Fish on a heater IMO. Ban for shilling.

Thanks again for taking the time to post this. You obviously weren't obligated to do so.

No doubt. I'll take it though. Any time someone starts out a poker story with "So I played this hand really well...." you know they lost money.

I have no shame, I will take all the good luck I can get.

Ha, I was of course messing around, but perhaps we can settle on "good player on a heater?" Seems accurate to me based on the info. I have.

I appreciate this, but luckily for me, I never had any plans to release a follow-up title. This was always the only way this thing was going to get written; I'm an "all or nothing" type of guy. Besides, writing the thing nearly killed me. I went from ~6', 160 lbs (underweight) to ~145 lbs (dangerously underweight) from writing obsessively all day for months and hardly eating. Writing can be done healthily, obviously, but apparently not by me. For several months, it's fair to say that I was a starving writer (not because I was poor; because I was obsessive ).

I'm now ~175 lbs and shooting for another ~10. SS/GoMaD FTW. lol degeneracy-induced weight varianceaments. Ship the bulk. I think I'll try to be healthy from now on.

First off, I want to apologize for taking so long to write this review. I remembered writing one before but completely forgot that I meant to write a final review when I finished going through the product.

I'm not going to start off by telling you what SFHiYCD is. You already know what it consists of. SFHiYCD is a product that emphasizes that every spot in poker is important. It makes sure you are constantly thinking of all of your options. For example, one thing I thought that was great in Jon's product was that he doesn't neglect any situation. By this I mean, say you are watching the video and there is an open and the hero elects to fold a marginal hand. If you missed a spot to 3bet Jon will point that out. Or if it folds to us on the button and you fold your J4s but should have opened, Jon will point that out. I found this to be particularly good because we are unable to improve areas that we don't know are wrong with our game. You would never bring a hand to a coaching session where a certain player raised utg and you fold A4s on the button but Jon's product points out what I like to call these "unknown leaks." Once you realize that you might be missing out on profitable plays in one spot your thinking will change and you will be able to apply similar concepts to other spots.

Additionally, Jon provides extensive commentary on almost every hand that the hero elects to play. He takes the analysis a step further than most other coaches. Not only will he tell you if he thinks that you should bet the flop, for example. He will also tell you why and explain it through the use of combinatorics and mathematics. He then also gives advice on how he would treat all sorts of different board runouts as opposed to merely the runout that occurs in the hand. It is obviously important to have a plan at the start of the hand and not to just be quickly making decisions on the fly. He teaches the importance of planning hands and going with your reads.

I think that SFHiYCD is a product applicable from players ranging from the microstakes to midstakes. Microstakes player will be able to use it to help themselves build fundamentals, and better understand the game. Additionally the strategy articles will help give them an understanding of basic ranges and provide mathematical insight as to why certain plays are good and others are not. Midstakes players will already be familiar with some of the concepts, and likely even disagree with some things. This is good as it causes the player to think "Why do Jon and I think differently in this spot? Can I improve my play by doing as he suggests?" And whether or not you conclude that your line or Jon's line works best it will have given you the opportunity to spend hours thinking about your game and your play. I also think they will be able to gain from fixing some of these "unknown leaks" and once you reach the level of a decent midstakes winner it is not the big "aha" moment that will improve your game but the small, seemingly insignificant plays that will provide the slight increase to your winrate.
If you have and questions feel free to contact me.
Matt

This is probably one of the most powerful reviews I have ever heard for any kind of poker product, whether it be coaching, books, courses, etc.

Despite my main game being SnGs, I will be purchasing this product.

Do you think this will help with live poker? I assume it helps you with the correct way to think about poker even if 6max internet poker.

Hey,

Appreciate the question.

I think your best bet is to read the samples in my ad. I can't think of a better way to improve your understanding of the extent to which SFH would be a useful resource for a live player than to read a few thousand words that were lifted straight from its video analyses.

The candidate who stands to get the most bang for the buck from SFH is the serious online player who uses tracking software. This is the case because it's littered with HUD stats; I make no secret of my opinion of their utility.

However, I think it has quite a bit to offer to the serious live player as well.

Yes, I like to think so. Of course, I'm biased; perhaps someone else with a more objective background will respond.

Good luck.

I do play live 5 or 6 days a week. I have played online up to 2/4 but only started to dabble on lower stakes online again this past month. I am going to buy the miniature package first and give it a try. Being able to learn from a big winning midstakes player pouring every thing into teaching us is too good to pass up.

