No comments about Know When to Hold 'Em: Quick & Easy Lessons for Low-Limit Poker.

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2 comments about Omaha High-Low: Play to Win with the Odds.

1. The book pictured on this page has been replaced by a new version published by Cardoza in 2006.
   
   Although the title and front cover of the book don't make it clear, this is not a guide on how to play Omaha High-Low. This is a book about which hands to play and which to fold during the first round of betting. If you want an introduction to Omaha High-Low, both Tenner and Cappelletti's books are excellent, and of course cover which hands to play. You can also find good free advice at a website called o8poker.
   
   Knowing in advance the contents of this book, why was I stupid enough to buy it? Well, it's based on computer simulations, and there's a lot that could be done by that method to refine the basic list of playable hands. There's limit Omaha vs. pot limit vs. no limit. There's ring game play vs. tournaments. There's full table vs. short-handed vs. head to head. There's your position at the table. There's the playing style of your opponents. There's your stack size in a tournament. What if there are raisers or callers ahead of you? What if you're in the small blind and need to put in only half a bet?
   
   If you're contemplating writing a book addressing these issues, relax. The author of this book hasn't done so.
   
   The methodology used by the author is. to put it kindly, simple-minded. He used a commercial poker-playing program to simulate the play of fifty million deals at a full-table ring game populated by tight aggressive players. Then he computed how well each particular hand fared. Then he ranked them all in order. These are put in a table that takes up about half the book. Since, as the author points out, about 75% of hands dealt are unplayable, this is quite a waste of space, unless you're interested in whether some unplayable hand ranks 4536th or 4537th out of 5278. Incidentally, since the program has its own built-in standards of which hands are playable, basically all other hands were played only under unfavorable cirumstances from the blinds (with some exceptions to be mentioned later). The hands are listed in order of the cards they contain. It would have been more useful to list them in order of their rating so that you could see which hands were marginal and use that to make close decisions based on other criteria.
   
   The figure of 5278 hands is the author's, based on taking every possible combination of four cards by rank, then dividing them into the categories "unsuited," "single-suited," or "double-suited." "Single-suited" includes all hands with two cards of the same suit, except hands with two cards of one suit and two of another. This category is quite insufficient, as it makes such a big difference whether or not one of the suited cards is an ace that the category should be divided on that basis.
   
   The book wastes another ten pages on two separate and useless tables of two hundred randomly dealt groups of community cards. There is also a mysterious short table that purports to show that AA23 double-suited, considered the best hand, will make more money for a player who is cautious before the flop than one who isn't. Since everybody would play this hand under any circumstances, any difference in results would be due to how you play after the flop.
   
   Rather surprisingly, the book's list of playable hands includes some that, in general, no competent player would open, such as QQ43 double-suited. This baffled me until I realized that the way the poker-playing program was used, these hands would only be played in very favorable situations, namely in late position in unopened pots, "attacking the blinds," as they say. Of course this isn't mentioned in the book.
   
   In the beginning of the book the author states that he gave every hand a grade, based on AA23 double-suited having a grade of 100, to be found in the last row of the charts. This doesn't seem particularly helpful, since he doesn't explain how this grade was arrived at, and since in general you're going to play hands with positive expected value and fold hands with negative expected value. Since in fact the grades don't appear in the charts, the point is moot.
   
   [...]



2. Written by expert Omaha high-low player Bill Boston, Omaha High-Low is a no-nonsense guide for serious gamblers determined to win and make money. Based on the premise that Omaha is driven by hand value more than any other poker game, Omaha High-Low spells out the mathematical chances every one of the 5,278 Omaha high-low hands has for winning the high end or the low end of the pot. Half text and hints, half reference charts, Omaha High-Low is the definitive resource for learning how to play to win with the odds in their favor. Highly recommended for all Omaha High-Low fans.

No comments about Weighing the Odds in Hold'em Poker.

