No.

MM

I very much agree with this statement. At $40, this is a no-brainer for beginners and break-even regulars at the micros. If one of my friends wanted to learn how to play online poker with very little knowledge of the game, I would recommend him reading this book as a foundation and then put him in the 2NL or 5NL games.

I should clarify - I don't think this book has a lot of value for winning players above 25NL. I speak to tons of players between 10NL - 100NL - some winners, some losers, and some break-even ones, and there is very little in the book that the winning players don't already know.

Yes, the book is comprehensive, but in order to win at 50NL and above at any sort of winrate close to or above 2 ptbb/100, you already have to have this foundation.

What specific sections or concepts would you say that a winning regular at 200NL would reap from reading this book?

I Have to say i have most of the E-books ..Bobofitos,Poker Puzzle,Let there Be Range,BalugaWhale,AeJones,Poker Blue print etc..who all played at some stage at micro`s Stakes , but to my surprise this book ECLIPSES all of em.

Harrington as managed to put the absolute A-Z of Micro stakes poker in a well thought out poker book.

The HUD Section and how to read opponents based on the clear concise information from the HUD set-up is worth the price of the book alone.

Well Done to Harrington to my utmost surprise.

The only issue I have with his HUD advice is that he uses aggression stats for turn and river.

The definition of an aggressive action in PT/HEM is either a fold or a raise (i.e. any action that isn't a call). Aggression is the ratio of folds+raises:calls.

So what we use as an 'aggression' stats is really an inverse measure of how much of a calling station villain is.

When we double barrel air or a draw on the turn the ratio we are most interested in is folds:non-folds.

That said is think the book is a solid read for all the the top winning SSNL grinders and is the best on the market.

sorry 'that should be 'a solid read for all BUT the top winning SSNL grinders'.

if i remember correctly,amulet hate all the ebooks but loves all the books Harington writes.

I think this is the most accurate review of the book. It's kind of hard to explain because I understood and knew almost all of the concepts he presented in this book, but the way he combines them with other information about players was really helpful.

One section that I had no background on and was EXTREMELY helpful was the range analysis. The way he went about showing how different ranges hit different flops was very beneficial and way more in depth than any video I had watched before (If you can recommend me more videos on this topic, please do).

Overall I'd say it's a must buy and probably one of the best cash game books there is for someone new to 6max NLHE or anyone at the micros.

How's the microstakes section?

I thought the aggression factor is defined as Bets + Raises / Calls and checking or folding have no effect. I think that is what the HEM documentation says.

If the turn agg factor is lower than the flop agg factor that would seem to indicate that the opp tends to cbet the flop with missed hands and gives up on the turn correct? Maybe I'll start keeping notes on "cbet flop check fold turn y/n".

The note taking chapter in the book has been a tremendous help to me. I'm paying much better attention to what is going on when I'm not in a hand and as a result enjoying the game a lot more. And playing better too of course.

It would be impossible for me to be specific because that is player specific. I think we look at winning $100 NL and $200 NL players differently. I think they are decent and do many things right. However, I also think they have holes in their game.

Let's assume we take 10 things an expert player does correctly. A $100 NL or $200 NL winning player might do 5 of those things well, 3 decently, and 2 either not use them regularly or do them incorrectly. The book will reinforce many of these ideas (correctly), help them think about and hopefully improve the 3 things they do decently, and help the player address the areas they either apply incorrectly or haven't incorporated into their game.

A case in point is my girlfriend is a winning $100 NL player who has recently moved to $200 NL, where she will be a winning player. However, she feels uncomfortable with the higher level of aggression. After reading Harrington on Online Cash Games she dropped a few tables, expanded her note taking, and improved the utilization of her HUD. This has allowed her to feel better equipped to respond to aggressive opponents. Her short term results have improved and I can see if she continues to use her HUD better she will have better results. The book helped her improve her understanding of her opponents. She is only one example. However, I believe most small stakes players have holes. If the book makes them think more about position, ranges, their opponents, HUD use, note taking, table selection, playing against a tight or loose range, handling continuing bets, etc., then players will improve. That is not only confined to Harrington on Online Cash Games, but other books too.

I agree with your point that the book is not for the advanced player. I think the difference is what we consider advanced.

Even advanced players can read this book to get a gist of what is going on at these stakes, as the book covers from micros up to 200NL, which is pretty good.

Also, I'm glad Harrington finally came up with a new book, as his previous books are great, but just dated.

And as the cardrunners ad says on the backflap, your poker training doesn't end once you read the last page in the book

I was disappointed in the ebooks I have read. I thought most of them were not good poker books. I don't recommend any of them.

I loved the Harrington on Hold'em series when it came out. I thought volume 2 was one of the two best poker books ever written (and was annoyed the authors shared much of that information). The other book I think is great it TOP. I didn't love the Harrington on Cash games books, but I liked and recommended them. I certainly liked them better them many at 2+2.

I have been disappointed with several 2+2 NL books. However, I think overall 2+2 publishes the best poker books.