Went ahead and purchased the mini package the reviews were too good to not get it. Look forward to getting started.

Appreciate it. You've got mail.

The mini-package has some of the video analysis in it, right? I got a PM where someone asked me about the quality of the general strategy articles. I told them they were fine; they're useful and written in a clear and concise way, and will probably turn most players who read them into better players.

However, I actually advised him not to buy only the articles, because in my opinion it's the written analysis of the videos that really makes SFH "something special." Getting only the strategy articles is declining to get the best parts of the package. You really want the written hand by hand analysis on this one.

As for its application to live play, I'd say that depends a lot on how you use it. I mean, if you simply memorize what Jon recommends doing in various spots and do that, it's probably still going to boost your online six max game despite barely touching the surface of what Jon is trying to do. But if you study it, and follow his line of logic and reasoning on the hands, it can help in live play as well.

It's less automatic, however, because if you play online a lot, when I watch watched the video analysis there are a lot of moments where I thought, "Man, this spot happens to me all the time and I hate it. I wonder what Jon recommends?" That exact correlation won't happen much if you mostly play live. There are no hands that I remember where you open to 7bb UTG with QQ and get five callers.

Still worth it if you're going to be attempting to understandthe advice instead of just taking it, if that makes any sense.

Basically what it breaks down to is that just about every poker book in existence tells you you need to think about the hand before you play it, then think about all the information again before you make each decision. The problem is, a lot of books give you this advice but don't actually show you how to do that. SFH will let you peek into Jon's brain and watch him think through every hand the way you should be when you play.

Yes, the mini-product contains the longest (50-page/~34,000-word) video analysis in addition to the strategy articles.

Thanks for chiming in.

Just wanted to x-post my review from Jon's coaching thread to here

My review for Smashing Fewer Holes in Your Computer Desk; Written Insights on Modern Poker:

It has taken me 4 weeks to go over everything included in SFH and it has culminated in me being a more confident and knowledgeable poker player. I have played 37k hands since I started SFH and my EV bb/100 has improved by 2.24. This is obviously a small sample and all of it was played without a HUD at Speed Poker games. I wasn’t able to use some of the analysis like W$WSF/W$SD%/WTSD% and other stats that Jon teaches so when I can have a HUD I expect to gain even more from SFH. I also expect to gain more as I have now fully gone over the product. I will try to update my progress when I get more hands under my belt with a HUD. I will be going through SFH again this coming month as there is A LOT of detail and information in the video analyses that it is impossible to go through it just once and expect to grasp everything. I have a degree in Finance and I would put SFH up there with those college assignments that made your brain hurt and made you re-read something 20x because your brain would shut off at how complex it can be.

Poker is a complex game and very rarely will a situation be the same as before. That is why I think the most important thing you learn from SFH is how to think about poker in a lot of different situations. In some situations you will be fine-tuning what you know/suspected and in others you will learn a lot of new things. Jon doesn’t put up a hand chart and say “here play these hands in X situation”. “Ok but what do I do in XY and XZ situation?” What Jon does is he takes you through his thinking process so that when XY and XZ situations come up you can think FOR YOURSELF as to what the best play is! Let’s face it, the goal of any poker player should be to be able to work through any situation and come to a reasonable +EV conclusion. That is where Jon’s product pays for itself as he teaches you how to think about a myriad of different situations by utilizing 3 different players in 3 different videos. The strategy articles, depending on your skill level, will also bring either new knowledge or fine-tune what you know. When you finish the product and have questions you will get those questions answered in a skype session with Jon where the 30 minutes turns into “however long it takes to answer your questions” minutes. You are paying $500 for a lot of content and ALL questions answered. That is something that no mass-market poker book can give you. Is the money a lot to pay for this? Last time I checked $500 is no pocket change, so yes it is a lot of money! However, if you are serious about improving your thinking in poker and being able to come to more +EV conclusions then I highly recommend SFH.

I have also started an SFH poker group where the goal is to use what we learned in SFH and analyze each other’s hands and help each other out. Each week we send hands to each other on Skype and get analysis back in a few days from each member. We are also available to talk about hands with each other on a daily basis, etc. Jon has also said that he could come on every once in a while to talk to us as well. If you already have SFH or are going to buy it and are interested in joining, shoot me a PM here on 2+2 and we can talk. The major requirement is to have SFH and have gone through at least some of it. We currently have 3 members including myself. Best of luck!