5 comments about Low Limit Texas Hold'em Poker: Maximizing Winnings Through Optimization.

1. This should be the new bible for hold 'em begginers. It is very easy to read and it covers everything having to do with low limit hold 'em. The book's FS system for rating starting hands is worth the price many times over for those just starting out. It is also good for anyone past the begginer phase and those looking to brush up on understanding table position, caculating odds, the free card raise, reading your opponents, etc. The father son duo of Carlos and Carlo did a superb job of making complex techniques easy to understand. "Low Limit Texas Hold 'Em Poker: Maximizing Winnings Through Optimization" turned me into a winning player! Two thumbs up! And five stars!!!



2. As advertised this is a complete course and starts from the entry level. Because of this it can be slow at times if you have read several other books. Well written and understandable as opposed to some books by the "big names" who should have someone help them communicate their thoughts. The discussion on odds and the accompanying chart is the best I have seen in over 50 books and makes the topic easy to grasp and remember. Good companion to Lee Jones "Winning Low Limit Hold'em" but very different. Though not its focus this book is clearly applicable to all levels of limit and also no limit and tournament.



3. I had high hopes for this book when I ordered it. I thought that perhaps it would be one of those "hidden gem" type books that only a few knew about but was excellent and full of great information. Something like, say, Matt Maroons book. Unfortunately this is not the case. In my opinion this is a weak book. It does have some good points which I will get to but overall the book is a confused work.
   
   For a start the authors rate AA, KK & AK suited or off as "super premium hands" that should always be raised pre-flop. OK, no argument from me there but they then discuss the "only" premium hands which include pocket Queens, Jacks and Tens. Anyone who feels they have the knowledge to author a book on hold 'em ought to know that pocket Queens are the 3rd best starting hand in hold 'em. They are actually a stronger hand than AK and will show a much larger profit in the long run than AK will yet the authors rate them below AK and furthermore suggest just calling pre-flop with Queens for fear an overcard may come on the flop. This is just flat out wrong. In a loose low limit game pocket Queens figure to have a huge pre-flop pot equity advantage over the many weak hands your opponents will be playing and most definitely should be raised for value. In fact, pocket Queens are a capping hand in most games. There are after all only two possible hands better before the flop! This advice is weak tight and incorrect and will have players not gaining maximum value from their strongest hands.
   
   Next the authors suggest raising the super premium hands which of course is correct but they reason that your goal is to drive everyone out of the pot so your hand has a better chance of holding up than it would against multiple opponents. So are they suggesting that if you get pocket Aces, raise and everyone folds allowing you to win just the blind money then that would be a great result? Apparently they are. Again, this is just wrong. Your best result is to get a lot of action when you have a big advantage going into the flop. Ideally you want opponents calling your powerful hand with weak dominated hands. Sure you will lose more often when there are multiple opponents in the pot with you but that's not the point. When your hand does hold up or when you make an even stronger hand like a set of Aces you will win a huge pot which is a far better result than picking up the blind money. When you raise with strong hands before the flop you are raising to get more money in the pot while you hold an advantage. This is what's known as pushing when you have a big edge.
   
   Then the authors talk about their patented "FS" system of deciding whether a starting hand is playable or not. They conclude that hands like K9 suited are good hands and should be played but they never specify where and in what situations. If the pot is raised in front of you by an early position player then K9s is most definitely a fold. The authors conclude that a hand like 76s is playable which it is but only in late position after multiple limpers have entered the pot or in the big blind when defending against a steal raise. The authors should be more specific when they say certain hands are "playable." They need to say where and in what situations. The authors also do not spend nearly enough time talking about one of the most crucial pre-flop concepts in limit hold 'em which is playing very tightly behind a raiser. Cold calling is one of the biggest errors in most players games yet it barely gets a mention in this book. A lot of "playable" hands quickly become unprofitable after someone has raised.
   
