Ed Miller DVD Review

[scott2130]

I got my DVDs yesterday and watched the reading hands video and scanned through the other ones. As mentioned in the other thread, the sound does have and echo, the graphics are cheesy, and the lighting is dark. With Ed's black hair, it blends into the background so well you can't tell where it ends.

The quality of the information is what I paid for though and I think it is very good and worth the price of the videos. I have been playing alot of live poker in the last 4 months and came to many of the same conclusions as Ed. It is good to know I am on the right track.

I do want to point out two things that I noticed. The first one is his delivery. There seems to be unnaturally long pauses in his delivery and then a burst of information. I took it as he was reading off of a prompter and the prompter could not keep up so he would have to wait for it. He also had the Stevie Wonder body and head sway going on. Not to say he should be stiff, I just thought it was funny.

My last point is about the info. I would like to hear his thoughts on the other possible outcomes of his examples. He is the best that I have seen so far but I want more. What I mean is, in his examples he would say that when you bet or raise the other players will fold. It has been my experience that they WON'T fold, so how does this change your plan. He does mention it in a couple of his examples but not all. His examples also seem to lack an ample number of players seeing the flop, turn and river. I play in Reno and see 6-10 players on the flop 5-7 on the turn and 3-4 on the river ALL THE TIME. They will even call multiple bets cold pre-flop. I was in a hand Sat. were I raised UTG, UTG+1 reraised, UTG+2 re-reraised and MP1 capped. 4 other players called cold. The winning hand was a K high flush. He showed K4 of diamonds for a rivered flush. He was MP3 and cold called a capped pot. The players regularly call 2 and 3 bets cold because everyone else did. It makes for huge pots that even I call 22-1 shots with.

Agian, I think the videos are very good and look forwarding to watching them 20 more times.

[phydaux]

Damn Scotty, you beat me to it. I'm still working on my review of Ed's video set. It should be ready by tomorrow, though.

To address your point, very much unlike SSH, in these videos Ed always assumes the opponents you face are savy and thoughtful players. Savy players [i]should fold to a re-raise from the pre-flop raiser. And thoughtful players won't cold call enough to create 5-7 player flops.

If, however, you find yourself at a table full of maniacs and calling stations, then Ed's video Adjusting Your Play tells you how to deal.

I'm nearly half way done with my reviews. I'll get them posted ASAP.

[mart1n]

As a note. These DVDs are not specifically for small stakes games.

[deacsoft]

This is a post by phydaux that was opened as a duplicate thread to this one. That post has been deleted and moved here.


Expert Hold'em 4 DVD set by Ed Miller

This four video set was just recently released. It focuses on Limit Texas Hold'em, and as most people are aware that is a topic that Noted Poker Authority Ed Miller know backward and forward. Ed's book Small Stakes Hold'em is considered by most people to be the single best reference for learning and playing Limit Hold'em.

Since Ed literally wrote the book on Limit Hold'em, and now has released a four DVD set of limit Hold'em instructional videos, many people might be asking themselves, "If the videos just rehash the information in the book, then why should I buy the videos?" Well, even if the videos did just cover the same information, most people should buy both the book and the videos. Here's why:

When you compare watching a one hour video to sitting and reading for an hour, there is no question that you will cover MUCH more information reading than could ever be presented in a one hour instructional video. The information density in a book is just Jam Packed, compared to a video. However, when you walk away and try to remember the information an hour later, you will remember more about what you saw in the video than about what you read. This is because watching the video allowed you to both see and hear the information, engaging more parts of your brain in the learning process. So by both reading the book and watching the videos you will understand more and retain more information for a longer period of time.

So like I said, even if the book and the videos just cover the same information, most people should buy both the book and the videos. The great news is that a LOT of the information in the videos is NOT covered in Small Stakes Hold'em. It's new information, and it's good information. Some of the information on the Advanced Pre-Flop Concepts & Protection your Hand DVDs is also covered in Small Stakes Hold'em, but this DVDs also include much new information on the these topics, and WAY more examples are included. The Reading Hands & Adjusting your Play DVDs are almost all new information. That changes this four DVD set from a "good to have" to a "must have" for any serious Limit Hold'em player.

Ed has clearly given a lot of thought to the content of these videos. Each one covers a topic or set of topics, and Ed covers these methodically and logically. He outlines what he is going to cover at the start of a video, regularly reviews his points at the end of each section, and reviews all his points at the end of the video. This review is followed by a bunch of hand examples that demonstrate the topics Ed has covered. Ed sticks to his topics. We don't hear stories about him and his dog growing up on the farm in Spitball, North Dakota. These videos are focused and packed with information.

A word of caution. These DVDs are NOT for beginners. There is no explanation of what a check-raise is, or what the difference between a big blind and a small blind is, or what hand beats what. Ed goes straight into meaty, expert instruction. If your only poker instruction has come from Dave Foley while watching Celebrity Poker Showdown, these videos are NOT for you. I'd say a good rule of thumb is to have Small Stakes Hold'em and have read it twice before watching these videos.

