Book Reviews

Kill Everyone: Book Review

Lenny — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:05:40 GMT

Kill Everyone

by Lee Nelson, Tyson Streib and Kim Lee

First of all, don’t take this book on an airplane. If you do, be sure to cover it discretely. All kidding aside, I was a bit self-conscious reading this book in public. It’s not just anywhere you can whip out a book called “Kill Everyone” without drawing some strange looks. This sequel to Kill Phil, is not a handbook on how to be a homicidal maniac, but it is a guide on how to be a stone cold killer at the poker table. Kill Everyone is the most compact and comprehensive guide to No-Limit Hold’em tournament play I have come across.

In the sequel to Kill Phil (reviewed here) we lose the voice of Pocketfiver and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Blair Rodman. While Rodman’s contribution is missed, Kill Everyone is one of those rare sequels that surpass the original. Kill Phil was geared towards the hordes of internet qualifiers playing in major tournaments for the first time. It offered the amateur advice on how to level the playing field with the seasoned tourney pro by taking them out of their comfort zone and playing big pot, “long ball” poker. This advice was very valuable two and three years ago, and the underlying theme of aggression holds true to this day, but the style of play described in Kill Phil is really only useful in a few select scenarios. Kill Everyone takes a big leap forward and attempts to lay out winning strategies that will serve the reader well in any game against any opponent.

Lee Nelson returns in this book with a vast amount of poker knowledge and experience to contribute, as well as an accessible writing style. Kim Lee is a university professor of math and finance, who apparently was a contributor to the first book, although he is not a named author. Newcomer Tyson Streib is a frequent contributor to 2+2 online magazine and adds a good deal of math based reasoning to the book, which he lays out in extensive charts and graphs. These visual aids are not self-explanatory, as they involve complex ideas that the authors explain in detail in the text. So those of you who were looking forward to flipping through the pages for the pretty pictures, I am sorry to disappoint. Once you have read and digested the appropriate chapter, though, the charts and graphs do provide quick reference material for further study to keep the ideas fresh.

My one complaint about Kill Everyone is that the terminology used in the book to discuss stack size, tournament situations and the math of NLHE tournament play is, well awkward. The terms used throughout the book are Cost Per Round (CPR) and Chip-Status Index (CSI). Even if I hadn’t ever read Harrington’s books, I might fumble over these terms flashing back to my lifeguard certification class and wondering what is on TV tonight. As it is, I really had trouble with these terms as I felt like Nelson and company were reinventing the wheel. To be fair, these are concepts no one owns, I am just more used to thinking in terms of M than I am in terms of CSI.

Kill Everyone keeps the scope of its instruction very tight, and that focus is one of the strongest parts of this book. First off, it does not attempt to teach any other game than NLHE. Second, the main focus is tournament play. You do get a bonus chapter at the end by Mark Vos with some excellent tips on Shorthanded (6-max) NLHE online cash games, but the book is 95% tournament play. This is divided probably 60-40 between MTTs and Sit and Gos, although the others will often switch back and forth between types to compare the different flex points and strategies appropriate to the game in question.

Even with this tight focus, Kill Everyone manages to pack a ton of information into its three hundred pages. There is one slim chapter on tells and reads in live play that somehow manages to rival Mike Caro’s famous volume for detail. That is followed by a chapter on tournament preparation that everyone planning to play a major live tournament should read. Lee Nelson’s detailed pre-tournament routine may not be for everyone, but he offers a variety of suggestions, including ways to beat jet-lag, the importance of exercise and diet, guided meditation, and more.

The last chapter is by Mark Vos on six-max online cash games. This brief chapter is not sufficient to cover the topic in full, but it does include some solid hints and tips for the average player. Overall, Kill Everyone provides excellent advice in a detail-rich, step by step format that most people with a solid understanding of the game going in will be able to follow. This is not a beginner’s text. You should definitely go into this book with some playing experience and familiarity with real game situations and a variety of poker concepts.

Kill Everyone enters a crowded marketplace of ideas and titles in the poker instruction industry. New titles hit the book shelves every day, and online there are an abundance of poker tools and training resources available. The advantages this book have over some poker titles already out there is that it is as cutting edge as one can expect a poker book to be. The discussion of new-school aggression and recent changes in tournament play is very current. All-in-all, Kill Everyone is a quality book well worth reading and a valuable addition to anyone’s poker library.

Book Review: The Mathematics of Poker

Lenny — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:43:37 GMT

The Mathematics of Poker

by Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman

Like many poker players, old and new, I was attracted to poker primarily by the mythos of the steely eyed staredown and the battle of wits and will that make for a game anyone can play, but only the toughest can win. This is the way poker has been played by everyone from Doc Holliday to Doyle Brunson, and for some it is the way poker should always be played. Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman would beg to differ. In The Mathematics of Poker the authors present a vision of math based reasoning that is not only elegant and accessible to the average reader, but is the wave of the future for the poker world.

