Quote:
Originally Posted by sunnyravencourt
Anyone have thoughts on Jonathan Little: Mastering Small Stakes No Limit Holdem?
I picked it up. I was looking for live casino cash game advice at the 1-2 level.
I've read that one and three other of Little's books and it changed me from a losing player to a dominator at 1/2 and a winner at 2/5. I prefer his "Live No-Limit Cash Games" which has a second volume that is a work book. If you pause and really work thru the scenarios he gives, it will up your hand reading ability, smart bet sizing, and seeing proper bluff zones. When you're done with that, read his book on bluffs.
For years I had played based on the basis of Harrington on Hold 'Em. I was making $50 to 90K per year (charted in a spreadsheet) in rec home games, just by being tight aggressive, with no real hand reading skills. I thought I was good, but really it was that my opponents were bad, had deep pockets, and didn't mind spewing off a few grand every session.
Harrington has great books, but out of date thinking. The game has moved on and I went down to a break even player when home games ended and I had to move to card rooms with better players. If you play Harrington's style now, the aggro kids will take you to the cleaners. The real problem with Harrington is he mostly teaches you how to play your cards, but JLittle teaches you how to play your opponent. Harrington's books are great for learning the basics, but J Little changed my poker life for the better.
Another big delta of Harrington vs Little. Harrington teaches you to play scared - protect your good hands. JLittle teaches you to get paid with your good hands, which means that sometimes you'll get outdrawn, but you'll make more bank in the long run by getting paid.
All of J Little's books have lots and lots of hand range charts. It's easy to skip them, but spend time on them trying to understand his points. I found a range calculator on line and played with it until I knew exactly what a 15%, 20%, up thru 50% opening hand range is. Then I came back to Little's books and his charts and strategies started making more sense to me.