A word about production. My understanding is that this is the first project from a new poker video production company. As a result, these videos have that "first project by a new company" feel to them. At times the sound quality is a little hollow. Ed is not always well lit, and he is shot against a dark background. This is done so that, when Ed is going over hand examples on a computer animated poker table, it sort of looks like Ed is the dealer, you are sitting across from him and he is explaining the hands as they are being played. However, with Ed's dark hair and sometimes dark clothing, this often makes him hard to see. If you want slick graphics and computer animation, then don't buy these videos. Buy Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, Peter Jackson can't help improve your Limit Hold'em. But Ed Miller can, and THAT'S why you should buy these DVDs.

Advanced Pre-Flop Concepts

The first DVD I'm going to cover is Advanced Pre-Flop Concepts. There are no charts to memorize here. Instead, Ed shows us how to evaluate any starting hand by two qualities - Its pre-flop equity and its post flop strategic advantage. These are concepts that are not covered in Small Stakes Hold'em, and this section is probably my favorite part out of all four videos. He goes on to cover not just what hands to raise and what hands not to raise with, but why you don't raise in terms of post flop strategic advantage. This DVD also covers pre-flop considerations regarding the big blind, as well as short-handed play.

Protecting Your Hand

This is a concept I struggled with while reading Small Stakes Hold'em. As a result of my struggle, I was really looking forward to this video to elaborate on this topic. And boy, I was not disappointed! If the first video was titled Advanced Pre-Flop Concepts, this video could easily have been titled Advanced Post-Flop Play. And as Ed makes perfectly clear in Small Stakes Hold'em, the real money is won after the flop.

Ed doesn't just show us a hand and say "This is a good hand" or "This is a strong hand." He breaks down strong hands post-flop as either vulnerable or robust, and either weak or powerful. Then based on those classifications he helps us decide if we want to eliminate other players from the pot by encouraging folds, or do we want to encourage action to build the pot. In fact, he has a whole section on this video titled "Now to Manipulate the Betting." This single video is well worth the price of the whole DVD set.

Reading Hands

Ed opens this video telling us the same thing movies like Maverick have told the world at large for years - That many players belive hand reading is a sort of voodoo, and that world class players have a sort of "Spidey Sense" that lets them know when their opponent has an ace. He finishes by saying that is pure garbage, and that hand reading is just simple observation and logic.

The information on this DVD isn't anywhere in Small Stakes Hold'em. In fact, Ed doesn't belive this information is available in any book. I know it's not in any book I've read, and I've read a bunch. That makes this DVD a "must have" for a serious Limit Hold'em player. I would rate this DVD as the second-best in the set, right after Protecting Your Hand. And again, the unique and valuable information on the video makes this DVD alone worth the price of the whole four volume set. The three videos reviewed so far, taken together, will definitely help take someone who is "just" a winning player and turn them into a table crusher.

Adjusting Your Play

In his book Small Staked Hold'em, Ed goes out of his way to point out that he isn't showing you how to beat world-class players. He is showing you how to punish players who play too many hands and go too far with them. In this set of DVDs, Ed assumes that the players at your tables are, in fact, thinking and rational players who know how to play Limit Hold'em well.

But as we all know, the poker tables are often populated with Donks who will either call with any two cards all the way to the river, or nut farmers who play by the "fit or fold" mantra. In this DVD Ed shows you how to adjust your game and take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses.

A running joke on the 2+2 forums is that every non-2+2 poker author is too weak-tight. This DVD, with the adjustments Ed shows you to make, shows you why the weak-tight label is passed around. Play like Ed shows you in this DVD and no one will ever accuse you of playing weak-tight. Fortunately, Ed goes in depth with a lot of examples showing exactly why the adjustments he recommends are the correct way to play.

These four DVDs ship in a single DVD case. They are available through the 2+2 on-line store, and the 2+2 on-line store accepts payment from Neteller. Mine was ordered late on a Wednesday night and arrived via USPS on Saturday. I rate these videos a "must buy" for any serious Limit Hold'em player, along with Small Stakes Hold'em, Theory of Poker and Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players.

[Sixpack]

So, are these vids of any value to a strickly NL player? If so, which ones? Hand Reading?

[maurile]

Awesome review, phydaux. I am buying Lord of the Rings on your recommendation.

Seriously though, great review.

[phydaux]

[ QUOTE ]
Awesome review, phydaux. I am buying Lord of the Rings on your recommendation.

[/ QUOTE ]

Peter Jackson can not help improve your Limit Hold'em game.

Although I do often use a tiny, painted figurine of Sam Gamgee as my card protector.

[Packard]

I just ordered the Miller DVD set!

I cant wait to get it and then I'll get more chips and more chips and more!!!

[tufat23]

where can i get it?
also bearing in mind in from uk. amazon.co.uk didnt have it

[Wolf44]

you can get it at conjelco, but prepare to pay an extra ripoff 30$ (!) for shipping if you live outside usa.

does anyone know a good poker book store that has customer friendly overseas shipping fees?