Small Stakes Holdem by Sklansky
I am thinking about ordering this book from an online source since Chapters does not carry it, I was wondering if you all thought it is worth it??? I want to become a killer Limit Holdem player, ring/cash games and tourney wise... but do you think this is a good book for cash game wise???? I have heard alot of good things about it, and then alot of mixed feelings about it which is why I am posting here about it now.
And just for a bit of background info, I have Super System 2 and Jennifer Harmans section on Limit Holdem, I have heard they are pretty similar in concepts???? And truth too this???? Get back to me, thanks.
And just for a bit of background info, I have Super System 2 and Jennifer Harmans section on Limit Holdem, I have heard they are pretty similar in concepts???? And truth too this???? Get back to me, thanks.
Comments
I would like to hear from the naysayers because I have mostly heard good things.
***EDIT I ordered from Amazon.ca and it came in within 3 days
You guys definately think it would help someone beat the piss outta Party Poker? LOL!?!??! Seriously though, ya think?
especially if you're gonna play at party
not totally sure where i've read that
but i remember that vaguelyÂ
What did you think of it? Hard to understand, or was it a good read that improved your limit cash game?
I am making good use of both and I get to support a fellow forum member.
PS. I got my stuff from Dave in about three days as well.
easier in the sense that it's not as boring { for me atleast
i like the section on preflop play
i'm sure it has
the funny thing is i'm a NL tournament player  :D
i'm thinking of getting HoH Â :c:
Tredeb are you gonna play the Team Canuck Poker tournament
"Fear the beaver, baby. Fear the beaver."
Amazon.ca typically carries most books that Chapters doesn't. If you really love Chapters and/or hate Amazon, try calling your local Chapters (or email them online) to see if they will take a special order for this book.
Small Stakes Holdem is one of the best poker books I've ever read. One important caveat: this is a book for advanced low-limit holdem players. If you are a beginner, stick with something like WLLH by Lee Jones, or Winning at Poker by Dave Scharf, both of which are great.
Too many of the concepts in SSH book would probably be easily misunderstood/misused by beginners.
SSH says: It is sometimes it is correct to play inside straight draws. [elsewhere] It is sometimes correct to raise with marginal hands.
Beginner reads what he wants to see: I should always play a gutshot. In fact, this is a pretty weak hand. So I should raise! Semi-BLUFF! Semi-BLUFF! I'm like the second coming of Johnny Chan, mixed with a little Phil Hellmuth and Teddy KGB! But for some reason I can't beat these low-limit games where 18 people see the flop, and 26 people are in at the river. Therefore, I will move up in limits to $50-$100 where my raising with a gutshot will get some respect.
As for limit holdem (or any) tournaments, I'd suggest Tournament Poker for Advanced players. Of course, with any tournament (and as pointed out in TPFAP), your knowledge of the underlying game must be solid. For low buy-in (say, $30, or maybe $50, and less) limit HE tourneys, it's SSH country, and for higher buy-in LHE tourneys, you'd probably be better served with the mid-limit LHE books, such as HPFAP by Sklansky or Middle Limit Poker by Ciaffone.
I found Jennifer Harman's limit holdem section from SS2 to be nothing special.
I wouldn't say either of these is better than the other. They're even difficult to compare. Both are excellent.
Up to $3-$6, sure it would.1
ScottyZ
1If this just caused you move your mouse onto the Reply button, hang on a minute. There are certainly also higher limit games at Party (and elsewhere) that have the opponent texture which is assumed by SSH.
So I have went ahead and ordered it from Amazon.ca, they are sending it out today priority delivery and should be here tommorow, didnt realise that they are so fast! Thanks for everyones opinions, you guys helped in my decision to order this book. You and the forums at 2+2, they are pro-Sklansky, maybe because it is his site, I dunno!??!?! LOL!!!!!!!!!
However alot of the posters at those forums are huge winners in the $2-$4 all the way up to $30-$60 games at Party, and they all say it is an awesome book, so if it has helped them, I am sure it will help me.
Thanks again guys.
time to avoid youÂ
I would like to but I am going to have to check my schedule as the time approaches.
I will probably be dead money but maybe I can snag a $50 bounty if I get lucky.
From my understanding, there has never been a losing player who posts at 2+2. ;-)
Enjoy!
imagine 'lucky' enough to get Bob and Ralph on your right and Dave on your left
no Devin { attending a wedding ???
great chances of getting a bounty but greater chance of getting knocked out by 1 of themÂ
ROFLMAO
I try to avoid thinking about that aspect of the tourney.
I am confident my skills will prevail :bs:
Well this sounds like a challenge and reflects my current thinkings about SSH...
This book was written for a game that doesn't exist online aside from near perfect table selection or very micro limits. It applies perfectly to a low limit B&M game usually because the players really are that terrible.
On your first read, it appears to be telling you to start 3-betting your 2nd pair on the flop and never folding "big pots". It never defines exactly what a "big pot" is and Miller even goes so far to say that a "big pot" is one where there was a mere preflop raise. It assumes that your opponents are completely insane and will conveniantly raise bottom pair but only call down top pair and never ever fold. The concept of the hero folding is completely absent in the book and you'd think that the term doesn't even exist. He defines a "loose" game as one where 50% of the table goes to the flop.. I can't find those types of table beyond .5/$1 at party.
Your game will go from Tight/Passive to Aggressive/Aggressive, you'll start discounting your opponents abilities and raising when you should be calling or worse, raising when you should be folding. You'll go through some pretty wild bankroll swings and liekly end up questioning whether the book was worth the money or not. You'll wonder "How can I win playing like this?".
At some point, a little lightbulb will go off over your head. You'll start to realise that Millers examples are highly situational with specifically picked player types doing the raising/calling (ie raising the 2nd pair when the agressive button bets is a far different scenario than raising the button when a squeaky tight passive player bets). You'll 'pacify' your playing style and end up in the Tight Aggressive category (Less aggressive than currently, but far more aggressive that originally). You'll start to realise that extra protection betting in big pots is good and start to get a better idea of what 'small pots' are. Then you go back and read miller again and pick up all those little subtilties that you missed on the first read.
So I guess the question is, "Is the journey worth it?".. I say hell yes. Passive players can win in the long term, but Aggressive players win more.
Overall it's a great book, but you can fall into a lot of traps very easily and misapplying concepts can embark yourself on a wild ride.
I would go as far as saying that it is not a good "first book" on holdem for a new player. I don't think you can beat Jones' book for nailing down the fundamentals. Get comfortable with them and then kick up the aggression a little with Miller.
Also I would say many tables at .50/1 are not even as loose as 50% preflop.
....FWIW.
My standard line to friends who want to start playing is to buy Jones, play about 100k hands and then consider Miller.
I would recommend going and playing on pacific, to find tables that meet the criteria you just listed, it's the closest i've found to a low limit B&M table.