Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
 Very Good Examples September 24, 2009
bobbyr
I enjoyed reading this book. It's easy to read and centers around various examples of hands. I learned a lot and plan to read this book again.
 Great starter... March 15, 2009
Broadmeadow (Austin, TX)
Between this book and Lee Jones' my Low Limit game has improved to the point where I consistently win the $1-$2 games.
This is 5 star for the audience. Most critiques are right if you are a more advanced player. The book errs, rightly, on the conservative side. It'll keep you out of trouble.
I've a stack of poker books and if anyone were asking how they could get into the game or improve from basic player, this and Jones' book are the ones I'd tell them to read.
 Mediocre limit book June 11, 2008
Daniel (New York, NY United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm glad to have had it and read it, but if I were picking an initial book on limit poker, I would look elsewhere. There are a few sloppy mistakes, and the level of sophistication is fairly simple. However, it is an excellent choice for someone who wants to play limit at a casino or at certain on-line sites, that wants a fairly quick easy read.
 Muddled December 10, 2007
Bill Haywood (Jersey)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I consider myself an upper-intermediate or low-advanced limit player, and I found myself constantly disagreeing with this book. While particular hands may be debatable, the author's explanations did not strike me as authoritative, and usually did not change my mind.
But some of the suggestions are clearly, expensively, wrong. On page 56, the author recommends folding top pair 77 on the flop after being reraised, because we are probably behind. But pot odds are 8:1, with 9 strong outs (to a high inside straight, trips, or two pair) and in position to boot! That's a call even if they are ahead with a low set, and we could still be ahead with top pair -- they may be stealing with overcards, second pair, or a draw. I've shared the hand with others, who agree this is clearly a large mistake, especially in a big pot, last to act.
The author strikes me as a winning, intermediate level player, who understands important concepts, but applies them inexpertly, and wanted to write a book anyway.
For advanced players, the book could serve as useful practice in thinking hands through and deciding where and why to agree or disagree. The less advanced will get a lot of exposure to the thinking that goes into playing a hand, but may get misled.
Superb alternatives include _Middle Limit Hold'em_ by Ciaffone, _Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy_ by Tanenbaum, _Small Stakes Hold'em_ by Miller et al, and _Winning in Tough Hold'em Games_ by Grudzien and Herzog.
Great Book for Beginning-Internediate Limit Hold'em Players July 10, 2007
Anthony Guerrera
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
If you're a beginning to intermediate limit hold'em limit hold'em player, then this book will get you thinking about the poker playing process. It'll teach you how to think through a hand of limit hold'em, and it stresses the importance of taking time to think about the game intelligently away from the table.
Some might complain because this book doesn't contain a lot of theory, but a few great theory books already exist. The poker literature has needed a book that strips the hand playing process in limit hold'em down to its fundamentals, and this book does just that. During the process, some important theoretical concepts do come out from under the woodworks, like evaluating when to raise draws for value or free cards versus calling with draws. By using lots of example hands and talking through each of them, Neil Myers shows readers how to think when they're at the tables. Others might raise concerns about some of the analysis. I don't wholeheartedly agree with 100% of the analysis that Myers does. However, the differences in opinion I have regarding some of the analysis is the result of Myers's attempt to keep things simple. The decisions in poker can be extremely complicated, but the audience Myers addresses isn't ready for overwhelmingly complicated analysis. The level of analysis is quite appropriate for the target audience, and this book will be a huge help for that audience.
As an example of Myers's attempts to keep things simple, on p. 56, Myers talks about a hand in which you have 78 on the button in an unraised pot against four opponents and the pot comes 467. Action checks to you, you bet, and an early position opponent raises you. Myers strongly advocates folding, but depending on the check-raiser, calling might be the correct play given the 8:1 pot odds you're getting and the possibilities of either being ahead or having a 6-outer (gutshot straight draw and 2 sevens). The decision to be made here is borderline and highly opponent-dependent. I disagree with Myers for strongly advocating folding, but I would also disagree with anyone who would strongly advocate calling.
This book isn't targeting advanced players, but as a poker coach and the author of a few poker books, I found it really interesting because it's quite educational to consider such points of analytical departure. Though this book is targeted at beginning-intermediate players, it's really a rewarding read for anyone who is an active, inquisitive reader. The point of reading is to achieve mental growth; therefore, I give Limit Hold'em Hand By Hand five stars.
May Your EV Always Be Positive!
Tony Guerrera
Author of Killer Poker By The Numbers
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
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