Postflop Poker by Ben Hayles was recently released.

Website here:
Post Flop poker

Amazon:
Amazon link

Anyone heard reviews of this book?

Just scanned the links and doesn't look too interesting to me. Site says he has been a "successful poker player for 18 years......now coaches full-time", and shows a photo of young guy - claims to beat low stakes 6m SNGs ????? Maybe some beginners might find some value in the book but I will be skipping this one.

Hi All,

I am the author of the book so thought i would chime in here. Happy to answer any questions anyone has on the book. I have worked on this for over a year and am very proud of it. I do come from a tournament background, but cash game players have a lot to gain from reading it too.

Mike1270, I will take it as a compliment that you think i look young, i am in fact almost 40 and that picture on the website is not that old...so thanks...the benefits of low variance, low stress poker! As the first poster on this thread, I would like to offer you a free copy of my book. I am confident you will find it interesting! Simply message me with your email address.

I have seen previous threads where the author has been put through his paces and questioned on his results. What i will say about that is that i made a living playing online poker for many years, so i can play. I do not claim to be the best but I do not think that stops me from writing a good book that will benefit a range of different players.

I have coached poker for a long time and my students have really benefited from my analytical mind and database analysis. I love numbers and have spent more hours than i wish to count trawling through my database to back up my opinions with hard data.

Look forward to hearing what you think of it...

dang and I was gonna post 1st after seeing the OPs question (lol).
I downloaded the sample from amazon and i thought it looked pretty good but Im not a very good player to begin with and can use all the analytical help i can get. I will probably end up getting both vols when i get paid to see if maybe i want to take it a step farther with coaching (as your outline for training also looked good). Im always up to learn new stuff from different sources. SOMEWHERE ITS GOTTA FINALLY START CLICKING

Hey, aren't I the first poster on this thread?

What was the most recent year in which you won money over a decent sample?

since this is your first post I can't PM you - 2+2 has some minimum activity level before they turn on your PM function(maybe 5 posts?)

when you get a few more post i will take you up on your offer since I am a poker book junkie and a sucker for anything free

@avatar77 - you are quite right and as the original poster, please accept a free copy of my book. You can use the contact form on my website http://www.postfloppoker.com/contact-us/

@mike1270 - also can you use the form and I'll email you a copy

@dzapp - save your money for a coaching session, top 3 all get a free book! again use the form

@the(shortformofyourname) - I have gradually increased how much I coach, so my playing volume dropped around 2011 when I became a full-time coach. My sharkscope graph proves my consistency.

PS:gamb64

Thanks Ben,
I sent you a message and look forward to reviewing the book.
A few questions for you:
- how come your books are cheaper on your site than it is on Amazon? I thought Amazon has a very strict policy that the prices have to be the same. I believe Paul Ratchford may have mentioned this (apology if this was not the case but I am pretty sure I heard this from somewhere)
- I play mainly live - would your books be applicable to FR live games?
- what stakes does you books mainly cover?
- are the books structured in the format of hand analysis - i.e. sample hands given with description of your thinking process of how you would analyze and play the hand? Do you cover all the streets after the flop for each hand?

Thanks and look forward to checking out your book.

Hey thanks, I went to your site yesterday and with your discount code, it was only $18 for both books so I went ahead bought both yesterday, so ya might not be able to do anything change that.

In for possible free book...will leave review if I receive

hmm, i dunno how i feel about some of this stuff

I do like your flowcharts and PS1-Ps6 scenarios but some of the phrasing Ive never heard before making it difficult to follow : Preflop raiser and defender checks or Preflop defender IP facing a c-bet, but maybe thats just me. Villain C-bets OOP or You Call PFR IP and Villain C-BETs flop OOP, just seems more natural (or maybe not)

but there is some good stuff in part 1

I do like the shortcuts for Pot Odds stuff and the charts given but thats because I cant seem to get my brain to study this math stuff (It just seems like school LOL)

Some of the way you describe the hands are hard to, I am sat on the button and 3 seats to my right, its just kind of hard to follow

The hands is where everything goes a little haywire for me and Ive just read AA KK and JJ sections but, you dont give us any blind levels 10/20 (100/200) etc, and just tell us what you raised to

and the raising i really disagree with if im reading it right, Its like youre almost telling us to telegraph our raise size to the the strength of our hand preflop like 10% of stack raise with AA

Ive been going with the theory of disguising my hand strength by raising AA 67s KQo types with my raise size, never over 3xbb and usually around 2.5xbb for any hand i open with, not 10% of my stack with AA and lower % for lesser hands

Its late and so maybe i read some of this wrong and i want to read the rest of this but I dunno if interperated any of the stuff i read wrong which i probably did,

I might not be the best one for book reviews though because Im not very good at the game

Hey Dzapp, glad you are making progress with it!