   On the flop the authors also advocate slow playing too much in my opinion. In a loose low limit game your opponents are going to call your bets and raises anyway so you are better off jamming while you have the advantage and punishing players with weak draws like gutshots and 5 out draws to trips or 2 pair. In large pots the most important thing is to take down the pot, not to slowplay to try and trap players for extra bets. Really you don't have a hand strong enough to slow play until you have a full house or better. Straights and flushes are still vulnerable hands and should be played aggressively. They are at risk of being counterfeited and having to split the pot with other players. A player with a set on the flop where you hold the nut flush has 7 outs to a full house or better and on the turn he has 10 outs! This fact alone argues against slow playing semi-strong hands in large pots. Be aggressive and win the pot. Don't try and get tricky and trap players for extra bets because this strategy often backfires.
   
   The authors then draw some erroneous conclusions about drawing hands that are very much incorrect. They say things like you should abandon an open ended straight draw when there is also a flush draw on board. This advice is over simplistic because it ignores the size of the pot. With an open ended straight draw where there is two cards to a flush on board you could possibly only have 6 clean outs as opposed to 8 on an unpaired rainbow flop. If you are getting odds better than required for a 6 out draw then even though you may draw to your straight and lose to a flush, your call is still profitable in the long run. If you were getting say, 9:1 on a call in this situation it would be an error to fold a 6 out draw that needs only 7:1 pot odds to be break even.
   
   The authors also make a point in the book to avoid loose aggressive games. They suggest getting up and leaving if the game gets very aggressive. Most expert players will tell you that loose and aggressive games are potentially the most profitable type of game to play in. Again, this assumes you are a good player who has an edge over your weak, overly aggressive opponents and understand the adjustments you must make in such a game. I think that flat out suggesting you avoid aggressive games altogether is just wrong. This type of game is a potential goldmine, there are many players putting in too much money with hands that don't justify it. You want to play in a game where morons are capping with A7 off suit. Just be prepared for the swings- up and down!
   
   Later in the book the authors talk about different types of players and the strategies one should employ against them. Again, I found some of the definitions of different player types to be grossly inaccurate. For example, they say a calling station generally is a tight player. Huh? Calling stations are loose passive players who never fold. They are anything but tight. A tight passive player is a rock, not a calling station.
   
   There are many more mistakes in this book but I don't want to sit here all day writing them out. You get the idea. On a positive note the authors discussion of pot odds is quite good so for that alone, the book may be worth a read but most good players already understand this concept that has been explained over and over in just about every decent book on hold 'em that has ever been written.
   
   Overall I give this book 2 stars. There are far better books out there for the beginning poker player. I would suggest Getting started in hold 'em by Ed Miller or Winning low limit hold 'em by Lee Jones. The advice in these books is far more accurate and will be more profitable than what this father and son team have to say about the game. While I commend anyone who has the motivation to author a work on poker, I feel they have an obligation to provide information that is accurate since people will be putting their hard earned cash at risk. This book just doesn't deliver the goods.



4. The first two reviewers must be the author's uncles. The advice in the book is either standard axiom's found anywhere on the net or half-baked.
   
   The previous reviewer said it all -- disappointing.



5. Well, I hate to join in the negativity but this baby definitely isn't worth the money. It has absolutely nothing to offer an experienced, or even intermediate, player. A 100 pages in, I was like "You have to be kidding me" as far as the content was concerned. It seemed like it never got out of the introductory muck. If you've watched a few World Series of Poker episodes then you already know a great deal more than what these authors are going to share with you. For an experienced player it's a complete waste of time. I'm selling my copy of it online which is surprising because even average poker books I'm generally loath to part with. I agree with the other reviewer, save your money.

1 comments about HOLDEM HORRORS (Holdem Horrors).

1. worst book i have ever read. over-priced and poorly written. it appears
   the only money he'll ever make from texas hold-em is thru the sale of this book! spend your money on something worthwhile like harrington or any other name pro.

No comments about Hold'Em Poker for Winners.