Hi Tannenj

I just purchased this product($500 package), got the thanks for your order email from paypal and no email after that.

How long before I get email with download links?

Once upon a time, not too long ago, I would frequently debate whether I ought to go to value town or induce. When thinking about inducing, typically I find myself slipping into FPS and costing myself a lot of money. Occasionally, and for no apparent reason, I'd take a fancy line and be rewarded with it. The problem was that I could tell there were times when taking an unorthodox line was obviously optimal, as the result in that particular hand indicated to me, but yet I also knew that overall it was a poor strategy.

As a winning player, and one that could crush micro-stakes on a whim and play solid at SSNL, I knew that I ought to forgo fancy plays and opt for the most positive EV line I could. "Just stick to the math," I'd tell myself.

But I couldn't escape that nagging feeling deep inside my mind - that somehow a one size fits all action was actually suboptimal even if it was the most positive EV line possible. If only there were a way to tailor my play, I'd be able to maximize my value and enjoy a higher win rate.

But that hope simply wasn't in the cards for me. I went on a massive downswing rapidly trying to alter my strategy. One buy-in quickly turned into fifteen. 15 BI turned into 24 before I knew it.

Was I washed up?
Was it variance?
Was it frustration that an ideal just didn't seem to be panning out for me?
Or was I wrong about the whole thing?

"Perhaps the games are dead," I thought, "there's no money in poker anymore, everyone's solid."

Of course I understood that I was suffering through the poker cliché, but it didn't make it any easier on me.

I stopped playing all together for a while. It was too painful to even think about poker, let alone fire up tables and start grinding. Life sucked hard.

This meant that my skills became rusty and my biggest leak of all came out (my biggest leak is not playing).

In desperation, I took a look at Smashing Fewer Holes in Your Computer Desk. The name was catchy and even familiar since my downswing saw several items destroyed through venting my frustration. Worse than any proverbial hole in my desk was the hole in my confidence, and what I perceived to be some sort of hole in my game.

After a lengthy discussion with Jonathan, I decided to go ahead and purchase his book. I was really concerned with even bothering to spend time on something like this since I felt as though my prior studies were solid. The truth of the matter is that Jon is perhaps the most vetted coach on 2p2 and he has some very respected buddies vouching for him. Additionally, his win rate at mid-stakes was what my 50NL win rate was after the downswing. If I wanted to enjoy this sort of win rate and reduce the chances of another debilitating downswing (at a time when moving up especially), I thought, I'd have to learn what he knew.

I eagerly downloaded the zip file and began going through the material. My thought was, "I'll sift through the material, find a few nuggets, and start putting them to work!"

Well, my optimism was perhaps a bit too ambitious... or not ambitious enough.

This is not a book that gives you a one size fits all line in various situations. In fact, it's not even a book. It's also not a video. It's both and it's neither at the same time. It's such a unique format that I found it a little challenging to get through at first.

Armed with my three 27" wide screen monitors, I had the video running on one screen, the book open on another, and some of his reference material on the third. Don't think you need all that though, I just found it easier for me to go through.

The time it took me to get through this thing was massive. Jonathan thought it represented about 20 hours of his coaching. I specifically asked him if this is how long he thought it would take for me to get through his material - and he said the two weren't the same. Well, it took me at least that long, and perhaps a bit more (I stopped keeping track), But I'm the sort of person that forces myself to internalize and analyze every aspect that I can... there was no superficial glossing over the material (like I did with some of the published works available out there for a hefty price) - perhaps it's greatest weakness was its strength in that it was training on how to think about the game instead of pure strategy. Thinking is much more challenging than clicking some buttons.

What makes this so much different than everything out there isn't so much the format (though that too), it's that most every hand of several hours worth of sessions is painstakingly analyzed. If you ever wondered how the optimal line might change mid hand should the "ace of spades fall instead of the 7 of clubs" it's in here! With such depth of thought, the amount of time and energy needed to adequately absorb the material was massive. Ten hours of deliberate study into this thing I thought I was on the cusp of something new, something remarkable, and something astounding.... the problem was, I also was seeing that with so much more material to go through, I was only scratching the surface.

I really took the lessons to heart though. I committed his entire stat section to memory. In the discussion, he refers to these stats, what they mean, and most importantly, how to adjust a line.

Now, I'm just talking any stats here. Come on, we all know how to adjust against a 40/10 or a 25/20. The sorts of adjustments and the sorts of stats discussed here are sometimes derivatives and don't even show up on a HUD (what you need to know is on the HUD though). I thought I knew a lot about how to exploit particular stats, but I was clueless as to some of the ways you can vary.

