just ordered it

wow am i reading this right - only $60 for the new edition?

That's right!

Andrew

For any new players like myself, adventuring into the online poker world that are overwhelmed by the number of books and training sites on the market and don't know where to start, my humble opinion is this:

Unless Phil Galfond gets into book publishing, you won't find this kind of crystal clear reasoning and effective analysis of poker situations anywhere else.

The basic section alone is worth the price because it gives it's reader the most important thing a poker player needs in the beginning : the right framework. A framework that saves you from bad habits you might get early on and a foundation on which you have to build by re-reading it at least 2 or 3 times, having a thought process for every decision you make and posting problem hands on 2p2.

Hi Everyone:

I have been reading this book and find it very disappointing. For instance, I just finished reading "Chapter Forty-Four: Ego and the Tilt Cycle (2009)," and disagree with much of what it says. To be specific, the author argues to stay out of high variance games since they can cause you to tilt and thus lower your win rate and perhaps even turn you into a loser (in that game).

But can't the opposite also happen? If certain opponents, who play reasonably well when winning, tilt easily, can't this make a marginal game highly profitable?

In fact, it's my experience that at higher limits this is exactly what happens. By looking for these players, especially if they are beginning to lose, you may find a great spot in terms of expectation even though your variance goes up. In fact, in my book Gambling Theory and Other Topics, I make this exact argument. That is the price we pay for a higher expectation is often a higher variance, and by properly balancing this higher variance against the size of our bankroll, we can maximize our long term profits, something this author, based on what is written in this chapter, does not seem to take into account.

Mason

That seems like a decent point Mason but can you expand more on why the entire book, not just that chapter, is disappointing?

Hi Mason,

I think you are basically saying the same thing as Andrew, but from a different point of view. He is saying, if YOU are one of these players, who plays reasonably well when winning but tilt easily, then you should try to avoid high variance, marginal games. Because other players will try to capitalize on your tilt issue, like you argued.

If you don't have any problems with tilt, then you will profit from other players' tilt, hence your aspect is totally sound from a theoretical point of view. Andrew's advice might be more practical for players, who know that they are liable to tilt (like me lol).

Anyways I think it's a really good book. (Actually the best poker book I've read so far, but I haven't read a lot). You won't regret buying it.

No. It says just the opposite. Also, if you're someone who tilts easily, don't expect to do well playing poker.

MM

IMO he doesn't say to stay out of high-variance games, he says to stay out of games where you have little/no edge, as this lowers winrate and increases variance. A game can be high-variance AND you have an significant edge, and he doesn't suggest avoiding those sorts of game.

I think BW is saying:
Low-edge -> low winrate -> high variance -> tilt

You seem to be reading it as:
High variance -> tilt -> low edge -> low winrate

For this I suspect we will have to wait a month or two until we get a full review in the 2+2 magazine.

That's how i read it aswell.

Having read quite a few books over the years, imho this book is one of the best i've read.

I'm not 100% sure your disagreeing with what was written, but even if you were describing a book with 52 chapters very disappointing because you disagree with 1 chapter is extremely unfair. In fact you must have read the first 43 chapters with no issues. BW is one of the best teachers of the game there is imo, and Im not finished with the book yet its definitely worth the money so far.

No. While I haven't completed the book, I've found much of it disappointing. A lot of it has to do with the way it is written and some of it has to do with the actual material itself. On the other hand, some of the chapters seem pretty good, but this book is certainly not worth the $80 I paid for it.

It may be a while since I have other projects I'm also looking at, but I'll get more specific in the future. Also, two books I have read are The Poker Blueprint and Dynamic Full Ring Poker. While neither of these is perfect, I do recommend them, while I do not recommend the book that this thread is about.

Best wishes,
Mason

As always I appreciate your reviews!

While waiting for Harrington on Cash Games: Volume I to be released on the kindle and based on your review I purchased "Dynamic Full Ring Poker" and it was well worth the purchase.

Amazon keeps suggesting this book to me, but seeing the price I cringe. I know this book was a lot more expensive in the past but based on your review it makes it an easy pass.

Many of these books were a lot more expensive in the past. But there is nothing wrong with that. All that's happening is a business model that may have worked well at first but is now failing, so the price is coming down. This sort of thing happens in many businesses and is just the way the free market works and really has nothing to do with the basic quality of the text in question. But these books need to be evaluated by what they say, not by price, not by author results, and not whether the author is a good coach.

Best wishes,
Mason