TOC looks interesting. Anyone planning on picking this one up? Looks like it's aimed at online with HUD information and push/fold chart info.

I saw it a while ago. I mainly play live so will likely pass on this one.

Really enjoyed his chapter in Excelling at No-Limit Holdem so this is next on my list. I'll give you my (somewhat novice) opinion in a couple weeks!

This is The Book I wish I started with. It's great and I have reached part of Chapter 7. Well done Alex.

Is there a table of content?

^ Amazon has it

It does look that way, but if you read it, it's much more than that: MOPT provides you with a framework to analyse and learn Poker, and to be autonomous about it too.

So, learning the frequencies and adjustments and exploits will translate to live also.

It so happens that you can learn faster online with HUDs.

More like a cash game book. A major amount of concepts covered. Not too much detailed technique strategy covered.

As the type of text you will be reading, is some similar to Little's e.g. cash game book vol 1 (strategy), but this book has better concepts, getting its highest points there. The less you know about them the more you will learn and that is where the main value here is, and it is about cash mostly (if considering the concepts and techniques as cash).

The tourney stuffs are like the some river talks about the difference of cash and tourney aggro, some preflop concepts and strategy for the BB (vs late open and his range as a concept mostly) with a short stack, and then some stack size considerations on any street.

Covers HEM, Flopzilla, CardRunners EV calculator, NoteCaddy. The talks and analyses of using them, to analyse hands, and how to use the HUD (and HEM) in some detail. Can help one to do close GTO calculations, instead of using a GTO solver, but not sure I will be using them, or would be nice for PLO if there would be one good and simple like Flopzilla (there is at least something with a monthly cost even). I know there are the free pokerstrategy calculators for holdem and omaha, but they can't do it like Flopzilla. Then there is the GTO, that this book doesn't cover as well, being old school with semi-new tools. Many times I would just relate the range per street from memory or calculate it in my head, though much of it comes from already known combos one can work with tools like these (or just get from books).

For limit holdem the semi-calculators are mandatory and work well, but the free ones will be enough there because the ranges need not be split (one just puts the opponent's range there, the hand one is holding, and the board and clicks the equity button). I think that playing as complete GTO makes playing less notes and stats dependent, just adjusting it here and there based on what one knows. I think the Caddy could be useful in tourneys because one gets less stats in tourneys (and I use as much feel and so as GTO in tourneys).

I think a cash game book should be a cash book and a tourney book a tourney book, because tourneys are less about GTO and more about feel, additionally to tourneys' hard factors. Additionally, it is possible to analyse tourney hands as something extra. An example of a more like a tourney book is the Excelling book (that I read to improve my cash game but mainly learned to play tourneys instead, or it doesn't cover it all but I had some already, but got complete enough to start playing tourneys), and this Myth book I read to improve my tourney game but got something else mainly, plus that tourneys here play more or less like cash games, that is and isn't the case.

Having advanced cash knowledge and intermediate tourney knowledge, this book is not going to add so much. I got some support to what I have learned by playing, and more or less of the concepts covering it some better then ("than" and "then" he often uses the opposite) I had it in my head, and than the tourney stuffs. Additionally to those, I produced an A4 page amount of notes and e.g. the HUD stats education was good (improved my read of the stats related to ranges, though it is not all like that because the opponent can check on some street with a variety of ranges, and so on, but still), though I already have a good HUD (that I built by adding whatever I considered fine, and dropped whatever I didn't consider useful enough, plus I use colors in a way you might use additional letters instead). I don't use the aggro% nor by seat open stats before the button. I could manage without a hud also because of the GTO (I just adjust it) and with the practice that decreases the blunders, that bot-like play I try to achieve (gets more and more rid of the blunder leaks). Then it is about grinding and not necessarily bothering about small things, but whatever. I could manage with one stat.

- I don't really have a problem with 3-betting with calling hands (that would be about a value 3-bet if called by a non-dominated hand on average) but to say the flatting strategy is worse, is not what I agree with, no matter what the opponents do (I am balanced if need be), plus it has an added advantage that one does not have to care about the 4-bet-or-fold opponents as much (if there are any), and so on etc., though conceptually, he also can cc more but mainly as an exploit or so.

- CC, I would be more worried about doing so with small pairs (though I can) and small suited connectors for the same reason as he thinks calling with one big pair making hands is not good generally (that I don't agree with, though I partly split it like that also).

