There is this issue, and from a consumer's POV (not that I'm in a financial position to buy any of them), how can I evaluate this book? There is this one, and the bobbo book, and a couple of Daily Variance titles, all costing a lot of money. How do I decide, if have just one kilobuck, which to buy?

We're early in the ebook game; I believe it will shake out over time and formalize. (Same for coaching; many coaches hanging up shingles, and few means to evaluate them. Are we far enough off-topic yet?)

Finally, as someone else posted, this information will leak into the broader poker world at a much lower price, so if you can determine what one of these books offers, what you'll be buying is the right to see it first.

I know it's kinda early but any reviews yet?

+1 to this

Not particularly relevant but; something slowhabit did very well imo was to get several people to review pre release copies of his book in their blogs etc.

Super system 2 might do the same (surely it depends on the skill and work ethic of the reader?) but that doesn't cost hundreds/thousands of dollars.Do you believe you are entitled to some sort of cut of the readers' future winnings?That seems to be the basis of your justification.

If anyone thinks that paying $1k, 2k, 5k, or whatever is too much for education for a job where many people make 100k/year, some make 250k, and a few make over a million per year, then you should look at the cost/benefit of going to school for other jobs.

As far as the book is concerned, I'm half way through part 1, and it's good so far.

I suppose one could compare this to the division between hobby and professional literature. This information might be considered must-have to a certain segment of players, and out of sight for most.

One issue for me (not that I'm prepared to spend this kind of money at the level I play) is that there are limited means by which to evaluate the various high-priced books on the market (Baluga, slowhabit, Bobbo). They are all costly, and I'm not sure there is a guarantee on any of them.

Mason comments on the original SS pricing in this thread:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/33...-books-440025/

When Doyle Brunson wrote SS the information was known to very few others.Poker training materials abound these days.We can watch and download over twenty of your training vids on a free trial from Deuces Cracked and at a guess you're covering much the same material as your book will contain.

I just want to know what this 1k book has to offer that the million other poker books on the market don't, really.

I mean, I'm sure it is probably a great book, but is there really that much unique information in it?

The answer is pixie dust.

Hi everyone,

the recurring issue i'm reading is one of the uniqueness of information. my argument is essentially twofold
1) There is a lot of unique information in this book, especially in volume II. There are a few chapters in volume II, most notably "Hand Categorization", that I haven't seen elsewhere (it should be noted that I haven't read all of the other million poker books available, so all I can give is an educated guess that this information is unique).
2) There is value in information delivery and applicability. While Doyle was obviously a revoluationary thinker, he hadn't (as far as I know) coached people in poker for hundreds of hours and developed a structured method for the delivery of his information. I say this as someone who reread Super System about twenty times and didn't understand any of it until I'd already understood it. (also important to note that I in NO way consider myself anywhere near worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as Doyle Brunson in regard to any of this, lol. that's like comparing mouse davis to vince lombardi lol. extra points for anyone who gets the mouse davis reference)

My goal, and time will tell to see if I've accomplished this, was to make a poker book that you could actually learn from as opposed to "understanding it once you've already understood it", which is how I've felt after reading pretty much every poker book i've laid eyes on (excepting Ed Miller's Small Stakes Hold 'Em, which wildly changed the way I thought. Unfortunately I think that Theory of Poker, though still the most important book about poker available, still falls into the category of 'not understanding till you understand', in that the importance of the fundamental theorem didn't re-dawn upon me until I was already well into beating high-stakes nlhe.)

Hope that helps enunciate. As for reviews, they're starting to trickle in. Volume II will be released soon, so they're all for volume I. Let the chips fall where they may!

Andrew

Dear Mr. Whale

Thank you for taking the time and clarifying this. The hand categorization part definitely has caught my interest. Unfortunately, I don't make or have enough yet to purchase your book, so it will certainly have to wait. I do appreciate the clarification though.

Seth

1) How to play individual hands and groups of hands has been covered in lots of vids by top players like Brian Townsend etc.I bet you've done quite a bit of this yourself in your own Deuces Cracked vids.