I'm not going to lie - memorizing stat ranges was really tedious and boring as hell. But quickly my game started to shift.

"Time to take this fool to value town... all aboard the VT express..... mmm, wait, maybe I should check something first..... ah, wow, I would have missed that before!" was a thought I had so many times I couldn't count.

Instead of "@#$@#$!!!!!!" being yelled all over the place in frustration, I find myself repeating a new motto as I scoop pots, "Bing Blang Bloaw... ship it"

They didn't even see it coming.

I know the road I've been on the last few years has been a rocky one, but in front of me I see a smooth glassy surface, and I've got my foot mashed down on the pedal. I can't promise myself that it will always be this smooth, but what I can tell you is that I'm far more equipped now than I was.

Now when I take an unorthodox line, I have a reason. I have a mathematical justification, and my win-rate is soaring because of it. Looking in my rear view mirror, I see the dust I've kicked up as I leave behind simple poker and enter a whole new realm of endless possibilities.

How appropriate would this be for a full ring player? From what I've read here it seems suitable for all poker but are the example hands discussed very 6max heavy (where the dynamics are ranges can obviously be pretty different)?

Color Up,

Many thanks for that. Gonna email you momentarily.

Husker,

Appreciate the question. Every hand dissected in the product took place at a 6max table (if you examine my written ad, you'll get a sense of what I mean). However, given the nature of my approach, I think it'd be fair to say that it's "suitable for all [no-limit hold 'em] poker," yes.

There are instances in the product in which I rattle off statistical ranges and whatnot, and things like this cause it to be less valuable to someone looking to bolster his full ring play than to someone looking to bolster his shorthanded play. Quantifying the amount by which the product offers less value to a full ring player than to a shorthanded player would be impossible, but I'm comfortable telling you that if the full ring/6max thing is your only deterrent (aside from the price ), it's likely that you'd be satisfied with the bang for the buck that you'd receive. If you'd like more of a take on this (or a take on anything else), please feel free to PM me.

GL,
Jon

@Jon

This product is over 6 months old, has there been any updates along the way to your original product?

I'm always very hesitant to buy any poker product than is more than a few months old because the games changes so quick.

When are you dropping the price?

Only if you looking for a formula approach. It's the same game people played 5 years ago. You just need to observe and adjust to what others are doing. If Jon is truly a great teacher he understands that and will teach you how to think about poker.

"don't learn the tricks of the trade learn the trade"

No, there haven't been any updates. I never planned to deliver such material to customers and don't plan to do so in the future. I chose to take a different approach than some authors have taken: instead of putting X amount of effort into the original product and promising to update it with some predetermined frequency, I spent enough time and effort on the original product to be certain that "supplemental material" would be associated with relatively little utility.

In other words, my man Honey Badger is right. From my coaching thread:

I believe this wholeheartedly. I don't mean to imply that poker literature can never be outdated; that's not my point. Poker literature that advises you, "Your opponents are likely to do A, and the optimal counter to this is B" will necessarily become outdated sooner or later. For example, Super System -- as great as it was when it was released -- relies heavily on the premise that the average player folds way too often to bets and raises and that it's therefore optimal to bluff and semi-bluff constantly to take advantage of this. This was great advice in 1979 when very few players were willing to play big pots without nutish hands, but when "the games change[d]" and that ceased to be the case, Doyle's advice lost much of its punch.

Truly strong poker literature is timeless. Instead of telling you, "Do B because your opponents will probably do A," my approach in SFH is along the lines of, "Consider the information we have on the opponent against whom you're playing this hand. The sample you have on him indicates that he's C, D, and E. Against players who are C, D, and E, it makes sense to do F in this scenario. With that being said, it's possible that G is the case. Insofar as you believe G is the case, your adjustment against this player should be H because of I, J, and K."

Poker math is never going to change, and sound poker logic is never going to change. I believe SFH is "truly strong poker literature." Thus, I'm comfortable advertising it as the cream of the crop in late November even though I put it together in January, February, and March.

I don't know that I'll ever drop the price. However, I do have a promotion running at the moment. It doesn't make it possible to buy SFH for less than $500, but it does make it possible to buy a package including SFH and a handful of hours of my personal coaching for significantly less than I'd normally charge you for it. I'll also send you a quick PM in a moment.