A word of warning: The Mathematics of Poker reads like a math textbook. If you flip through it you will see pages filled with formulas, diagrams, graphs, charts and more formulas. There will be plenty of Greek letters, x’s, y’s, and p’s, not to mention a few I don’t even know how to type. If this sort of thing makes you run screaming, do not buy this book. If you think you have the stomach for it, or at least the patience to give it an honest try I can’t recommend it enough.

For some, The Mathematics of Poker will not be a groundbreaking book, since they have been onboard with Math driven analysis for a while now. Many of the best and brightest in online poker are deeply grounded in Game Theory and mathematical reasoning. For the rest of us, we may have been vaguely aware of the many of the concepts but the math either scares us, or we are too lazy to devote the time to learning what is going on in the Left Brain of the poker mind. It is long past time to try to catch up to these largely self-taught math wizards and tap into some of that magic for ourselves. Thankfully Ankenman and Chen have provided a volume that makes that possible.

In the past several years, it is fair to say that the market for Poker literature has experienced a glut of supply. Nearly every TV poker personality has his or her own Play Poker Like the Pros, or Making the Final table. Some of these are good, some of these are great, and many of them are indifferent or worse. Unlike the majority of the books on the market today, Chen and Ankenman have specifically geared this book towards the intermediate and up player. They do not waste your time with basic concepts, and specifically say to the beginner, “the best course of action is to put this book down, read some of the other books in print aimed at beginners, play some poker, learn some more, and then return after gaining additional experience.”

Aside from that proviso, the authors do intend this book for a wide audience. The math is accessible, but not easy or dumbed-down. You will have to exercise some brain power to get through this book, and then, if you’re smart you’ll turn around and read it again. I have to admit on my first time through the book I feel dumber, but not for having read it, more so that I haven’t spent more time thinking along these lines before. I have a decent math background including Calculus in high school, but very little math education or study since then and little to no statistics background, so the wheels are a bit rusty when it comes to this stuff.

The Mathematics of Poker is organized into five main parts. After a well written introduction, Part I introduces the basic concepts that the rest of the book will be built on. If you do not have a background in statistics I highly recommend you spend some time in this chapter really absorbing the terms and coming to understand how Chen and Ankenman talk about math, because it will really pay off as you proceed through the book.

Part II is about exploitive play which takes the conversation from general math concepts and applies them to the game of poker. This section focuses on the many different situations of playing your hand versus a range of opponents’ hands and making profitable plays. It then goes a step further and encourages you to think outside the box of your two cards and play a range of possible hands against your opponents’ range, which, in the opinion of the authors, “leads to truly strong play.”

Part III is the heart and soul of the book. Focused on Optimal Play, chapter three can be likened to the search for a Unified Theory in physics. Ankenman has a very strong interest in Backgammon, which with computer modeling is coming closer and closer to being “cracked”, establishing an optimal way to play the game. With the greatly increased human element in poker, no to mention the multi-player aspect this is simply not possible given modern computing power. This is a win for the Luddites and poker traditionalists out there who have nightmares of a game dominated by robotic math geniuses.

Ankenman and Chen have no such fear, in fact they stress that the level of creativity possible in poker play increases with mathematical analysis. They are not out to rob poker of its artistry, but they are out to remove some of the subjectivity. “It depends,” while very often the only reasonable answer to a poker question, is the enemy of reasoned analysis and comparative discussions. The greatest contribution mathematical concepts lend to the discussion of poker is a reliable and objective way to discuss hands. You no longer have to rely on a “better player” to tell you the “right way to play” a certain hand. Instead you can create a mathematical model to fully analyze the hand and compare notes with another player based not on opinion, but some measure of science.

Part IV provides an in depth discussion of bankroll management from a mathematical perspective. The authors discuss the affects of variance and the need to protect against the “risk of ruin”, which is of course the chance of going busto for a player with an otherwise positive expectation. Part V is the catch all, Other Topics, which may be of the most interest to the tournament specialist as it focuses on calculating equity and making accurate decisions in tournament play.

For those who are afraid of math, or are just not “mathematically inclined” I cannot recommend this book to you, because it will very likely be a waste of money. Not because you won’t or can’t get it, but because you will most likely let the book gather dust on your shelf, unread. If you are ready to take the next step in poker and add a whole host of tools to your poker toolbox, then The Mathematics of Poker is for you. Even if you already have a an advanced understanding of the math behind decisions at the poker table this book can be a great resource to compare notes, refresh concepts or go a little further in depth in areas you haven’t studied. For myself, as soon as I post this article, I’m going to take the book, go outside and return to the sections that made me particularly dizzy.