- One gap suited connectors bad, I don't really think so but will often use around a step better one gappers compared to zero gappers.

- Smaller stacks are bullied on any street more because the bigger stack risks less (I formulated the argument like that here). This is known as relative chip value it seems. But the only possible point I see there is about marginal hands (but wasn't mentioned as far as I saw). Relate it to the money coming close, then it has value. The big stack vs. big stack is the same, though you might use the marginal hands when the money isn't close enough, or even then one might bully the marginal situations vs. somewhat smaller stacks then instead, and vs. weaker players, but this is all my own current thinking.

- The myth of talent. He has a strong opinion about it, that though cracks some where he mentions people having talent. I don't agree with a very strong no-talent view but I now think that one needs as much talent as it takes to learn concepts and technique and get the practise in and there is no exact time limit, so it is more possible. One is not the worst player at any table, as far as one thinks, so one's potential can reach some distance. There are books that give us stuffs that we generally can't achieve alone. People can master some level studies, but it also has its limitations, and when needing to do it as gaming, there are still more aspects because one needs to do it like at the top level and one can just hope the practise and experience will cover that also. Even then one might not beat the talent (all it contains), but at least one is booked and a hard boiled machine with some talent.

It isn't about Cash... Categorising it as either Cash or Tourney is missing its point, which is analysing and studying poker and solving hands.

Im a live cash game player. I bought the book and heres a few things:
The author shows you how to run some inquiries using Flopzilla, Cardrunners EV, and your HUD if youre an online player.

My take is that if youre an online player and not learning how to analize your hud and do the work you will be destroyed. With all the tools available nowdays it truly is a different game.

The author gives general overviews regarding raising, 3 betting, shoving etc, but interwoven are some plays that he uses in conjunction with the tools, but these plays can be explored using flopzilla and cardrunnersev for the live cash game player as well.

The author says," you win by folding", ... he also says," if you just sit and wait for hands, you are gambling and not playing poker"

There are some very aggro plays that need to be made and follow through is at the heart of them, but he uses the flopzilla app to show you why in the long run they are plus ev.
In many respects this book reminds a of "Poker Plays You Can Use", but on Steroids.

You always read the phrase, "If you are serious, read this book " etc. In this case, I would say it fits, and really makes you realize that if you honestly want to make money at this game, there is no way around putting in time away from the table

^^
I cant play with a hud. It totally takes away the game for me. If im observant i can tell myself how each person plays and adjust accordingly. If im having a hud im playing numbers and deviate from my own personal play. Plus im not having fun in the least.

is this book ok for cash? I saw preview of hands in the book, and they are mainly mtt hands

Almist all the top pros use one.. or lie and say do not

The reasons are obvious

Especially if playing more and more tables

Well I was reading the opening pages on Amazon and the author states he has won more than $3.5m in tournament earnings. Then a page or two later he says he is a super modest guy.

So why include this meaningless statistic, purely for bravado I assume and to dupe the unknowing customers likely to purchase such a book. No mention of his tournament entry fees which are going to be very similar to the above number.

The author has around $145k profit on the assassinato account on Pokerstars. His live scores on Hendon Mob are not great either if you assume he's playing a ton of events. Sharkscope tracked from 2006 so if we look at that as an average of $14k per year, it's not spectacular.

Sure he can be playing and earning on other sites too but I don't like the way this information is presented to readers who may not know better.

Isn't this the case for all authors and coaches?

The dilemma about how to present your tournament earnings is a tough one, I struggled with the same thing with my book. I didn't want to use the model Assassinato used (I have $2,4M "winnings" and 500-600k actual profits), but the truth is that literally everyone uses that same, initially faulty way, so I ended up doing the same as well. If you skim through the list of poker publications in Amazon, read training site pro bios etc etc, I think it's going to be pretty hard to find a product that doesn't present the stats this way. This applies to top name pros too - I can't be arsed to check, but I'd be pretty shocked if Negreanu's book description described his actual lifetime profits instead of whatever his Hendon Mob page says.

My opinion is that the system is faulty, but not doing what others do also leaves you at a disadvantage. Also, especially when it comes to live results, it'd be pretty easy to fabricate any kind of winrate because there's no data on events you bought into but didn't cash anywhere.

Either way, seems pretty unfair to blame Alex there since he's just doing what everyone else is as well. I have no idea how much he's up from playing but between 500k-1M is probably a pretty good guess (he's up 370k on FTP alone).