2) I think you misunderstand the learning process.It's not possible to understand certain poker concepts well without playing quite a bit eg it takes time for players to get a grasp of the importance of position.There's no short cut to understanding by using simple words or a simple writing style in a book.

He goes into way more detail in the book. Furthermore, the book is a living document and will be updated.

fwiw, I have a subscription at DC too (also Stox, but that is with FTP points). Both worth their weight in gold, imho.

-1. I've watched tons of poker vids and nobody breaks down the game like Baluga does.

Obviously, playing hands is important, but being able to quickly learn advanced concepts is very important for your WR.

IMO a lot of the best cash vids are on Cardrunners.There is often a lot of detail in the vids.I take notes and watch them several times.I think training videos are a better medium for learning poker than books.Anyway back to the subject here's what's in vol 1 of Baluga's book.There doesn't seem to much there which isn't available elsewhere.I think it's overpriced at $300.



Table of Contents
Volume I
Introduction—A Game of Information, A Game of Mistakes

1. The Reasons for Betting
2. Preflop Hand Ranges and Postflop Equities
3. Aggression and the Turn
4. Bet Sizing and Thin Value
5. Player Identification and Basic Handreading
6. Isolation Theory
7. Table Dynamics
8. Creative Preflop Raise Sizes
9. Value Streets and Pot Management
10. Showdown Theory
11. Monotone Boards and Equity
12. G-Bucks and Equity Changes
13. Full Ring vs. 6-Max
14. Introduction to 3-betting
15. Introduction to HU Play by Matt Colletta
16. HU: The Framework by Matt Colletta

That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. However, I've read Volume One and I can tell you that I disagree 100%. A table of contents tells you what material is covered, but it doesn't tell you how the material is covered.

fwiw, people were paying $1850 for CTS's and Slowhabit's book.

Also, why bother commenting ITT until you have read the book?

For those that have read Volume I, is this appropriate for people at 50NL or not worth it until you get to higher stakes?

Also, does the book include any tasks to help improve at each section or is it all theory/knowledge based without any practical suggestions on how to work on each area (except to find your own way to internalise the book)?

Not saying theory only is bad, just that I do learn more from tasks that I can then move into my analysis of my own hands.

If you play reasonably high stakes then you might find two or three things of interest in CTS's book but he did not put out a book on poker basics and place a massive price tag on it.That's what volume 1 appears to be.If there's any specific information you can point to which justifies the price tag then please tell me what it is.

Well the total price of the book is $954 ($854 if you pre-ordered) and volume two does contain more advanced concepts.

I think you need to think in terms of opportunity costs.

I am a huge winner at 200NL and 400NL; I got a ton from Volume 1. Yes, it does go over the fundamentals of SSNL, but it is honestly laid out in a very easy manner. I spend a ton of time on my game and the book basically gives you all the hours I spent in a nutshell. A lot of winners at those stakes may have ideas floating around their heads about certain concepts, but they have no framework to apply it. The book helps with that. I'm hoping that Volume II can give me the framework for larger limits.

You could probably say that about Harrington on Cash.personally I think you can learn more from watching the vids of the top players and taking notes.Recently Phil Galfond put out some great vids on Bluefire and there are some very good vids on Cardrunners.Phil Galfond and some of the top players on Cardrunners are better players than Baluga imo

The book seems eclectic,incomplete and unstructured judging by the topics covered and those omitted.It does not take a genius to structure their learning for themselves if they think it's helpful (and I think it is).

Baluga's a good player but I think he has overpriced this book.Anyway I've had my say and I will not be returning to this topic.

It's mind-boggling how many people "review" books that they haven't read.

I've reviewed the table of contents.Barring any further personal attacks I'm out of here.

You've compared the contents to what you might find in Harrington on Cash.

May you point me to where the following table of contents entries are covered in HOC?

6. Isolation Theory
8. Creative Preflop Raise Sizes
12. G-Bucks and Equity Changes
13. Full Ring vs. 6-Max
14. Introduction to 3-betting
15. Introduction to HU Play by Matt Colletta
16. HU: The Framework by Matt Colletta