The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide : Book Review

Lenny — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 08:29:32 GMT

The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition

by Michael Craig (editor)

With the astounding array of talent Full Tilt Poker has assembled to sponsor their site, it was only a matter of time before they published a poker strategy book. Aside from the players’ obligations in terms of the Tips from the Pros columns Full Tilt's pro sponsors are free agents when it comes to their intellectual property, so it took an outside force to bring them together. That outside force was Michael Craig, author of The Professor, The Banker and The Suicide King. Craig pitched the idea to Lederer and Full Tilt and they rightfully jumped on what seemed a surefire winner. The result of this collaboration is The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition.

The strength of this book lies in the diversity of opinion you get from the various authors. In one chapter you get Ted Forrest explaining why it pays to continuously vary your play, and in the next Andy Bloch goes into great detail on why you shouldn’t vary your play as much as most people think. The reality is that “it depends” is the only answer in poker worth listening to, but you can only hear that so many times before giving up in frustration. The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide offers a nice balance of clear cut "how-to" advice and more complex "fly by the seat of your pants" strategy.

The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide is very ambitious, seeking to cover tournament poker in NLHE, Limit, Stud, Stud Hi-Lo, Razz, Omaha and Omaha 8s. The contributors are Andy Bloch, Richard “Quiet Lion” Brodie, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Rafe Furst, Phil Gordon, David Grey, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow, Huckleberry Seed, Keith Sexton, and Gavin Smith. Ever heard the expression too many cooks in the kitchen? There are times when the book strains under the weight of so many personalities, but Michael Craig admirably holds the whole thing together.

In chapter four, Howard Lederer introduces a seemingly new word to the poker lexicon: leverage. I am sure many pros have discussed this concept before and the idea of using the threat of future bets in poker has been around a long time, but Lederer summarizes his approach to the concept in his chapter on leverage. Lederer explains how small bets on early streets can put pressure on an opponent who anticipates having to call more as the hand progresses. The power of small bets and pot control is the central theme of the book.

Two of the most entertaining and informative chapters come at the end of the book. The first is a conversation between Ted Forrest and Huckleberry Seed about Razz, recorded by Michael Craig. The second is by Rafe Furst on the parallels between Roshambo and multi-level thinking in poker. How deep do you have to go? According to Furst, “the amount never varies: one level deeper than your opponent.”

Gavin Smith provides some insight into the style of play that led him to the WPT player of the year title in 2006. He describes the hyper-aggressive style combined with keen reading ability he brings to bear when he sits down at the table. The title of his chapter is Big Stack Play, but the first sub-heading sums up the method he uses to get to that big stack: “Steal Early, Steal Often.” He advocates small pot poker through a variety of 2x and 2.5x raises as well as flat calling a raiser in order to set up a steal on the flop or turn. This style is obviously better suited to deep stacked live play than in online donkaments, but it is worth a read for all players.

I think this book is not meant to be read in one sitting. All together the multitude of topics and different authors is enough to make your head spin. Taken one at a time, or in chunks, the Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide actually has a lot to offer. In fact, if you planned to play every event at the World Series and you could only take one book, you would be well served to bring this along as it offers sound fundamentals for every game as well as higher level strategy from some of the best players in the world. The bulk of the book is devoted to No Limit, but I think the real value is in the chapters on the other games.

Overall, The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition is not a groundbreaking addition to the poker literature, but it is a good addition to any poker player’s library.

To buy this book on Amazon.com click here: The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition

Killer Poker Online 2 : Book Review

Lenny — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 20:24:26 GMT

Killer Poker Online 2
by John Vorhaus

I have read a lot of poker books, but this may be the first time I have "laughed out loud" while reading about poker strategy. This is also my first encounter with the Killer Poker Series by John Vorhaus, but I doubt it will be my last. Killer Poker Online 2 is no dusty strategy tome; it is a pleasure cruise through tropical waters with John Vorhaus as your guide. Make no mistake, this book has indispensable poker advice for all levels of play, as it is geared towards the serious player and doesn’t waste a lot of time with the ABC's of poker.

While Vorhaus does spend some time discussing hand values and in-game strategies, Killer Poker Online 2 is primarily about how to be a successful player long term rather than in any given hand or tournament. His focus is on note taking, mental discipline, approach to the game, playing environment, and all the areas which make us better, stronger, and happier players.

Here is an example of the writing style which separates this book from most of the Poker literature:

“With easy, immediate access to the game we love, it’s no wonder we enter play in almost every conceivable state of mind: sleepy, grumpy, dopey, and several other flavors of dwarf.”

This sentence is in the introduction after Vorhaus relates a humbling encounter with online poker mixed with jet lag and strong ale. While this is not a +EV combination, it is one many online players can relate to. After all, the game is a click away 24/7, and there is no breathalyzer between us and the start button of our computers. It is up to us to decide when and where to play; John Vorhaus simply gives us some tools to help make that decision easier and more profitable.

