I loved Verneer's Moving up through μNL in 2010. I was wondering if someone has an advanced copy that can offer a review? What are you opinions on the preview? Link below
http://mtmicropoker.com/book.aspx

Regards,
AP

verneer invited me to take a look at a late draft (a couple of days ago).

I haven't read every word of it, but I've read it in more than enough detail to give verneer feedback.

My feedback, and my comments here, come not from a strong player, but from a student of the game, someone who's read a ton of poker books, and someone who is always looking to improve.

The book is a totally solid addition to the literature in my opinion (which, frankly, doesn't surprise me, given how useful verneer's vids and forum posts have been).

Up there with any other beginner's book imo.

Specifically aimed at FR but 6-max guys will get a ton out of it too.

For me, its number one strength are the hand history examples sprinkled throughout the book. You get a concept, and then you get examples, ramming home those concepts. It could just be me, and my preferred way of learning stuff, but it struck me as a very powerful way of explaining things.

And remember, those hand histories all come from verneer's Challenge project where he beat the very games he's talking about. It's a book written by a guy who genuinely knows his stuff, and has the graph to prove it.

As I explained to verneer, I might change the order of a couple of the chapters but that's a minor point.

If I had to fault the book in some way, I feel the chapter on the mental game devotes too much space to the work of other authors. (Work which verneer fully credits.) I think verneer's stuff more than stands on its own merits, and by cutting down on that chapter, he could have fitted in more of those hand histories. Given the amount of good stuff the book contains, even that is a minor point.

I've read more poker books than I care to admit to, and I have a highly trained fluff/filler/BS detector. It didn't twitch once while I was reading Building A Bankroll.

Highly recommended.

DD, could alot of what's in the book be used for LIVE play.

I've never played live, but yeah, I would think so.

If you've seen any of verneer's vids or read any of his stuff on the forums, you'll know he's a very analytical player/coach, always looking for reasons for what he's doing, and why he's doing it, and encouraging his audience to do the same.

Learning how to think about decisions is pretty valuable in any format, I'd say.

Sure, live, you're not going to have the HUD stats that form the basis for a lot of what's going on in the book, but you are, presumably, still trying to put villains on ranges, still trying to find the best line v that range, still trying to get value for your big hands, etc etc. It's still poker.

I'd say check out the sample on his website and see what you think.

Good Luck.

Pawel Nazarewicz has been a coach at CardRunners for many years and is probably best known to us in the 2+2 community as “Verneer” for his epic micro quests turning modest deposits into substantial gains.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/69...2010-a-676130/

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...2011-a-949246/

I had the opportunity to read Verneer's new book, “Building a Bankroll”. It is his stated purpose to “serve as a foundation” for others to duplicate his success. He is careful to acknowledge that most will not and he explains the pitfalls to be avoided. He uses his own journey as the springboard to discuss situations we all commonly encounter at the table.

I would hesitate to call this book a “primer”, because it does not contain filler about Texas Holdem or descriptions of hand strength. He spends his time developing a step-by-step guideline to build a solid foundation of understanding, so you can work toward your own level of success. This is not to say it does not reference any higher poker concepts, because we all love to 3B light or 4B bluff, but he does so within a framework and not as an isolated situation.

I think this is actually one of the superior aspects of this text. It is obvious that teaching is more important to Pawel than celebrating his own triumphs. There are even interesting asides where he reflects "I don't like the way I played this hand". Every single concept presented is something that those of us who frequent 2+2 will be familiar with. If any one of the concepts were presented, the reader could say, "I knew that", but when they hang together in a comprehensive approach, it makes each of those items take on new and deeper meanings. It is very well done.

Although the text is not difficult, many hours of productive study will result from going slow enough to:

Read the text.
Study the examples.
Think.
Repeat.

Very highly recommended for micro and small stakes players who are willing to study to improve their game.

+1
Heck, when Verneer played 6-max I was playing FR and now his book is about FR and I am playing 6-max.

While I have certainly played more hands online because it is so easy to rack up volume over the years, I have played live for a longer period and continue to do so. All knowledge we gain adds to our edge at the table.

Disclosure: I know Verneer having had some coaching from him in 2010

Verneer had two very successful challenge threads on 2+2 in 2010 and 2011, where he moved through the uNL limits from a small bankroll. The first was 6max, the second was FR rush poker.

