Winning Low-Limit Hold'em

I bought this book on the very strong recommendation of my son, who plays Texas Holdem in a $30-60 no limit game and very successfully, year in and year out at our local casino. Why? Because when I made plans to take him out for dinner wherever he wanted to go, could eat all the raw oysters his heart desired and I'd front him $200.00 the nest time he played Teaxas Holdem he replied with "Great! Would you like to finish the evening trying your hand at Texas Holdem and use the $200 to finance yourself?"I played poker regularly when I was younger but it was mainly ladies lunch and then 2 cent 4 cent poker; or our big games were 5 cent 10 cent. Sometimes Hubby and I played couples for really big stakes, 25 cents 50 cents. Plus, I hadn't even done that for over 25 years and had never even seen a Hold Em game.I read the book very carefully thru Odds, Pot Odds, and Implied Odds twice over two days. On the third day, the afternoon before we went to dinner and then on to the casino, I read with an eye to retain as many details as possible just thru Playing Considerations Before the Flop.That evening my son played at the Low Limit table with me the whole evening. We both had such a good time we wound up playing for TEN hours. I was up a $175 and then in for a $160. By the time we quit I had made a comeback and lost a total of $30. The second trip was even more fun. It was a work night for my son, who played his regular game while I played solo, and we played for 5 hours. I was up at one point $220 and wound up winning $15.That is long personal story that is the basis for my 5 Star rating. First, the mechanics of play and betting is quite different from the type of poker I had always played and this book laid everything out in a very clear way. It took a while to get used to it but I knew what was happening.Second, although I forgot, especially at my first game, a lot of the details Mr Jones synthesizes his approach at the end of each major topic into the broad ideas that are easier to call upon when the details escape you. The book is very well laid out in this respect.Third, in this short playing time the general ideas he lays out helped me a great deal in recognizing certain player types and adjusting my play accordingly. I can't wait to get deeper into that and other ideas that are too much for me at this point.Fourth, if Mr Jones' approach to poker is anathema to your style of play that you love doing he makes it quite clear that his book is NOT for you. He makes it abundantly clear that his book is only for those who enjoy winning over the long haul, or can't afford to play and lose more often then not and have the patience to only play certain hands while sitting out for sometimes long periods of time.Well, I am the perfect pupil for the knowledge and strategies that Mr Jones lays out so clearly in his book. I I hope this review is helpful to anyone considering whether the ten bucks is worth it because I certainly think so.

I absolutely love this book.I was playing 2/2 limit at my local card room, and doing OK. I would run between -1 to +10 bucks an hour, seemingly without any difference in play. I was playing tight-passive to tight-slightly aggressive. This book has shown me the error of my ways in an easy to understand and easy to follow discussion of the strategy and technique of tight-aggressive low limit poker. It has explained concepts like check-raising (this isn't just a sign of aggression and actually has deep strategic value), position, and implied odds in ways that escaped me in my basic internet survey of low limit strategy.I am still integrating the changes into my game, but the sheer logic of how and why to play in each phase and with each type of possible hand has already turned me around. It's proven to me that I shouldn't be playing that Q2o no matter how frustrated I may be, and the Q9o isn't that much better. I knew that in my heart already... what I didn't know was that I should not fold to raises to avoid bad beats: they're bad because you should have won, statistically. This and many other lessons on the literal odds of poker and how to exploit them to your favor have been revealed to me by this book.I would strongly recommend this book for anyone who has already adopted a tight strategy at low limit on their own. This will make you happy that you did, and guide you to making the most of the hands you do play, with an aggressive betting strategy.The section on single table tournaments was also very useful to me, as they are common in card rooms along side low limit tables, and they scare the pants off me. Just on the discussion in this book I feel confident that I could at least not be the first one eliminated!My only complaint, and I only mention it for balance, is that Mr. Jones does not go into detail of the key WHY as often as I would like. He may state that one hand is better than the other, but he doesn't always give the odds for non-obvious outs (e.g. pre-flop odds). However, with a little work on paper all of his statements are easily verifiable, and if you're worried about such things you're probably best-off double checking and thinking through such issues anyway.I feel enlightened by this book and I can't wait to fully incorporate it into my game. Absolutely recommend to any casual or learning (<100 hours) low limit player. It may not teach you everything, and you may not agree with 100% of the "rules", but it is a brilliant discussion of the ins and outs of real world (brick AND internet) low limit poker. My hat is off to Mr. Jones.