Killer Poker Online 2 is an interactive text with prompts throughout the book for the reader to make his or her own notes on whatever subject is under discussion. John Vorhaus uses a sometimes bewildering array of notes and codes for his online play, but one thing is for sure: they are entertaining. If you’re like me, the terms “TAG/LAG, rock, fish, etc.” become a bit tiresome after a while. It is refreshing to read about a “Timmy who’s Raises R Real but will Yield Orphans,” or to remember when I have “Tickled the Trout.” These are some of the more colorful terms Vorhaus employs throughout the book, and you can choose to incorporate his codes into your note taking or develop your own shorthand, as he encourages you to do.

A pleasure to read, Killer Poker Online 2 is also a very useful poker reference which you can return to time and time again. One handy feature is that key ideas are highlighted in large bold text, which helps hammer them home. This also allows for easy reference, because these concepts can be found simply by flipping through the pages. Here are a few examples:

“Patience is precious when chips are cheap.”
“Raises look like Aces to most players.”
“Keep your ego out of it.”
“Build the pot, then take it away.”
“Refuse to lose.”
“Deception is what you do to others, Delusion is what you do to yourself.”

These pearls of wisdom are surrounded by more in-depth analysis of what behaviors and habits lead to making the most of these situations and observations. I had no trouble reading Killer Poker Online 2 cover to cover, because I enjoyed the writing and felt the strategy and advice were worth reading. If you are pressed for time, the book is divided neatly into general concepts, sit-n-go's, heads-up play, MTTs, and cash games, so you can easily skip around to the parts that interest you most.

John Vorhaus concludes the book with a diary of 24 hours of uninterrupted internet poker. This is an entertaining section as well, published in a different font from the rest of the book to represent a handwritten scrawl. He updates the reader periodically with headings like this: “Time: 3:38 am, Game: Ten handed No Limit Holdem, Music: The Clash, London Calling (on headphones), Mental State: giddy with anticipation.”

The diary is followed by an “Outroduction” (no boring epilogues here) and an appendix of “Random Access” thoughts which don’t fit neatly into any of the main segments of the book. Overall, I found Killer Poker Online 2 to be a very entertaining and worthwhile read, and I recommend it to anyone who loves poker and good writing.

To buy this book on Amazon.com click here: Killer Poker Online 2

Harrington on Holdem III Article

Lenny — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:52:18 GMT

Poker players aren't a group of people you would expect to get excited over a "workbook", but the buzz surrounding the upcoming release of Harrington on Hold'em Volume III is audible wherever people gather to talk poker. Reading poker books may not be for you, but if you haven't at least glanced at the Harrington series then you are leaving yourself short stacked in every NLHE tournament you play. I mean this for beginner, intermediate, advanced and pro alike because I think the books have something to offer everyone.

The first two installments of this series have probably done more to advance the level of discussion of poker as a game of strategy since Sklansky and Malmuth first began publishing. Even "the bible" Super System has gotten a bit dusty over time compared to Harrington's books. Don't get me wrong, I think Doyle is as sharp as ever, but if you are looking for the premier guide to No-Limit Hold'em tournament play I think most would agree that Harrington is the first, second and now third books you should buy.

I sent a few questions over to the gentlemen at 2+2 publishing and got a reply from Mason Malmuth. I tried to get a little inside info on the new Sklansky/Miller book No Limit Hold'em Theory and Practice, as well as Harrington on Hold'em Volume III: The Workbook but Malmuth is a man of few words, and doesn’t give anything away. Of course, I still appreciate him taking the time to reply:

How exactly does 2+2 work? Are you completely independent publishers?

We're a publishing company that specializes in poker/gambling. We're independent of any other publisher.

Do you do a set run of books, and then respond to demand or is it almost entirely publish-on-demand these days?

- Based on our estimates of demand and other factors we determine the number of books to print. We do no publish-on-demand.

Are NLHE Theory and Practice and Harrington Vol. 3 shipping on the same date? Is that date set, or still slightly in flux?

- Both books are now shipping. (note: they are still listed as on pre-order, but I suppose they are rolling off the shelves as we speak)

Will they also be available in retail stores on that date or some time shortly thereafter?

- They are already in a few stores, and will probably be in all stores by June 5.

Do you anticipate demand being so high that you will go on backorder for any extended period of time?

- While we anticipate very high demand, we can always reprint fairly quickly, so don't anticipate any backorders.

What is the balance of cash game to tourney content in Theory and Practice? Anything in particular to look forward to with this book?

- You'll need to read the book. It contains a great deal of theory that will apply to both tournaments and cash games but is a little more cash game oriented.

In HoH Vol. 3 is there any significant new content or is it strictly application of the previous volumes?

- It is strictly applications of the previous volumes.

***

People often ask, "Do I have to read Vol. 1 before I read Vol. 2?" and the answer is not necessarily, but why wouldn't you? I have read a lot of poker books and I can honestly say I didn't read anything in either book that I felt was a waste of time. Even basic concepts were discussed in a way that made me think about them in new ways. I think when it comes to Volume three, however the first two books (or at the very least Vol. 2 for it's groundbreaking endgame strategies) will be required reading.

