Winning Big with Expert Play - Small Stakes Hold 'em

I have been playing low-limit holdem for about four years and have been a small winner during that time. I read this book four days ago, and it has explained concepts to me that I haven't seen in print anywhere else (among my twenty other books on poker). I now have a much clearer understanding of the mistakes that low-limit players make. I am now in the process of correcting my own mistakes and exploiting the mistakes of my opponents.

The sections on postflop play are priceless, with difficult but crucial concepts. Miller explains when to raise the flop, and when to wait until the turn. The concept of raising the river to knock out better hands is also given thorough treatment.

In the past four days, the book has already paid for itself in bets I've won and pots I've saved, playing low-limit Party Poker. It is tremendous.

I was amazed to see material this complex, presented as comprehensively and concisely, as it is here. The short chapter ???????Two Overpair Hands??????? alone is worth the price of the book. I am certain this is one of the best books on poker ever written. It certainly is far superior to any of the other books on low limit holdem.

This book is not just for small stakes games, though. It????????s really for all loose games, and most games today seem to be, at least at times, pretty loose.

This book should improve the game of anyone who reads it.

I had been playing low limit games mostly because i did not have the bankroll to support the higher limit games. Being a college student has given me a lot of time to play poker but only at low limits. The one thing that this book helped me with was extracting as much money from my opponents as possible. The concepts in this book were difficult to fully comprehend with the first read but after the first read it made more sense. The book will help you play against all thoes people who play any hand to the river and maximize your profits. I definately recomend buying this book.

This book has instantly become my #1 recommended poker book for the player looking to advance from marginally profitable to stone killer. The text is advanced and readable. Miller explains complex concepts in a manner that is easily understood. Concepts such as pot odds, pot equity, playing overcards and many others are discussed clearly and concisely. While not necessarily a book for the brand new player, it is an excellent text for anyone with a few games under his/her belt who wants to really destroy the low-limits. Although this book is targeted at small stakes games (2/4 up to about 6/12), its concepts are easily applicable to looser mid-stakes games 10/20 and up. The first few chapters alone will earn you the cost of the book many times over.

Buy it. Read it. Sit at someone else's table.

Great book. I just completed a first pass through, and am about to set in for a second reading.

Like the book says, you need a bit of Hold-em knowledge already before you dive into this one. But as long as you already understand the game, this is a great book for learning more about limit poker.

Although the book focuses heavily on low-limit poker, there is still a lot to carry over to "less crazy" limits where players don't actually chase the river every time.

The hand quizzes are a nice touch, and the pot odds/implied odds sections are good, too.

Well worth adding to your library!

This book is excellent for the small stakes player. There is lots of good information. It can get a bit complicated with all the stuff you have to learn and remember from the book -- but failing to follow the strategies outlined in the book will result you in being a long term loser in small stakes poker.

I've been a professional low-stakes poker pro for a couple of years now. I know how to find and beat the online low limit games.

This book preaches a fairly loose and aggressive form of poker relying on pot and implied odds to "crush your opponent". The main concept is that you stay in and help build big pots whenever the odds dictate that you will take more than your share over the long haul. This is, I believe, an optimal approach. It is also a departure from most books which preach a more tight and aggressive approach for playing against tighter/better opponents.

That said, I have some major problems with this book:

1) It is written, like all Sklansky's books, with an arrogant tone which grates on me over time. Compare that to Dan Harrington's recent book and you can see how a WORLD-CLASS player can be humble and point out that every play has its costs and benefits. Whereas Sklansky often implies that you are an idiot to disagree with him.

2) Much of the material in this book is DEBATEABLE and SUBTLE! There are many factors in every situation and some examples would contradict previous example only due to a very subtle and slight differences.

3) As a result of the top 2. This book seems like a BIBLE for playing (It is subtitled THE definitive guide to crushing loose games and amateur opponents). So a relatively skilled player (someone who breaks even or is slightly ahead in online poker) could pick up this book and not understand the subtlety and totally destroy their game!

In fact, this book outlines a very high level theory on playing poker vs loose opponents. You MUST be able to understand it at this highest level, criticize it in your own mind, thinking some of it is utter garbage and some of it wickedly clever before you can really take much from it.

So overall, it is a decent book, but the people who will benefit from reading it will have already understand 90% of the concepts going in. People who blindly try to follow their advice...tell me your name and where you play...I'll come take your money.

I'm a long time player and started playing online a little while ago. So to get the feeling for online Poker I thought I'd start with small stake tables until I know my way out and then play my usual higher stakes games.

After a short while I realized that small stakes table are just horrible to play and that I need to adapt my game to the new situation. I went out and buy the book of Sklansky about how to play small stakes... after reading the book carefully and trying to follow most of his strategies I must say that I'd better have lost my money at a table than for the book. My new table experiences would have been more valuable.

What Sklansky suggests is actually to play loose against loose players! I've been playing for many years now and my tracks show that I'm pretty tight, solid and aggresive but since this strategy doesn't seem to work very well at small stakes online tables, I thought being open minded and reading about new ways would pay out. I know now that playing my usual way doesn't pay out as much as I'm used to at tables like that, but I also know that the way they explain how to play doesn't pay out at all but makes you even loose more money...

I found this book very helpful to understand the basics for tight play in limit holdem. It is a welcome addition to my library. While this was written for low limit card rooms, I have found the contents to benefit me in tournaments as well. I just recently won a 26 person tournament using his strategies while I was the short stack at one of the tables. Balance Slansky with Harrington to expand your game. Sidenote: Slansky made the final table at the 2006 Borgata Open, so tight play can get you in the money.

Excellent book on Small Stakes Holdem! Extensive and exhaustive section on counting outs and applying pot odds to your play -the best I've seen so far (7 poker books read and counting). For example, Dan Harrington gives a very brief description of counting outs and then recommends the book being reviewed here - "Small Stakes Hold'em ..." for further reading.

i bought this book thinking it was about no limit holdem; I consider Sklansky to be the best teacher of poker. once i started reading it , however, i realized it only talks about limit holdem. I read it anyway and it had great limit info, but i only play no-limit. a completely different ballgame. So, i'm gonna get Sklansky's No-Limit Holdem Theory & Practice. If you play limit holdem for small stakes, this is THE book.

Small Stakes Holdem takes you to the next level and teaches you expert play allowing you to DOMINATE the low limit game. When playing online you don't need to be playing the middle or high limits to make a nice living. Simply playing 2/4 or 3/6, and using multiple tables you can earn anywhere from $15-60/hr on Party Poker. Depends on how many simultaneous tables you can play and how proficient your play is.

This is an absolutely solid text that will make you a winner at small-stakes poker -- if you want to be one. There are other texts that teach the same valuable insights. But, if you say you "Just want to gamble", this won't help you, but you are more than welcome at our regular games.

I am impressed with the wealth of information I have found so far within this book. I have not yet finished it, but it has already improved my game. I highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about improving their poker game.

This book provides a great foundation, analysis and tips for playing limit hold 'em. I recommend reading it more than once to absorb the concepts, strategies and disciplines required for successful play

The item arrived in very good condition. At first there seemed to be a slight delivery delay but that was taken care of promply without any intervension on my part. (could have been a mis-read on my part in regards to the initial delay)

I'm very pleased with the seller.

This is a pathetic excuse for an actual book. The writing is bad. The writing is neither clear nor concise. The book offers no tactical advice. I got the impression that this author merely wants to have a book to sell to suckers like me. I regret buying this book. This book sucks. I have tossed the book into the trash. I can usually glean something of merit from any book. This book is the exception. There is nothing to be gained by reading this book.