Pot-Limit & No-Limit Poker

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book on a Complex Form of Poker
Review: I am amazed at the reviews some of the reader's have given this book, it is an absolutely excellent book. I have owned the Book for three years and find myself going back to it very often, not the case with any of Sklansky's Books I own. I can only imagine that the information is too difficult to comprehend for anyone who does not like this book, Or alternatively they need their information spoon fed a la Sklansky. Some of the concepts in this book are complex, some are amazingly simple. The Authors explain in an easy to understand way the technical aspects of Pot and No Limit Poker which make it different to Limit, in other words most of the time from a purely technical standpoint there are right and wrong ways to play hands.
If you want to understand Big Bet Poker buy this book. It is easy to read but hard to absorb and will take weeks if not months to understand everything in this book. You would lose thousands of dollars at the poker table before you figured out all the information contained in this book. The book assumes you are a pretty established Poker Player already, if not most of the information will go over your head. It is the best Treatise on Big Bet Poker available, if you are serious about Poker I would recommend buying it in conjunction with Super/System and The Theory of Poker.

Rating:
Summary: A great poker book
Review: I bought this book several years ago, before the no-limit craze, when pot-limit and no-limit were played in tournaments and in Europe, and limit dominated American poker. At the time, I wasn't sure what to make of it since I had little experience with big-bet poker, so I asked the opinions of a few players I have a lot of respect for. I knew it was good, but I was a bit surprised at the superlatives in their praise.

I've gone back and read bits and pieces many times since then, and longer chunks a few times. It really is excellent. Even with just a few minutes, you can get something from it - inspiration for a new play, quick insight into a new game, etc. There's a good discussion of the differences between pot-limit and no-limit, which is very useful for those with experience at one trying to adapt to the other.

A few of the other reviews are misguided, which prompted me to add my own. The long review criticizing specific advice takes both the situations and recommendations out of context. As another reviewer pointed out, the recommendation to play big hands strong on the flop is in a discussion of pot-limit, not no-limit, where you can't just check to the river and then move in if the pot is still small.

Another criticism was the idea of reraising all-in with a big draw on the flop. Obviously, this is a bad idea as a regular play, but that's not what they are recommending. As an occasional move against certain opponents, this can be a very powerful move. The other player may have been bluffing, and fold quickly. Or, he may have a good hand, like top pair/top kicker, and lay it down. Even if you get called, you still have around a 35% chance to win. And after you show down a drawing hand after moving all-in, you'll get more calls on your big made hands in the future.

Another supposed "criticism" is that the book doesn't cover hold'em exclusively. The recent hold'em craze is relatively new, driven by the WPT on television. Before a couple years ago, even most pro poker players didn't play much no-limit hold'em. Then and now, people play lots of other games. That this book covers many games shouldn't be a surprise: it lists six games on the cover in big print, under "COVERING". The people who keep making these complaints (several criticize Super System 2 for the same thing) must be new to the poker world in the past year or two.

The section on "strip deck poker" that another reviewer complained about as obsolete takes up barely over one page. It just talks very briefly about the rules and what proper strategy would be, and then adds a quick story about a hand. In that page, Reuben even says, "I am glad to say this game is little-played now. It is excellent for cheating, as two players can easily communicate to each other what their hole card is." I thought it was interesting.

Ciaffone is an American with decades of experience playing, teaching, and writing about poker, with a fairly conservative playing style. Reuben is English, where pot-limit is just about the only form played, with a super-aggressive style. Both have impressive poker resumes, and their contrasting playing styles provide useful perspective.cover odds, percentages, or have

This is not a book for beginners. It doesn't charts of what starting hands to play, and doesn't make blanket statements about what to do. It assumes you already play fairly well and are looking to improve to a higher level. It serves that purpose well, and is even interesting reading, with a few jokes thrown in - unfortunately, very rare for a good poker book.