I was not able to get my hands on an advanced copy, as it is being kept under wraps until it goes out to the public, but I can make a few guesses on what to expect based on how the example hands were used in the previous books. I don't think this new book will waste a lot of time re-hashing the material covered in the previous books, but instead will plunge into specific situations and how all of the tools, tips and tricks apply in those hands. This will be a great learning tool for those who are "up to date" on their Harrington knowledge, but if you aren't you may get left behind.

For those who haven't read any of the books, the first two volumes are filled with example hands that apply the topic under discussion to real game situations and each chapter is followed by sever "Poker Problems" to reinforce the idea further. Volume 3 will consist entirely of situational analysis and problem hands like these. Also worth mentioning is the Harrington books use a simple graphic of the poker table to introduce each hand allowing you to easily see position and stack sizes, so you don't have to follow along in dense text. So you won’t be going blind reading plain text hand histories, it's more like using Mindwise's PokerXfactor hand re-player, only with Dan Harrington over your shoulder telling you what to pay attention to and what he would do in that situation.

My first reaction to hearing that Harrington’s third book was going to be “nothing more” than problems, I have to admit I was disappointed. I was hungry for more broad concepts and deep poker insight I have become accustomed to in the first two books. Then one day, I was talking to my brother about it and he pointed out, “But that’s exactly what I need. I think I know everything I am ever going to know about poker, now I just need to practice it. I don’t want to slog through another poker text, I want specific application and I want the ideas drilled into my skull!” I think he may be underestimating the breadth of the poker literature and the complexity of the game, but the basic concept I agree with. Sitting down with a book of poker puzzles, problems, quizzes and questions with Dan Harrington as my guide seems like a pretty +EV proposition to me.

Even if you never use an ounce of what Harrington has to offer (unlikely) I think it is profitable to recognize players who are trying to play "according to Harrington". If you are good enough to spot them you might be good enough to use it against them. Kind of like recognizing opening moves in chess, if you know what the opponent is thinking you can trap him twelve moves ahead. That’s only for the very advanced, for the vast majority of players the Harrington books are simply a great way to take your game up a notch.

Harrington on Hold'em Volume III: The Workbook is available for pre-order on Amazon right now, which is not a bad idea because I think the demand is going to be very high and the sooner you get your order in the sooner you can start sharpening your edge.

If you'd like to check out our reviews of Volumes I and II, click below:

Harrington Volume II : Book Review

Harrington on Hold'em Volume I : Book Review

No Limit Hold'em Theory and Practice : Book Review

Lenny — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 17:29:40 GMT

No Limit Hold'em Theory and Practice
by David Sklansky and Ed Miller

David Sklansky and 2+2 publishing are known for their high level of poker scholarship and the latest release No Limit Hold'em Theory and Practice is no exception. The book sets out to cover all of the complexities of the game of NLHE with the same degree of exacting detail Sklansky has treated other games with in previous volumes. Although the explosion of NLHE is already three years old, and has been gaining popularity since 2000, for a long time it was quite neglected and there are large gaps in the poker literature. This book sets out to fill those gaps, and does an admirable job of it.

The first poker book I ever read cover to cover was Lou Krieger's Hold'em Excellence (click for review), which is a great introductory volume with a pretty hand ranking chart in full color for easy access on the back. This book will help the novice learn the game quickly and effectively and even have a good shot at being profitable. It will never make you a great player, and in fact a lot of the methodology can stunt your growth as a player if you don't learn how to adapt and try new things. One bold inset from Theory and Practice (TAP) sums this up nicely- "A system of hand rankings ... is worse than useless".

What this means is all that time I spent staring at that pretty multicolored chart of hand rankings telling me what to play in which position allowed me to reach a level of play that has a very definitive plateau, and without departing from that way of thinking I will be trapped in it forever. But hope is not lost! First of all, I found Pocketfives, and realized there is much, much more to this game than I ever imagined from all of the discussions I've followed here and the opportunities I have had to watch great players at work.

Also, I branched out, I discovered the Harrington books, which are the best tournament NLHE guides available, bar none. I went back and gave Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players another shot, even though it made my head spin the first time I tried to read it. I paid attention to what successful players are doing and asked questions when I had the chance. I have yet to read Theory of Poker, which is next on my list as I’ve heard it is the bedrock of poker literature, so maybe lacking that basis TAP was more challenging for me. Either way this book should be on the shelf of every serious student of the game and anyone who plays for profit.

Another bit that particularly impressed me regarding the “call bluff”, which is calling on the flop in order to set up bluffing opportunities on the turn and river:

“Some people think the call bluff is a particularly clever play… But it’s no cleverer than any other play. Don’t be too enamored with yourself when you pull one off successfully. It’s all in a day’s work.”

