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 enlarge | Author: Matt Flynn; Sunny Mehta; Ed Miller
Publisher: Two Plus Two Publishing LLC
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $14.99
You Save: $14.96 (50%)
New (27) Used (11) from $14.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  33 reviews
Sales Rank: 11042
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 314
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 188068540X
Dewey Decimal Number: 795
EAN: 9781880685402
ASIN: 188068540X
Publication Date: July 20, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Must-have for NL Cash players September 9, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the NL book I have been waiting for. It will teach you how to think about the game correctly. Not for beginners, though. My profits increased immediately after reading this book. I'm certain that I will read it again and again, as I do with all my favorite poker books - Theory of Poker, Psychology of Poker, all Harrington books, etc.
 Unique addition to the field August 29, 2007
I see that my stat tracking software says I've played 30,000 hands online in the last two years. I have over 50 poker books on my bookshelves. I'm placing this book on my top shelf with the other classics from Sklansky, Harrington, et al to reread over and over as I get better. There is no other book that concentrates so heavily on why a bet should be sized as it is strategically rather than just tactically. Other authors have admonished to plan your hand and control the size of the pot, but this is the first mathmatical treatment of how to concretely envision how that will be done all the way to showdown when you're still sitting at pre-flop.
I picked up this book because of enjoying Miller's previous work. It's easy to understand the theory presented but applying the concepts at the tables will be tough, not only for the math but having the experience and accuracy in anticipating your opponents' actions. That's definitely where the "Professional" in the title comes from. I think the authors gave short attention to the reactions of inattentive, inexperienced, or uncooperative opponents - particularly those playing at my low stakes.
Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to the next volume. Meanwhile, I'll keep these concepts in mind. The best I can hope for at this stage in my game is to be aware that REM and stack-to-pot ratios exist. I think it will still give me an edge over my buddies. But I'll have to come back to this again as I improve.
Refinement. August 23, 2007
15 out of 19 found this review helpful
Well, this is not No Limit: Theory and Practice which was a landmark masterpiece of poker literature; however, it is a solid book...and then some. One of the problems with these reviews on Amazon is that we can only give out star ratings from 1 to 5. That being said, I would rate NL: TAP a 10 on a scale from 1-10 and Professional No Limit Hold `em an 8.5. It's not perfect, but it is a solid addition to our overall knowledge base.
Of course, this text is not meant for beginners in any sense. The authors created it for players with a solid and developed skill base which enables them to appreciate their positions and then make use of their nuanced augmentations and insight. There are a multitude of valuable ideas here. The REM Process is deceptively simple--Range, Equity, and Maximize--but it is undeniably integral to solid, profitable play. There are several explanations here of current buzzwords such as "fold equity" as well. The author's main theme, "plan your hand," is invaluable as not doing so is what separates the losers from the winners. Yes, I do agree that the Stack-to-Pot Ratio segments went on a little too long, but one cannot pretend that their concepts are unimportant. This book does not reinvent the wheel but it does make a significant contribution. It certainly betters our understanding of the game.
Lost at sea with one-pair hands postflop August 18, 2007
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
I have little to add to P. Binion and Felson's thorough reviews, but here goes:
Although it's a gross simplification, for me the value of this book is primarily some new ideas about how to play good one-pair hands -- top-pair-good-kicker or an overpair. Anyone who's struggled a bit with postflop NLHE decisions probably knows what I mean. You bet your pocket aces on the flop. Call. You bet the pot on the turn. Call. Now your not-entirely-straightforward-but-not-maniacal opponent bets the pot from out of nowhere on the river. It could be a big bluff, but you're probably beat, right? Can you really lay your aces down and sleep at night? HELP!!!!
This book won't give you a magic recipe for what to do in this situation. That's ridiculous -- NLHE is far too complex for one-size-fits-all algorithms. But this book can help you plan so that you're less likely to GET to those tough one-pair situations. In particular, it's sobering to realize that with 100 BBL stacks, your "standard" preflop raise called by an opponent is getting the pot to exactly the *wrong* size for one pair. And as the authors point out -- what are you most likely to flop with AA, KK, or AK if it hits the board?
When you look at your cards and see a big pair or big ace, this book will help you start thinking about where you'd like the pot to be on the flop and beyond. (I've neglected small pairs or other drawing hands, because they're not as harrowing as one-pair hands to play correctly, but the book talks about their preferred pot size too.) Your planning won't always work out right -- sometimes five loose opponents decide to call your raise instead of one; sometimes you want to limp/reraise but no one raises. But if you've been planning, the big decision that puts you to the test won't catch you unawares. It's not a silver bullet, but it is an effective framework to help you start looking ahead from the moment you get your cards.
And that's the theme of this book: "Plan your hand."
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DISCLAIMER: Although I take part in 2+2's forums I'm hardly a personal acquaintance of the authors, and I would criticize any of their books that merited it. I'll never tell you that Sklansky can write or that his "Hemingway preface" is a reasonable attitude to take toward one's audience, for example. I praise Ed Miller's work only because it's really good.
 Total waste of time and money August 15, 2007
34 out of 56 found this review helpful
I am a long time poker player and play in real no limit games IN LAS VEGAS, not in the dreamland that these authors must inhabit.
This book must have been previously reviewed by either TV watching poker wannabees who have no clue or the authors' relatives. What a waste.
The authors want us to think that their idea of SPR (stack to pot ratios) is useful. It is not. This is because there are so many variables which are pure guesswork that this idea may only be good in some distant theory discussion not in everyday tough poker games. While playing to and managing pot size is important, what they suggest is unworkable in a regular game. Nobody would have an hour to do all the calculations considering all the changing players and variables which in many cases are just estimates anyway.
One cannot determine in advance how many callers there will be, how each of them plays which hands for how many multiples of big bets on preflop raises, what those yet to act may do, how they will play post flop, whether they will only call your pot sized bets when you are beaten, and a million other unknowable variables--not to mention the different stack sizes in multi player pots and their ratio to your stack and the pot. This is a mess.
This TRASH is unreliable, unworkable, and pure theoretical drivel. Save your money and do not waste your time. The Sklansky book on no limit holdem is much better.
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