Rating:
Summary: Best Big Bet Poker book to date
Review: I regularly play limit holdem and I decided that I wanted to give no-limit a try so I thought I had better do a little research first. ...

I was very disappointed by the book. I felt like I was reading a collection of random articles put together in a haphazard fashion. While yes, there are certainly a few nuggets of information to be found, the book is poorly organized, doesn't go in-depth enough, and veers off and covers some less well-known forms of poker, e.g., a chapter on "Strip Deck Poker".

I think that I'm being somewhat charitable giving the book a rating of 2 stars,..

The bottom line is that I can't recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: I should have put more faith in the "Short Stack" review...
Review: I regularly play limit holdem and I decided that I wanted to give no-limit a try so I thought I had better do a little research first. ...

I was very disappointed by the book. I felt like I was reading a collection of random articles put together in a haphazard fashion. While yes, there are certainly a few nuggets of information to be found, the book is poorly organized, doesn't go in-depth enough, and veers off and covers some less well-known forms of poker, e.g., a chapter on "Strip Deck Poker".

I think that I'm being somewhat charitable giving the book a rating of 2 stars,..

The bottom line is that I can't recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: a necessity for No limit play
Review: I'd posted this review before but it is no longer available for some reason. I've received MANY thanks via email from people who chose not to buy the bookand agreed with my advice. I've received a few responses saying I'm wrong. Havign played much more since I origianally wrote it, I decided to review it and see if perhaps I was wrong before. Nope. I stand by every word of it. There is of course MUCH more to the game than what I've posted here. This is just a basic response to the bad advice in this book... my actual game functions at a much higher level. I'm making more money than I'm losing, and enjoying playing at the same time. Here's the original review:

I've been playing no limit Texas Hold 'em online and have found a fairly successfull system, by applying what I knew about limit Hold 'em. I thought this book would help to take my no-limit game to the next level. After reading the little bit that it offers on Hold 'em, I am so angry about the type of advise that they give, that I could SPIT! I hate to think how much money this book has cost people who've followed its advise.
For example, they suggest that you shouldn't be afraid to bet or raise J-J-3 when you have no outs. What!? RAISE against a pair you can't beat, let alone the possible trips and full house that are out there? The only time this is advisable is if you are on the button and everyone else ahead of you has checked. Even then, you maybe be getting slow played. Beware the pair!

As for slow playing, this book says if you have a great hand, don't do it! It says your objective is to win as much of the opponents stack as possible, so start betting outright. Wrong! From my experience, Betting even a modest bet at a scary flop in no limit is enough to scare people off and they fold if they've hit nothing or don't have top pair. I say check and let the opponent try to BLUFF YOU out. Just call their bet as if you're waiting for something else. They may bet even bigger on the next street to try to get you out. Call again. If they don't bet there and you're after them, THEN you bet, but make it enough that they'll stay with you. Then on the river, if you're first, go all in. If they bet or check to you, raise them all in. The only time you vary this is if if looks like allowing them to continue will bring a hand that will beat you. It's pretty safe to let them stay if you have a high pocket pair and one on the board to make trips. But if you see a threat of a str8 or a flush out there, then bet big so they can not make their hand. I've found this type of slow play to be VERY lucrative on those hands. Betting out only makes the other players fold. This book assumes people stay and bluff and chase draws more often than they do!

Surprisingly, the book also suggests that you go all in on draws to make the other players think twice about continuing with their hand. It says "At Hold 'em, unless it is some kind of freak hand, the player's money is going to hyave to go in when he is a sustansial underdog" (p. 71). HELLO!?!? In this situation, YOU are the one that needs help. The opponent may already be beating you with even the lowest pair on the board. Granted, they'd probably fold that. But they may have top pair, two pair, pockets for trips, or be one card to a nut flush and they're going to call you! You might get away with going all in like this once or twice. But it doesn't matter. The one time you do it and get called and lose because you hadn't made a hand before doing it, ALL of your money is gone!!!