If you've learned the PS1-6, however you want to label them, that's great. I coined the "6 postflop scenarios" to help break up postflop play into useful chunks. I know many people will find this change uncomfortable, but it is very logical.

The examples have the blind levels in the images, but what is being stressed is the postflop measurement of SPR. Preflop it is good to think in terms of big blinds or "M", but postflop you need to switch to SPR.

The initial chapters advocating larger raises with eg AA are based on achieving an SPR of 5 or less, so you can commit to nearly any flop. I do make clear that cash game players are rarely going to be able to achieve this low SPR even with aggressive 3bets, so in deep-stacked situations a traditional raise will be smarter.

Enjoy the rest of it and post again if you have any questions

I have read the books and would highly recommend. Ben's structured approach to tackling the various post flop scenario's are insightful and will help you construct the best path forward. If you value continuous improvement and have a reasonable understanding of the game then you can't go wrong in reading Postflop.

Dzapp - understanding who is the preflop aggressor and defender is important if you want to improve. Only thinking about who is IP and OOP is limiting the information you can gather in a hand. You need to think about the other dynamics going on, like villain's position, hand ranges, stack sizes, your position, your skills edge on an opponent, who is the aggressor/defender, action from previous hands, likely action preflop and so on.

The 10% rule Ben describes is only where it is somewhat natural to do so. The rationale is your SPR will be low enough to commit you to the hand if you get at least 10% of your stack in pre with AA or KK. Obviously you still have to play the hand and make wise decisions but as a guide it is useful. If someone wants to set mine against your AA then you are not giving them the right odds and that's what you want.

Have another read of the book when you are ready to study (my advice is to study and play when you are fresh and focussed on bringing your A-Game). If you are serious about improving at poker then consider coaching with Ben. I have been coaching with Ben for 6 months and went from a break even micro stakes MTT player to a winning low limit MTT player.

I was someone who was constantly telling bad beat stories and complaining about never getting any luck when I played. I now feel very confident in my game and look forward to every session.

Bottom line, everyone will have different views on books, coaches and how to play NLHE however even if you only take a small amount of learning away from this book that improves your win rate then its well worth it.

1: I understand this depends on which agreement is chosen with Amazon. I retained the right to sell on my website.
2: Absolutely. If you play NL Hold'em in any format and any stakes, you will find benefit from my book. It focuses on how to approach your analysis. The example hands are admittedly from SNGs/tournaments, but don't let that deter you.
3: The books are carefully ordered by flop hand strength and sub-divided by what I call "postflop scenarios 1-6". This will make a lot of sense when you read it - it is a very reader-friendly structure. Volume 1 focuses on pocket pairs and volume 2 on non pocket pairs. Each chapter handles a different type of flop and has example hands within it. All examples are dealt with to their conclusion (all postflop streets).

Hope that helps

Ben, i liked your holdem manager series on TPE, so I'm gonna try these books too... Im deeper structure MTT player and heard book's examples are mostly from SnGs but same ideas should apply for both. At the moment, Im trying to read most updated theories and if these books are structured like I image - that should be great stuff. Well, time will tell. Gonna post again after i read them.

Hey there, glad you enjoyed my TPE HM2 video series. They were a lot of fun to make and for anyone interested, the first one is available for free viewing if you search youtube. I'm sure you'll enjoy the books and please share your thoughts again here when you've finished!

I just ordered your book from your site- thanks for the great bargain - I first read about it on Amazon I think it is 600 pages with both volumes so I thought
I liked your honesty about not being a big stakes player, not being cut out for it and more of a fantasy winning a big money tournament. Thats when I knew the book was for I love sitngo's and the cheaper the better. I love heads up but the blood pressure skyrockets when a dollar is at stake!
Good Luck Ben looks like you have it from your facebook page with your family and your bride .

Enjoy - the book is good for your blood pressure! Heads-up is a great way to improve your postflop play. There's no hiding. My game advanced a lot playing heads-up.

Just wanted to let you guys know, i ordered Ben's book and had a small problem, all my fault. But the service I got from him was outstanding. For his information it was jweston@******** Thanks a lot

Just bought the books. I've been re-reading the tournament poker books by Apestyles and Pearljammer for too long. They're great but I'm looking forward to learning new ideas.
The 25% coupon was a great gift. Thank you, Ben.

You are very welcome. Enjoy the read.

Just bought the books - will write a Review after reading them...

Could it be that it's only 266 sides for both books together?

I bought both volumes with discount; ty; and feel they both have merit; logical; and allow for remembering stuff at the table; which is real important. Rate about 8/10; well worth the money will get other stuff by this author...gl