released?

[jeffnc]

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However when reading the book I feel like I am being conveyed the message "all you have to do is to make sure to have correct SPR, then flop TP or overpair and bet pot until you are all-in". That's a bit simplistic view about NLHE, is it not?

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To be candid, I think the one with the simplistic view is you. You're taking a simplistic view of the book. You've apparently just skimmed it and not dug into detail.

It might help to think of SPR this way. It just IS. Even if you don't use it to gauge your all-in plays (fine), it still exists. It would be like complaining about pot odds. You might read in a book "Gee, this book makes it sound like all you have to do is check the pot odds all the time and you'll win, Win, WIN!"

Ridiculous. Pot odds exist whether you like it or not, whether you understand it or not, whether it helps your play or not.

SPR is the same way. It's a ratio of the pot size to your stack size. It exists. You can use that information to your advantage if you get the opportunity. You can manipulate if you can. The rest is up to you and the games you play in. But whining that the books says something it doesn't won't help anything.

[jeffnc]

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I think I will remain sceptical until someone actually does a cardrunners style of video playing 4 tables of NL50 or something, using the SPR approach (like open raising to 7bb instead of 4bb with top pair hands, that is recommended in the book, after all). Until then I can't help feeling that it is nor practical for online multitabling.

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First of all, like I said, SPR is not about raising 7BB preflop. SPR exists no matter what game you play in. Period. If you choose to ignore it, then you're ignoring information available to you. Something else might exploit it.

Second, it doesn't matter what game you can or can't raise 7BB with. I play in a live game where 7-10 BB raises are standard. The SPR will be different when I make that raise or call that raise than if the raise were 3BB. End of story.

The book talks all about how to play with larger SPRs, if that's what results. And which SPRs are good or bad, and how to get/avoid them for yourself and get/avoid them for your opponents.

[jeffnc]

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2) I have noticed a lot of the nosebleed-level players like to reraise with suited connectors pushing the SPR to close to 4 or 5.

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I believe that play requires a preflop fold from your opponent a significant percentage of the time to be profitable. That is certainly the case when I reraise with very marginal cards.

[jeffnc]

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I don't know but alot of players think it's donkish to raise to 6x. What to do about it?

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In that case, I'd raise to 6x more.

[No Fizzle]

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When will Vol 2 be released?

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There is a sticky at the top of this very page, but since you are a n00b and all: March 15, 2008 [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[jct]

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it jsut feels totally weird, in every nl video ive seen, for example the cardrunners-videos, they use the standard preflop raise etc... and they are making profit with it. they dont mention spr etc.., but of course they mention stack-sizes, but i feel like i kinda knew that stuff before.

[/ QUOTE ]

They may not mention spr, but they are using it. They raise to an amount that gives them a good spr for stealing, which they apparently feel is the better way to go in their game than going for an spr ideal for top pair hands.

Also, have you ever heard the advice about not going broke with top pair top kicker? This advice is probably because the spr when making 'standard' raises is bad for top pair hands. How often do you think brian townsend would fold top pair top kicker if the spr going into the flop was 4?

[jeffnc]

Here's a quote from another thread about another book. It seems equally appropriate for this book. I'm not sure why I don't see comments like this about PNL, but rather a bunch of complaining.

"The idea of this book is to try to approach a way of play in a nearly unexploitable way ( even though it's close to impossible).
It's not a book about cooking, it's a book about thinking. When you go through this book, you find yourself thinking about many ideas you never had before, and I think that's the most important. U can find your way of playing, and elaborate many strategies."