I give my honest opinion. That makes me a fan of Harrington and Robertie's books.

solid advice

it pretty much copies the microstakes fullring threads on playing for fat value... that is what 90% of micro stakes is

I recommend the diggerthedog thread on being nitty as a complement linky

ok, I have a few problems with this. One, none of these topics unknown to breakeven or winning micro players, let alone small stakes. Spend any time in those subforums and look at the FAQs/COTWs. Hell, all of these things are covered in greater detail and many, many months ago. The book introduced nothing new to that subset of player. I believe the book was supposed to be an XYZ book and not ABC. This book is straight ABC. It does a pretty good job at being ABC, but was another ABC book really needed? If you've read the latest Flynn, Mehta, Miller ebook, it exceeds HOOCG in putting the ABC of $200NL and below in a cohesive plan. This book doesn't even exceed what Bobbofitos put out in 3 DVDs years ago. I look forward to my opponents following the 3betting suggestions of HOOCG. They are wrong, which is a big error for today's small stakes games. This book is good for beginners and losers at the stakes. Those winning will not get anything new and might actually learn a harmful thing or two.

I can see that. I guess I am surrounded by grinders and regulars and sometimes lose sight of the more casual player - in that sense, I feel that my review was overly critical at the time that I read the book. For them - the more casual players, this book is the best thing on the market atm.

we tend to disagree often. you are assuming that players understand and correctly implement things. i think harrington on online cash games offers unusual clarity and the ideas and explanations offered will help players with things they may have already read about elsewhere. with the book being so comprehensive i find in unfathomable that small stakes players won't get a lot from the book. winning small stakes players do not play optimally, they have holes in their games.

i believe the book was intended to be "abc" for the beginner or novice player. i think the authors hit that out of the park. my opinion is that hoocg offers things that will help small stakes players too. hell, i play higher, and i liked having things reiterated for me.

[/QUOTE]none of these topics unknown to breakeven or winning micro players[/QUOTE]

in theory you may be correct, but if you watch those games a lot of the topics appear foreign to those players.


[/QUOTE]Spend any time in those subforums and look at the FAQs/COTWs. Hell, all of these things are covered in greater detail and many, many months ago. [/QUOTE] [/QUOTE] This book doesn't even exceed what Bobbofitos put out in 3 DVDs years ago [/QUOTE]

i disagree with both of these. in an earlier post i wrote:

[/QUOTE]"You can get the information in Harrington on Online Cash Games from reading the 2+2 stickies and posts" - maybe but I doubt it. Even if that is correct the sheer amount of time sifting through threads and posts makes it impractical.

"You can get the same information in Harrington on Online Cash Games from training videos" - training videos are a good source of information. However, there are three problems with the idea that you can get the same information from them; (i) watching a single training video takes a long time. You would have to watch hundreds of hours of videos to get all the information presented in the book; (ii) many videos do not presenting accurate information. An advanced player knows good information from incorrect or situational specific information. Many of the readers this book targets for can't distinguish between correct and incorrect ideas; (iii) some of the training videos show good play but fail to explain the theory behind a play.
The beauty of Harrington on Online Cash Games is it has first class information and presents it with unparalleled clarity. [/QUOTE]

i think there are good training videos, but i don't think bobbofits dvds compare to Harrington on Online Cash Games.


[/QUOTE]latest Flynn, Mehta, Miller ebook, it exceeds HOOCG in putting the ABC of $200NL[/QUOTE]

this is just wrong. the flynn, mehta, miller, Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play is a book filled with bad ideas and will cause most players to lose money.


the above are only my opinions. i think we have very different opinions about Harrington on Online Cash Games, the general knowledge of most players, and probably poker theory. have a good day.

The title you give belongs to a limit book by Miller, Sklansky, and Malmuth. MT2R was referring to "Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em" by Miller, Mehta, and Flynn.

Stop arguing with this guy and save time. All he does in every thread is praise Harrington's books and bash every other book.

yeah... definitely referring to the no-limit book that was originally only ebook, but now has a physical copy to order

it's more advanced than needed for $100NL and below, but Professor Plotkin's videos on deuces cracked has some good flop texture stuff

I'm almost in agreement with this
I think the latest NL book by Flynn, Mehta, and Miller is about equivalent to HOOCG in what I'd recommend to n00bs or slight losers in the game.

My disappointment stems from two things. One, there is a very high standard for 2p2 books. Most have been ahead of their time and stood as the gold standard for that type of game for a few years. Very few have had any examples of wrong advice. This book seems to be chasing the leaders instead of being the leader in the niche of low stakes online cash games. Two, I thought the book was promised to be XYZ instead of ABC. It's not an XYZ book.

That being said, it's still a very cohesive, solid blueprint for making someone a winner at the micro and low stakes. I would definitely not discourage anyone from reading it. I would encourage those new to the games or no limit to buy it as a good step in their development.

I don't think Mason will ever publish a XYZ book .. I realized that a couple of years ago. .. I can't imagine a book beyond BCD tbh

the TOC of analytical no limit holdem looks like it's a good ways past ABC

I've been a winner at 200nl FULL RING MOSTLY for several years, and found several parts of this book useful, even if most of it just confirmed or better explained things I had already figured out on the way to where I am now. Pretty sure it's the best and most advanced book I've read so far on poker.

Lots of typos though. Often a player is 28/25 on one page and become 28/15 on the next, or 50/22 on one page and 52/20 on the next.

Also, in problem 5-1 we have a LAG image against an aggressive opponent 110 bb's deep. It is specifically suggested that we appear to running over the table. Then in the hand, we get JJ and get 3bet by the aggressive small blind. Harrington suggest 4bet/folding. If we're 4betting here, I don't see how we aren't calling a shove. And if we're 4bet/folding, why aren't we just calling and playing our JJ in position in a 3bet pot?

In the example hand, the opponent folds, but Harrington says we would fold if he 5bet shoves. I just thought this hand was bad. It's turning JJ into a bluff with an aggressive dynamic, makes no sense.

My Mistake. Thank you for correcting it.