I haven't read the book yet but plan to at some point. Alex's videos have always been great and the man can certainly teach.

^ Exactly that. He presents this information to show he has experienced some success in the field I suppose? But throughout the book he makes no claims to being amongst the elite players in the world. In fact he talks on a number of occasions about how he went broke, didn't really recover, and now mainly coaches.

He teaches a methodology to study poker and improve, and invites you to try your own simulations with Cardrunners etc if you don't agree with a particular assumption that he's made.

Very good book and definitely worth a read.

Hi Everyone:

I think this post is correct. There should eventually be enough comments from knowledgeable players for those possibly interested in this book to know whether it' worthwhile or not.

Best wishes,
Mason

have to pick this one up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He has an article in the Nov 9th edition of Card Player magazine on page 36 where he looks at playing QhJh on a Th 8x 2x board & why it's a good idea to donk bet HU for 2/3rd size pot size bet. Mainly because there are so many cards that can give you a serious draw, along with the gutshot.

He goes into the math behind it all & how it puts your V in a tight spot to find enough hands to call with to prevent the play from not being profitable.

*trying to ignore Mason's passive aggressive post*

I am halfway through this book and already highly recommend it. I play mid stakes online tournies, though this book would also be very helpful if you just play cash (as I used to, until changes on Pokerstars). I own more than fifty poker books but this one really stands out to me, mainly due to the theoretical framework he uses which ensures that his writing won't go out of date - rather than just describe specific strategies which would work at present but then be detrimental a couple of years later, he teaches you how to analyse current data and then use it to create a strategy to play against that particular opponent.

OK that was a long sentence. I hope I got my point across - I'm not great at written communication, unlike Alex who can present high level concepts in simple terms Incidentally, he doesn't waste time going over the basics like so many other authors do, yet this is still a big book at a small price (I paid £17 for it inc postage, which would equate to about $20).
This book has successfully challenged my thought process during poker hands and helped me find new plays that I can use to exploit opponents.

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation to the author; hadn't even heard of him until this year.

Street Urchin, Why would you say this book expounds on Janda's AONLH? Why would someone need it in addition to Janda's book?
I own both books, having just received Alexander's a few days ago & not sure I won't return it.
Thank you for your reply.

Bit of a sideways leap there
Well I don't have the time to go back through another book to give you a detailed answer on the differences between them (e.g. style of writing), but as you already own them both I can't see that I need to anyway...

But for people who don't already own the book under discussion, the main originality here is that Alex shows us how to use various programs to help determine the 'correct' play (as well as making frequent reference to your opponents' stats). I find his book empowering. And I like to have a selection of good books by different authors

I'm about a third of the way through this book having got it because so the references to some of the tools I've neglected a little.

I'm not surprised at the confusion by some posters as to its purpose...it is a confusing book.

Frankly it is all over the place...it lacks structure, clarity, cohesion and is full of unnecessary fluff. And I've seen no evidence the author is in anyway "modest"...lol.

Ironically, I have found some useful stuff in it for me, so its not been a waste of money, but for a pure beginner...hell no. And if it's not intended for a pure beginner why waste so many words describing incredibly basic concepts (like what a 3bet is and how it came to be so named )

seriously WTF!...aside from the 3bet thing above, there are detailed explanations of how to calculate pot odds and EV, such as you would find in any primer. Hell, there is even a sentence or two on what the button is and why it is so called!!!

In fairness, I'll finish the book (quickly since most chapters seem tourney based and I have no interest in them) and come back and write a more considered review, but from what I've seen so far, if you are just starting out and are an online cash player The Grinders Manual is vastly superior ainec.

To finish (for now) on a more positive note...thus far I think this quite a good read when viewed from a mental game perspective...I kinda like the core message he is transmitting.

Update

Essentially this is a tournament book. I accept the argument that you can extrapolate a lot of the thinking into a cash game scenario, but most definitely not for a cash game beginner - no way.

Personally it has motivated me to put a lot more work into various online tools and perhaps tighten up my ranges - both of which were things i was doing anyway.

I like the mental game side of it and the central idea that success in poker, like life, is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration.

This is not a book for online cash game beginners, and it worries me that through both the titling and some of the content, that might be a demographic the author is targeting.

tl/dr A decent read for intermediate players.