Here's another bit of BAD advise: "If the opponent chooses to raise you on the flop, you come back over the top and set him all-in. His position would now be worthless and you would have two cards to come if he called, giving you a fine chance to make your draw" (p. 73). He is talking about the action you should take if you're on a draw! If your opponent just RAISED you, he is most often telling you you're beat. LISTEN TO HIM!!! FOLD! He has probably already made a hand. (You can't continue to fold if he does this to you repeatedly, because then he's bluffing. So know your opponent.)

First of all, DON'T buy this book for advise on no-limit Hold 'em. If you do, and if you play by the advise contained in its pages, then you come play me! You can find me at Pokerroom.com on most nights playing at the unlimitted Hold 'em tables. My screen name there is 2DollarBets. I'll be happy to let you raise against my trips or full house... and I'll be happy to see your all in on a drawing hand when I have my top pair. And if you want to go all in after I've raised you, thus TELLING you you're beat at this point in the game, then by all means look me up!

If you're starting out, get a different book. Get one that talks about pot odds and what you should to preflop, flop, turn and river. When to bluff, depending on your position and what others have done, when to FOLD. By the way, I've found that FOLDING when you're supposed to is the best way to make money playing no limit. Don't be bullied, but don't be dumb! Slow play those high pockets and especially trips and better, UNLESS no one else is doing the betting for you. And don't bet too much into higher threats on the board because someone is likely to have that hand. And beware the pair!

Anyone who wrote a positive review on this book concerning Hold 'em, was either paid, works for the book or the publisher, or doesn't understand the game.

Have an opinion on what I had to say? You can tell me so at [e-mail].

Rating:
Summary: Check it out!
Review: i'm an experienced limit hold'em player and this book did a great job of laying out the principles of big bet poker and helping with examples in different games that i've played and havent played sharing a lot of principles i couldn't quite quantify. winners thinks in a very verbose mannerism and books like this help train the mind to look at the proper factors. Good Read, Best No Limit Pot Limit book out there so far.

Rating:
Summary: Pot-Limit & No-Limit Poker
Review: I've been playing no limit Texas Hold 'em online and have found a fairly successfull system, by applying what I knew about limit Hold 'em. I thought this book would help to take my no-limit game to the next level. After reading the little bit that it offers on Hold 'em, I am so angry about the type of advise that they give, that I could SPIT! I hate to think how much money this book has cost people who've followed its advise.

For example, they suggest that you shouldn't be afraid to bet or raise J-J-3 when you have no outs. What!? RAISE against a pair you can't beat, let alone the possible trips and full house that are out there? The only time this is advisable is if you are on the button and everyone else ahead of you has checked. Even then, you maybe be getting slow played. Beware the pair!

As for slow playing, this book says if you have a great hand, don't do it! It says your objective is to win as much of the opponents stack as possible, so start betting outright. Wrong! From my experience, Betting even a modest bet at a scary flop in no limit is enough to scare people off and they fold if they've hit nothing or don't have top pair. I say check and let the opponent try to BLUFF YOU out. Just call their bet as if you're waiting for something else. They may bet even bigger on the next street to try to get you out. Call again. If they don't bet there and you're after them, THEN you bet, but make it enough that they'll stay with you. Then on the river, if you're first, go all in. If they bet or check to you, raise them all in. The only time you vary this is if if looks like allowing them to continue will bring a hand that will beat you. It's pretty safe to let them stay if you have a high pocket pair and one on the board to make trips. But if you see a threat of a str8 or a flush out there, then bet big so they can not make their hand. I've found this type of slow play to be VERY lucrative on those hands. Betting out only makes the other players fold. This book assumes people stay and bluff and chase draws more often than they do!

