Professional No-Limit Hold 'em Volume 1 Review Thread

[7n7]

I'm nearly done with the book and I must say it's definitely new territory for me.

Funny enough, I think I had an easier time understanding NLTAP. Before someone calls bs, let me state that one of my largest weaknesses is hand-reading and equity estimations. Why? Because I'm one of the those players that generally plays in a vacuum. I play fairly solid hands and pricing out draws seems to be my first thought when I flop something.

To all the current mid-limit pros out there, does this book sum up how you think at the table? Maybe you didn't call it SPR, but were you successful players already doing this intuitively? I know that you guys (and gals) use REM, but I've never heard anyone talk about this SPR concept.

Matt, Sunny, and again, Ed, you've radically changed the way I think about poker. Now, if I could just use the information wisely.

I have a feeling that there will be those that read the commitment threshold chapters and never lay a hand down again unless 100% obvious that they're beaten.

Now, since this book is gonna' change the way the game is played, how about a counter-strategy book? [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] Or is that at the end, cuz' I haven't got there yet?

You know, I often wonder how long (if ever) I would have had to play to learn/implement these strategies without the aid of a book. Reincarnation anyone?

[JohnG]

[ QUOTE ]
say he had 100 then lost to a all-in player which left him with 10bb. why would anyone play the next hand without rebuying.

[/ QUOTE ]

If I just lost a big pot UTG to get short stacked, then I'd wait until the button to rebuy.

[JohnG]

[ QUOTE ]
To all the current mid-limit pros out there, does this book sum up how you think at the table? Maybe you didn't call it SPR, but were you successful players already doing this intuitively? I know that you guys (and gals) use REM, but I've never heard anyone talk about this SPR concept.

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't read the book yet, so maybe I'm not fully understanding what the SPR concept is, but pot/stack ratios have always been a fundamental of bigbet poker, and effects how any hand is played. But that seems so obvious, I guess SPR is something more in the book.

[7n7]

To clarify, were you mid-stakes pros already trying to manipulate the pot so that the ratios (smallest stack to pre-flop pot size) were in the range you wanted?

I've known concepts like min-raising (to effectively up the stakes), flat-calling to keep the pots small, etc., etc. but hadn't ever thought of trying to keep the pot size in proportion to the remaining stacks within a particular range. I guess I'd never seen this discussed before (though I haven't been actively reading the strategy forums this past year).

[MikeyPatriot]

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i cant believe how little fuzz this book has created, when NLHTAP came out everybody and there mother wanted to get one.
but PNL hasnt even been mentioned outside of this forum, i guess thats the power of sklansky

[/ QUOTE ]

As stated, bad for the authors, good for me.

I'd also like to give a shout out to professionalpoker.com. Got the book 2 or 3 days after I ordered. NH, sir.

I'll add my thoughts on the book when I finish it (3/5ths of the way through). I've really enjoyed it so far though.

[Triggerle]

I'm about 2/3 through the book (just starting on SPR now) and found that most of the topics covered were already known to me. However, they were presented in a way that made me "click" several times because what I had known and practised more or less now suddenly had a theoretical foundation that instantly made sense. I whish I had had this book when I made the transition from low-limit to low-NL. I could have saved an insane amount of time/experience based learning by just reading it all in a concise and condensed form like in this book.

Also a shout-out to professionalpoker.com. Got the book in Europe less than a week after it came from the printer.

[SenecaJim]

Matt and Sunny , congratulations on the completion of your project (already congrated Ed). I got mine today and am thrilled to death. I had been a successful limit player for a little over a year and had to switch to nl because of the games.

I have been stuggling at nl(breakeven after 300hrs), at times knowing I made a big mistake but not quite able to figure out how I got myself into the mistake position.

I am getting ready to kick back in at full time play in 6 weeks so thank you thank you for this book.

Obviously I have nothing negative to say, I'm just asking about a couple of places to see if I missed something or just slip of the pen. I am not a nitpicker, far from it, I am only pointing out anything you would want to make perfect for 2nd edition. These spots did nothing to deter from the point you were making. Just trying to be helpful as proofreader.

On page 41: " Now suppose he has $150 left....$200 in a $16 pot". I took it as the same scenario as above with bigger stack left. Wouldn't it be a 16(3 raked) + 15 + 50 = $81 pot when you make the $200 decision? (or 185 decision, the 35 raise plus the 150 he has left?)

Page 59: (3rd paragraph) Wouldn't it be 3 potential straights..45, 58, and T8 ?

Again, I am not looking for anything and wouldn't presume to but these kind of jumped out at me. I know it's like me telling Tiger he has a hitch in his backswing (with my 20 handicap)

I rambled a little bit, to recap, I love your book and appreciate all the time, sweat, frustration, and knowledge that went into this work of art.

Ok, got to get back to reading. Only on page 65.

[HighSteaks]

My book just arrived all the way in Oz woo hoo- lol, I hated school so much, can't believe I'm this excited about the arrival of a book [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Whenever poker gets attacked as destructive gambling the Poker lobby should drag me out for evidence of it's worth, it's the only thing I've studied in my 42 years thus far. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

P.S. Cool cover, another vote for guns in next addition however- I kind of liked those rediculous retro covers.

[quadaces9999]

I kinda like the pictures of the guns on the covers also. Makes it feel like them good ol poker games in the wild wild west.

[JJay1231]

[ QUOTE ]
My book just arrived all the way in Oz woo hoo- lol, I hated school so much, can't believe I'm this excited about the arrival of a book [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Whenever poker gets attacked as destructive gambling the Poker lobby should drag me out for evidence of it's worth, it's the only thing I've studied in my 42 years thus far. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

P.S. Cool cover, another vote for guns in next addition however- I kind of liked those rediculous retro covers.

[/ QUOTE ]

where did you order it? (im still waiting.........)