I think that in many respects the book has its origins in those challenges.

The title ‘Building a Bankroll’ is slightly misleading if anything, as it is in fact a full guide to improving as a player. Although described as the full ring edition, I think that the book is of pretty much the same utility to a 6max player.

There is a good amount of strategy and tactics. Hand ranges and common situations are explained and developed with hand histories from verneer, some of which he uses as examples of him playing the hand/strategy well, some of which show him getting it wrong and him explaining the mistakes he made.

The book is split down into 7 main sections, each of which address what he considers to be a key aspect of becoming a winning player. Section 5 is the largest section , and covers how to be a solid player. This is the part of the book covering the most ground covered in other books. He breaks down solid play into logical and sequential parts, from preflop hand selection though to river play.

The other sections distinguish the book: Explaining the effects of variance and the importance of bankroll management, knowing your villain and how to develop reads, the importance of playing your A game, recognising tilt and how to adopt strategies to deal with it (including many helpful quotes from Tommy Angelo and Jared Tendler), how volume is important, and the necessity to always be learning and strategies for doing this.

Overall I found the book to be extremely well laid out, and verneer has an easy writing style. As a complete package I imagine that anyone playing NL through to 100NL at least will find a lot in this book to help them improve as a player, and it definitely gets my recommendation.

Do any of the reviewers so far have Dynamic Full Ring Poker? If so, how would you compare/contrast to that title?

Good question ... I bought Dynamic Full Ring Poker month ago and I really like it.
So is it worth to buy this one too?

-Kuta

I think this is a very relevant question.

I also bought DFRP and would still be a buyer of Verneer's book if they were complementary rather than merely duplicating each other.

If someone could give us a steer on the difference/similarity between the volumes then they'd be doing a good service to potential readers.

I have DFRP.

It contains a ton of solid analysis/info and at $10 for the e-book version (I believe that's the current price) it's a total no-brainer purchase imo.

I think verneer's emphasis on hand history examples makes his book sufficiently different to DFRP to find it a place on any serious student's bookshelf.

I've no idea how these guys price their products. If you compare printed version with printed version I think the two books cost about the same, but like I say, DFRP is available for cheap in e-book format. The simple fact is, if you want to improve, the real investment is not the relatively few $$$ you pay for a book - it's the time you put into studying.

Read both. Why wouldn't you?

I based my price on what an average coaching session at the uNL/SSNL limits seems to run at. I figured this would offer a comprehensive guide to many of the topics students have questions about, and thus could save them quite a bit of money that they would normally spend on early coaching sessions.

Let me know if you have any questions for me about the book.

I got a first run addition today in the mail. I'm enjoying the read so far. Thank you for signing the book.

Just waiting on my copy making it's way over to the UK.

Cool! And you're welcome

Sorry to polute the thread with this, but is there any other way to pay, other than PayPal? I'm having trouble with my PP account but I really want the book.

Thank you for taking the time to put this info into print. I know I have hounded you for the better part of a year now for the completion of the book. I will have it completed by end of next week.

I will actually play less this week to digest the information put in print knowing in the long run this will make me a better player both live and online!!

Again I personally can't thank you enough for taking the time to educate me at becoming a better poker player.

I would like to hear your thoughts - both what you liked/disliked - when you are done. My goal is to make the ultimate starter book for the more serious lower-limit players. Your feedback is invaluable and greatly appreciated.

You don't need a PayPal account to purchase the book. Just a valid credit card.

Thank you for your comment, DiamondDog.

I'll give it a try. I read many good things about it ... I placed my order yesterday.

-Kuta

I think for a basic player this book is ok.. but dont go to deep imo.

What are the biggest areas that you think this book overlooks?

My apologies if this has been mentioned, but are there any plans to release an ebook\kindle version?

No plans atm.

Just curious. Why not? It's the only way I would consider purchasing the book.

When I looked into it, Amazon takes 70% of the profits on any book over $10. They take 30% of the profits on any book under $10. Neither way makes sense for me right now. The formatting of it is also meh on the kindle when I initially tried it.

As far as ebook, my main concern is piracy. I just don't know enough about DRM/etc to effectively distribute it. So - I'm def not ruling out the possibility in the future, but I just have no plans for it atm.