In short, This is an excellent book which is very readable and is a hive of information.I just have a few issues with the author's writing style (such as he likes to write the popular but totally incorrect "that said..." instead of the correct "that being said...") but this reviewer will forgive him for the time being, as there's no doubt at all that what he's saying is well worth reading. The book's author, Lee Jones, also happens to be a manager of one of the online poker sites, so in this third edition he devotes a whole chapter to online poker which only received a few pages mention in the two previous editions. That being said, arguably, the one chapter on internet poker could be said to be the weakest chapter of the whole book - and certainly needs much more meat in the next edition! Of course this also begs the question - why only one chapter - when online gaming has been the biggest growth industry in the game of poker? Let's hope that in future editions, at least a third of the next edition is devoted to how to play best online. Jones should certainly have the expertise to write a most compelling text on the subject so hopefully he'll deliver more on the online side to the game, next time.The above brings me on to a very important point about this book: Don't (REPEAT DON'T!!) be tempted to buy the earlier editions - even at bargain bucket levels: make absolutely sure you're buying the latest edition which at the time of writing this review is the 2K5 ed. Why so? Well, normally there are not many changes between editions of books but in Jones's case, he has gone to meticulous effort to correct many mistakes in the earlier editions and has substantially updated his book, often overruling what he advised to do in the previous editions. Indeed, there are around 80 new pages in this book and that should say a lot about the overhaul which the text has received since earlier editions. Definitely give the earlier editions a wide berth and buy the latest edition instead. The earlier editions were written before the internet craze in poker took off and that should give a big clue as to why he (mis)predicted in earlier editions that "1-2 dollar games are dying out" when in fact they were just about to enjoy a huge renaissance together with so called micro-limit games. Trust me, my saying buy the latest edition, I hope will be very sound advice to potential buyers; as I often see the earlier editions being well bid on a certain site. You have been warned...Anyway, buy this book, read it once. Read it twice and improve your game. I won't comment on other aspects of this book as my review has become long enough already. Suffice to say, I agree with the other positive reviewers and award it a great five out of five stars.

Even though this is aimed at real-time i.e. not internet, low-limit hold 'em players, I have found this book invaluable for online games. This is no magic bullet, however. Simply reading it from cover to cover won't get you far. You have to memorise, and re-read whole sections to benefit.I considered that I was doing pretty well online, generally breaking even most games and sometimes coming out on top. After applying the systems recommended by Lee, my winnings have increased exponentially.Lee says very little about internet play, claiming that he has not enough data to offer any decent opinions, but here are my two main observations about playing Lee's way online: games are very fast, making it hard to calculate both hand odds and pot odds. If you've paid attention to the book, however, you will be able to make a relatively accurate estimate of the odds without the necessary calculations; secondly, online you can play at several tables at once (Paradise Poker lets you play three simultaneously). If you apply Lee's logic to these games, you can watch your winnings grow quickly. I have gained the confidence, thanks to this book, to progress from the cheaper to the higher-value games.This book makes you work hard, but it is worth it.

If you've gone as far as you can in the game or, if you are a beginner to the game or, if you don't know which way to turn, then this is the book for you. It is without doubt one of the best books anyone will ever read on entering the world of Hold'em.It was the first book on Hold'em I ever read; it was also the most valuable. What I learned turned a £4,000 deficit into a £6,000 profit online (to date) by just following a few basic principles. This is where Hold'em starts and once mastered, Dan Harrington will take up the reigns.No, I'm not a professional, but I do know good advice when I hear (or read) it. Lee Jones' advice on how to play basic Hold'em poker is up there with the best.

Excellent.

Good book