Title: “Hold’Em Poker For Advanced Players”
Authors: David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth
Facts: “Hold’Em Poker For Advanced Players” has 332 pages. It is available in paperback format for $22.04 on Amazon. 6 other formats are available, including Kindle.
About The Authors
David Sklansky is considered to be the number 1 authority in gambling at the moment. He wrote 10 books about this and published many writings for gaming publications. His advice helped thousands to improve their games and that is mainly because of the way in which he presents highly complicated strategies and statistics with easy to understand language. Read more about him here.
Mason Malmuth is the owner of Two Plus Two Publishing. The firm published many high authority gambling and poker books. “Hold’Em Poker For Advanced Players” is one of the early collaborations of the two authors.
Review
Just as the title implies, “Hold’Em Poker For Advanced Players” is a book that should not be picked up by beginners. It is tailored for advanced players and you can easily figure this out as you read it. You can obtain really good advice even if you are a beginner but a book written by Sklansky especially for beginners is a much better buy. This is a book that is filled with theoretical concepts you will need to digest. Also, it is a book that mainly covers LIMIT hold’em, a game where you can easily get an edge if you understand the fundamental math behind the cards. Sklansky is well known for teaching such fundamentals.
In-Depth Advice Offered
The book features so much great advice that the aspiring poker player can use to his/her advantage. The part about using AQ is the best example. Sklansky highlights how dangerous the hand can be when faced with various circumstances. You are told how you should almost always raise with hands in the first group of poker (AA to AQ) as the hands tend to lose value when a pot turns into multiway action and how it is smart to fold when faced with early position raisers as many players are left to act after you.
A Focus On Limit Games, But…
As already mentioned, “Hold’Em For Advanced Players” will appeal to the player that wants to become really good at limit games. Many poker players these day grind the limit games as when played properly and with a good strategy, especially online, they can raise a bankroll in a much less volatile way than no limit games can.
Although we see this focus, many of the concepts in the game can be applied to no limit games. The real difference between the two stands in how much can be bet. By gaining the mathematical edge in limit games, you gain a strong understanding of where you are at in no limit games, which is a skill that is highly valuable in modern poker, especially online as you play a lot more hands and reading an opponent is more difficult.
Psychology
We have to note that the book also has a really interesting section that is dedicated to poker psychology. That is important since modern poker is not solely based on math. Sklansky shows how modern poker games are based on outwitting opponents by analyzing three levels:
- Thinking about what the opponent has.
- Thinking about what the opponent thinks you have.
- Thinking about what the opponent thinks you think he has.
Conclusions
We do not need to talk too much about this book since the pedigree of the author is one that is as high as it can be, particularly when dealing with limit poker since much of the decision making is based on math. We can safely say that “Hold’Em For Advanced Players” is one book that has huge practical value. It is recommended that you read it several times since many of the concepts highlighted will not be grasped during your first reading.
- Readability: 7.5 out of 10 – multiple readings necessary
- Examples: 9 out of 10
- Advice Quality: 10 out of 10
- Advice Accuracy For Current Play: 9 out of 10
- Information Offered: 9.5 out of 10
- Overall: 9 out of 10