A poker player is nothing without confidence, but many people confuse confidence with ego, and Sklansky lets no opportunity to strip your ego bare pass by. There are kinder gentler books out there that do this too, like Zen and the Art of Poker and the Tao of Poker, which teach the Buddhist principles of selflessness and rejection of ego at the poker table. Sklanksy and Miller just slap you around and remind you that you’re nothing special. Different approaches, same result- you can’t play this game successfully if your image controls you rather than the other way around.

A question that comes up quite frequently in the forums is “How do I beat bad players?” or, “Should I move up in levels? I think I will be more profitable against better players.” TAP answers these questions more succinctly and clearly than I have ever seen it put before. In a section called “Multiple Level Thinking” they describe the levels of thought that you can approach each poker decision with, starting with “zeroeth level” or “what do I have”, aka “what are my cards”. Then you can take into account what your opponent may have. Going a level deeper you can try to decide what he thinks YOU may have, and so on. Here’s the kicker:

“you can think only one level deeper than your opponent, as for instance the third level means thinking about how your opponent may be reasoning on the second level. If your opponent doesn’t think on the second level, then your third level won’t be applicable.”

Eureeka! The answer at last! Most of us have known for a long time that at micro limits you have to play showdown poker most of the time, and just try to maximize your +EV situations based on hand values. This is because MOST of your opponents aren’t even thinking past 0th level! You can’t bluff someone who doesn’t put you on a hand to begin with. Playing against more sophisticated opponents won’t help you be more profitable unless you are capable of also stepping your game up to a level ABOVE theirs. Don’t get too attached to thinking like a Quantum Physicist,

“The key to no limit isn’t always thinking on the fourth or fifth level. Usually thinking that deeply is unnecessary and only likely to lead you to absurd conclusions about what’s going on”.

In other words, “Tailor your thinking to your situation and opponent. If you can reliably figure out how your opponents think and stay one step ahead of them, you’ll make a lot of money.”

I am a reader. I have always loved books and spent a lot of my time reading, so when I began to take poker seriously it was natural for me to explore the game through books. But as I read and learned more, one thing kept coming up- the only real way to learn this game is by playing it. Poker schools and books ease the transition and can accelerate your learning curve, but there is no substitute for the lessons found at the table. Layer upon layer of information is there for the taking if you are observant and dedicated enough to read between the lines, take risks, try new things, keep records, compare notes with other players, take more risks, and just let the cards fall where they may. This is not a game of cards, it is a game of infinite patience and infinite imagination.

Sklansky and Miller never once tell you “If you hold XY you should do Z”. Instead they approach the game in segments, explaining each poker “move” with intricate detail and analysis. With this range of hands you might do A 50% if the time, B 20% of the time, C 20% of the time and something completely different 10% of the time. As we have found time and again in the forums, the answer in poker is invariably “It depends”. This can be very frustrating for the novice and intermediate player who is just looking for answers. My only advice for you is, be patient. While you may feel you are wading into quicksand, if you take it slow eventually you may learn to walk on water. Or at least do the back float. In the meantime, pick yourself up a pair of water wings at your local online retailer or corner book shop: No Limit Hold’em Theory and Practice. It may not make you an Olympic swimmer, but it may save you from drowning.

To buy this book on Amazon.com click here: No Limit Hold’em Theory and Practice

The Tao of Poker : Book Review

Lenny — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 04:48:18 GMT

The Tao of Poker
by Larry W. Phillips

Despite his precipitous exit from the final table, few can argue that Andy Black was not among the standouts at the World Series this year. After Matusow went out, with or without the chip lead I’d say he was the prohibitive favorite to win the Main Event. Unfortunately for him, that’s not the way the cards fell.

Why do I mention Mr. Black? Because in his ESPN interviews he mentions how his study of Buddhism improved his game. Why not? Essentially Buddhism is a whole religion based on avoiding "tilt" in life– why not apply it at the poker tables?

You may have heard of Zen and the Art of Poker, a great book by Larry W. Phillips that gives deep insight into how Zen Buddhism can revolutionize how you approach the game and life for that matter. You don’t have to don a robe and shave your head, you just have to open your mind a bit and give it a chance, I promise you it is worthwhile.

Another of his books, The Tao of Poker, offers the reader bits of encapsulated wisdom which can be read at a glance or studied again and again for deeper meaning. His “285 rules to transform your game and your life” offer genuine advice and invaluable tips for the serious cardplayer. In the tradition of the koan these tips are short but infinitely thought provoking. This is by no means a strategy manual, it is more of a guide to meditation– on how to improve your game from within.

Don’t worry, it is not all “What is the sound of one hand clapping” mumbo jumbo, there is concrete, useable advice. Also the brevity of each tip make this the ideal bathroom reader. After all, have you ever felt closer to Nirvana than after a really good... never mind.