Surprisingly, the book also suggests that you go all in on draws to make the other players think twice about continuing with their hand. It says "At Hold 'em, unless it is some kind of freak hand, the player's money is going to hyave to go in when he is a sustansial underdog" (p. 71). HELLO!?!? In this situation, YOU are the one that needs help. The opponent may already be beating you with even the lowest pair on the board. Granted, they'd probably fold that. But they may have top pair, two pair, pockets for trips, or be one card to a nut flush and they're going to call you! You might get away with going all in like this once or twice. But it doesn't matter. The one time you do it and get called and lose because you hadn't made a hand before doing it, ALL of your money is gone!!!

Here's another bit of BAD advise: "If the opponent chooses to raise you on the flop, you come back over the top and set him all-in. His position would now be worthless and you would have two cards to come if he called, giving you a fine chance to make your draw" (p. 73). He is talking about the action you should take if you're on a draw! If your opponent just RAISED you, he is most often telling you you're beat. LISTEN TO HIM!!! FOLD! He has probably already made a hand. (You can't continue to fold if he does this to you repeatedly, because then he's bluffing. So know your opponent.)

First of all, DON'T buy this book for advise on no-limit Hold 'em. If you do, and if you play by the advise contained in its pages, then you come play me! You can find me at Pokerroom.com on most nights playing at the unlimitted Hold 'em tables. My screen name there is 2DollarBets. I'll be happy to let you raise against my trips or full house... and I'll be happy to see your all in on a drawing hand when I have my top pair. And if you want to go all in after I've raised you, thus TELLING you you're beat at this point in the game, then by all means look me up!

If you're starting out, get a different book. Get one that talks about pot odds and what you should to preflop, flop, turn and river. When to bluff, depending on your position and what others have done, when to FOLD. By the way, I've found that FOLDING when you're supposed to is the best way to make money playing no limit. Don't be bullied, but don't be dumb! Slow play those high pockets and especially trips and better, UNLESS no one else is doing the betting for you. And don't bet too much into higher threats on the board because someone is likely to have that hand. And beware the pair!

Anyone who wrote a positive review on this book concerning Hold 'em, was either paid to do it or doesn't understand the game.

Have an opinion on what I had to say? You can tell me so at [e-mail].

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book on Big Bet Poker!
Review: If you are even considering playing big bet poker, you must read this book. If for no other reason than almost all of your opponents will have read this book.

Bob Ciaffone has played professional level poker for many years. He has also written for 'Card Player' magazine for many years. I own all of his books and can honestly say that his writings have improved my game. And, to top it all off, he is a gentleman.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Ignore the person who gave this book 1 star. Ciaffone and Rueben offer excellent poker advice for both money and tournament players. They cover all the major money games, including Holdem, Omaha, and 7stud. The writing is clear and the examples are excellent. If I had to have only 1 poker book, this might be it. (I'd be tempted by Cloutier's book on Pot and No Limit Holdem; it'd be a hard choice.)

Also, these guys are just fun to read. Not the dry (...) you get in some poker books.

Rating:
Summary: not a "manual"
Review: Most of the negative reviews below come from LIMIT players who have probably read Sklansky's books and expect a lot of "if A then do B or C" and a lot of specific advice.
Big bet poker is a bit different in that it would be foolish to give such specific advice. You're going to cost yourself a lot of money (profit or just lose money) if you play cookie cutter poker.
Ciaffone and Reuben's book is good in that it teaches you about how to take into consideration your stack size, your opponent's stack size, and the pot size before acting among other important concepts. That alone is worth the cost of the book.

Regarding the review below: They recommending betting a set on the flop more in potlimit than in no-limit. Checking a set (when you have a pocket pair) in potlimit is going to limit your profits because if everyone checks behind you can only bet/raise the size of the pot on the turn. In nolimit, you can bet whatever you want whenever so checking isn't as costly. Also how does flopping a set when you have a pocket pair automatically imply there is a dangerous flop. In anycase, I ramble. Go to the twoplustwo.com forums to find other positive reviews of this book by MANY bigbet poker players.
Mason Malmuth also HIGHLY recommends this book for you sklansky and malmuth fans.