Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy [Kindle Edition]

Advanced Limit Hold `Em Strategy is a terrific book. More clearly than any other book I've read on limit hold `em, it provides insight into the mindset and approach of a serious professional. What does a 40-80 professional do that a 6-12 grinder playing solid ABC poker doesn't? This book will show you.

ALHS is a tough book to categorize, which I fear may confuse some readers. It's neither a theory book (though it contains some really interesting theory) nor is it a how-to "manual" like Hold `Em for Advanced Players or even Winning Low Limit Hold `Em. It doesn't attempt to be a soup-to-nuts guide to shaping winning players and assumes that readers already play reasonably well. It is most emphatically not a beginner's text and skips the basics that accompany 90% of poker books published today.

The book is divided into two major sections: concepts and stages.

Concepts is the more theoretical section of the book. It's not a "theory" section in the way that Theory of Poker is. Rather, it's where Barry discusses the meta-game objectives of the profitable professional in tough games, like remaining unpredictable, playing situationally, and maintaining balance in your game.

By far, the most important discussion in the concepts section is what Barry calls The Illusion of Action, which basically means making enough unpredictable plays that your opponents will pay you off when you have the goods. The book argues that basic tight-aggressive play is sufficient to soundly beat low-limit games, but as you move up, you'll stop getting action from the better players that frequent the bigger games. Barry argues that the Illusion of Action keeps the payoffs coming your way.

The second half of the book comes closer to what you might expect from a typical poker book. Barry moves street-by-street--from pre-flop to the river--explaining the general principles he uses for determining the best play. Some of these sections have been adapted from Barry's Cardplayer columns. For example, ALHS includes a more than 25-page section on playing the turn of out position. Much of this section was adapted from Barry's 6-part Cardplayer series on the same topic, but it's far easier to read in the book. It's significantly expanded, and it's all in here one place. In general, I find multi-part columns difficult to read. It's far better in the longer and less choppy book format.

In terms of my own play, I found value in both the concepts and stages sections. It definitely helped me better understand and exploit position and improved my river play significantly (mostly by value betting the river more). The "Playing the Turn" chapters were also particularly helpful, as I often had trouble deciding whether to push on the turn with a marginal hand or give it up. (I still have trouble with this...but less now!)

I don't really have significant dislikes to report. The only real trouble for many readers will be figuring out how to integrate the concepts described in this book into their playing styles. The book doesn't show you how to "play like Barry" in a comprehensive way--as HEFAP does for Sklansky and Malmuth--and that's tricky. Rather, it provides general concepts and some specific tactical advice that readers can use to adjust their games in a winning direction.

I cannot imagine that a decent playing reader won't recoup his or her investment in Advanced Limit Hold Em Strategies many times over.

This book deserves a place in your poker library whether you are a limit hold'em specialist or not. It will help make you a better poker player in general. The author notes that his goal is not to give you a game, but rather to improve your game, i.e. this book is not intended for beginners. Consistent with that goal, there is no glossary of poker terms, no description of the basic rules for how to play, no hand rankings, and no odds charts. These areas are all to often included in other "advanced" poker books and serve only as filler.

The chapter entitled "Making One Big Bet per Hour" will be very useful for anyone looking to move up successfully to higher limit games. Seven specific skills are listed in the order that professionals will have added them as their games improved. The reader can quickly see where they fit in this poker skill continuum and determine which specific abilities they will need to acquire or improve upon if they wish to move up.

The author's writing style is very reader friendly and the information is presented concisely without excessive hand descriptions or war stories.

Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players (Advance Player)The Theory of PokerWinning in Tough Hold 'em Games: Short-Handed and High-Stakes Concepts and Theory for Limit Hold 'emWinning Low-Limit Hold'emLimit Hold'em: Winning Short-Handed Strategies

I was taking a Limit Hold'em mentoring class just over 4 months ago and I decided to pick up Barry's book as an accompaniment to the class. I'm an avid reader of his columns in Cardplayer and it came as no surprise that this book is well written with thoughtful, concise and easily understood explanations of some of the more advanced concepts and techniques in Limit Hold'em.

Recently there seem to have been a deluge of poker books hitting the market by new writers that just seem to regurgitate lessons written previously by the more notable poker authors. You may only find one or two tidbits of information contained within those books that may be truly useful, if you're lucky. Virtually every page of Barry's book had information you could readily use and adapt into your game.

If you are a beginning to intermediate player this would be a great addition to your poker library. I would rate it right up there with "Small Stakes Hold'em", and "Hold'em poker for advanced players.)