To buy this book on Amazon.com click here : The Tao of Poker

Zen and The Art of Poker : Book Review

DP388 — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 04:05:42 GMT

Zen and the Art of Poker
by Larry W. Phillips

Let me first state that I’m not some deep thinking Zen Buddhist follower. I’m a regular guy who enjoys learning about ways to take my poker game to the next level. I first became aware of the concept of using Zen principles to improve your poker game by reading an article Howard Lederer posted on his website. Soon thereafter, in another message board someone made a post asking what the best poker books out there were and it was mentioned by quite a few people to pick up Zen and the Art of Poker by Larry Phillips. I went ahead and ordered it from Amazon because it seemed like a pretty easy read (only 175 pages) with some interesting concepts.

Some of those concepts really opened my eyes and helped me build a solid foundation for understanding the mental side of poker. Where most poker books concentrate on strategy and the cards, Zen and the Art of Poker really helps you look inside yourself to improve your game both emotionally and psychologically. When I’m really in the zone, I’m approaching the game emotionally neutral and completely detached from the results. This book has helped me learn about achieving this emotionless state as well as other key principles that you can apply to poker and beyond.

Some of the key concepts covered in the book include:
·   Fitting yourself into the flow of the game
·   Using inaction as a weapon
·   Mastering yourself, not the game
·   Dealing with losses, errors and failure
·   Playing on instinct

One of the most important lessons I learned was playing on instinct. This is a sample of one of the many nuggets.

”As an exercise, try turning off your thinking mechanism from time to time and going by your instincts alone….Playing by instinct is going to be wrong at times but doing it on a regular basis will purify the process…Your instinct will improve, until what is in your mind will gradually come into alignment with the true nature of what is going on in the game.”

As far as the readability of the book goes, you don’t have to read it cover to cover. Most of concepts are independent and you can start reading at any point. So, if you’ve read all the great poker strategy books and are looking for a way to take your game to a new level, I would definitely pick up a copy.

To buy this book on Amazon.com click here : Zen and the Art of Poker

Online Ace : Book Review

Lenny — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 11:41:39 GMT

Online Ace
by Scott Fischman

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you that Online Ace
is the first book that I have received an advance copy of, for free, as a "professional" writer. So, needless to say, I was pretty happy when I got my copy. Also the people at ESPN books were very helpful and responsive. My first impressions of the book are that it is well made. No offense to 2+2, but they definitely put all of the emphasis on content and very little on cosmetics. Don't get me wrong, between Malmuth, Sklansky and Harrington (not to mention many others) they probably have three of the top ten Poker minds on the planet, but their books are not exactly... polished. Scott Fischman’s Online Ace is published by ESPN books and the quality of printing, cover design, binding all show in the book. Believe it or not, as a book lover, these are things I care about.

Now, of course you can't judge a book by its cover, and I am not about to do that. After I got over my little-boy-at-christmas glee of opening the fed-ex package when it arrived on my doorstep, I settled down to read the book with an eye for what it had to offer the online player. Phil Hellmuth writes a glowing forward about Fischman, his talent and his involvement in Hellmuth's Fantasy Camps. This is followed by a nice introduction and brief bio of how Scott Fischman came to the game. He tells of his days working a valet stand at a Vegas casino and then blowing his days pay at the craps table, and how he started playing poker because “the bleeding was slower”. His stories about his early years provide a carefree tone that permeates the book and makes it a very enjoyable read.

The next chapter “getting started” is pretty basic, and anyone with moderate computer literacy and internet savvy could easily skip over this. There are a few nuggets in this section though, like “winning isn’t the goal, It’s… making good decisions at the poker table.” This is something worth reading for almost everyone. The rest is pretty basic, as he goes through a step-by-step guide on choosing a site, a screen name, making your first deposit, etc. He does address the typical concern of new players about security and fairness in an open and honest manner. Worthy of mention here, is that throughout the book, Fischman has guest appearances by notable pros from the online world and live. The first featured player is none other than our very own JohnnyBax, which was fun to read as a Pocketfiver. The next 20-30 pages or so are definitely skim/skip for most pocketfivers as they are really just an introduction to the basic mechanics of online poker.

I was beginning to get a little worried that the entire book was going to be aimed at the complete newbie both to the game and to the internet. Even when Fischman gets to Basic Strategy, there’s nothing you haven’t already read many times before. That is, if you have ever read a poker book, which Fischman points out several times he has not. You’ll also hear people like Todd Arnold (NSXT2) say this, and given their success, it may discourage you from reading yourself. Well one thing Fischman says is that he may never have read a book, but he has put in countless hours thinking about poker, discussing hands with friends, replaying hands in his mind, keeping records and analyzing them, so despite his aversion to reading he is definitely a serious student of the game. He also points out is that his trial by fire allowed him to experience a much broader range of situations than a by-the-book player will.

This made me think that one reason why those of us who approach the game from such a serious perspective all the time struggle with the frustration of lack of success, bad beats, and the perpetual question, “how to beat the donks”. Well, Fischman provides some interesting thoughts on this in the book, and presents them in a fun way that helps to illustrate his points. The basic strategy section actually does get better and there is plenty worth reviewing. A chapter dedicated to sitngos follows the same pattern as basic strategy. It starts out aimed at the complete novice and ends up being worth a read, with some very good advice.

The rest of Online Ace actually follows this pattern as well, with Fischman introducing new concepts or areas of online poker with very basic information, then going deeper. I won’t mislead you, this book is geared towards the novice who might see Scott Fischman on TV. There are however, some parts of the book that discuss strategy at a very high level, as well as other aspects of the game, game selection, money management, mental attitudes, and more. Also, probably my favorite part of the book is that it is written in an open, engaging manner that is just friendly and conversational. I get the feeling that I am sitting down with Scott in his apartment, and he is showing me around the internet on his personal computer. It’s the kind of talk you might have with a buddy, sitting at your poker table after a game, idly shuffling cards or stacking chips as you recap the game or talk poker. For that reason alone, I would not hesitate to buy a copy.

To buy this book on Amazon.com click here : Online Ace

Harrington on Hold'em Vol. 2 : Book Review

Lenny — Sat, 27 May 2006 09:39:20 GMT

Harrington on Hold'em Volume II: The Endgame
by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie

When I first heard Dan Harrington was writing a book, I knew it was not going to be “just another poker book”. With a Main Event bracelet on his wrist Action Dan will forever be known as a world champion, but his back-to-back final tables in 2003 and 2004 blew me away. This guy is just refuses to settle for playing less than brilliant poker every second, and if there is any way to make the final table, he will find it. The two Harrington on Hold'em books are really one book in two parts. Think, Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill except instead of samurai mastery we are witness to poker genius. Harrington on Hold’em Volume I did not disappoint in the slightest, in fact it exceeded my expectations, so much so I didn’t know quite what to expect from Harrington on Hold'em Volume II: The Endgame.

Whereas Vol. I is in some ways an introduction to NLHE tournament play, it goes into such detail with such clarity that even basic concepts are given new light. What would Vol. II have in store for me as it goes into “more detail in more advanced situations in the latter stages of the tournament where it really counts? To say the least, I was very happy when the shiny red volume landed on my doorstep courtesy of Amazon and UPS.

One of the first things I noticed is that Volume II wastes no time in getting to new material. Many authors may have spent 10, 20, or more pages re-hashing their first book in order to fill space and sell more copies of the original if the reader doesn’t already have it. Harrington on Hold’em it truly a second volume which starts seamlessly where the first book left off, think of it as an encyclopedia and Vol. 1 ends on the letter K and Vol. II picks right up at L and keeps on going. I appreciate this because the last thing I want as a serious student of poker is to wade through page after page of fluff when all I am trying to do is improve my game. Harrington obliges and plunges right in with the first section of the book devoted to making moves. Harrington covers some common and not so common bluffing situations and strategies, which are all worth reading.

The next section is where Volume II departs from the established poker lexicon and introduces some real groundbreaking ideas. Sure people had addressed the different phases of a tournament before, but to my knowledge Harrington’s concept of “M” as a lens through which to make your tournament decisions is entirely new, especially in how he applies it. For those of you who constantly struggle with the late stages of a tournament because your once healthy stack is continuously diminished by the ever-rising blinds, will enjoy Harrington’s comparison of this feeling to Stephen King’s The Langoliers. Now, of course your stack size will never be the only thing that figures into the equation, but this simple yet powerful way of gauging your position in the tournament is a very useful tool.

After introducing the M concept (your stack size/(cost per round)), Harrington uses it to analyze a variety of situations that arise in the latter stages of tournaments and how it affects your play and the play of those around you. Whether a player is aware of it or not, he will start pushing with more and more hands as he becomes desperate. The smart player knows this and uses all the tools and tricks Harrington describes to stay out of the emergency situations, but also keeps a close eye on those around him and knows when to exploit the dynamics of the tournament to make things uncomfortable for his opponents. These are what Harrington refers to as Inflection Points, the moments in the tournament when each decision becomes that much more important.

Volume II continues along as every tournament does, from working your chips and building your stack early, to exploiting opportunities on the bubble or pre-final table, and finally to short-handed play. There are a couple times when this comes up, right before the final table when you are waiting to consolidate and then at the FT as you battle for those lucrative top three spots. This is where Harrington excels in my opinion, both as a player and a writer and teacher of poker theory. He uses all of the tools he's described up to this point to help you see how to turn an average showing into a big score. I won't give away any more of the book as I really can't convey the value it offers, just buy it, read it, then read it again. You will be happy you did.

To buy this book on Amazon.com click here : Harrington on Hold'em Volume II: The Endgame