Poker: More Secrets of No Limit Hold 'Em [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

As Howard Lederer emphasizes very seriously at the beginning of the DVD, if you have not watched the first volume in this series, titled simply Howard Lederer's Secrets of Texas Hold `Em (sans More), you should watch that video and be familiar and experienced with those concepts before watching this one. The purpose of this video is basically to teach you ways to deviate from the basic plan he taught you on the first disc. If you haven't watched the first video, this one will either be no help or could even hurt your game.

Where the first Howard Lederer DVD focused on the fundamentals, the second in the series begins to get into some of the more sophisticated aspects of the game. If, to make a football analogy, the first one taught us merely to block and tackle, this one teaches us how to strip the ball and mix up the play calls enough to keep our opponents off guard.

The first section of the video deals with straying from the rigidity of the ultra-tight pre-flop strategy Lederer taught on the first disc, and for the most part expands on what hands you should open a pot with depending on the situation. In this section Lederer touches on suited connectors, avoiding traps and limping in. Not necessarily the most complicated stuff, but there are some good ideas here in regards to making yourself less predictable.

Most of the rest of the video is a bit more sophisticated in talking about strategies for playing the flop, turn and river each respectively. Some of the topics in this section of the video include: when to slow play, flop textures, learning to check, bluffing into scare cards, value betting and staying with your read. Now, some of these strategies end up being more specific and intricate than others, but I felt like Lederer did a good job of engaging the audience and giving us things to think about through out. It's fairly obvious the man is genuinely fascinated with all aspects of poker strategy.

At the end there is a shorter section about tournament strategy which has some good ideas, and sprinkled throughout the DVD there are short segments portraying different tells. One of the more entertaining methods the video uses to teach various concepts along the way is having Lederer set up and explain real hands from various points in his career as a pro.

Like the first DVD, the presentation aspect of the video primarily features Lederer sitting at a poker table talking to the camera. It's not of excellent quality, to be sure, but again, while that may bother some, it didn't matter to me. In fact, the music in this video (a kind of generic, reverby rock riff) is a huge improvement over the `80's drum oriented stuff in the first one.

Lederer seems even more comfortable in front of the camera on this one. Like the first, he is not reading cue cards or working off of a script. It's just Howard Lederer talking poker. He definitely knows his stuff.

Ultimately, the name of the game this time around is becoming unpredictable. This one expands greatly on the info provided in the first volume. Combined the two DVDs give you all the ideas and concepts you need to develop a dangerous poker style and continue to develop your game.

Conclusion: I highly recommend this series. This one is superior to the first DVD, but I can't stress enough that they really do go together. Lederer just seems like one of the most respectable and realistic guys out there. At the end of the video, like any good football coach (come on, you knew I'd come back to the football analogy), he stresses practice, focus and sound fundamentals as the keys to victory.

I personally have benefited from this tremendously. I have only been playing since January 2004 and when Secrets of Holdem came out I thought ok this is for the beginner and was a little slow for me. Then when More Secrets of Holdem came out I picked up a few more things to help improve my game.

I see alot of negative posts about these DVD's and find it hard to believe. Maybe if you have been playing for years it is basic to you and I can understand that.

I look at things as if I can get one thing out of it that helps me improve it is worth it.

Aside from Howard's DVD's I attended his first Poker Camp in September 04 and learned alot from Phil Gordon, Ferguson, Annie Duke, Gus Hansen, and of course Howard. I entered a tourney in AC 3 days later and placed 7th out of 287. So I can say if you are willing to learn and apply what you learn there will be consistent improvement.

Also I pretty much place in the money most of the time , not all the time but more than most people because of what I learned.

Much better than the first one probably because the first one was too basic for me. I liked this one where I didn't care much for the first one. I realize he was trying to build a foundation in the first one but it did say it was "The Ultimate Guide to No-Limit Holdem" which it was not. Just tell it like it is and don't oversell and I won't be disappointed and give poor reviews. Back to the point- there is some useful information and some valuable tips and tells here so if you don't yet have this one it is worth getting.

He does a nice job of telling you how much to bet pre flop to get certain results ( three times the blind as average, more to shut opponents out, a little less as you gain more experience and can extract extra profit by outplaying your opponents after the flop). It provides a good baseline to build a winning no limit game and worth repeated viewing to strengthen your game. He has an appealing teaching style and seems sincere in talking about poker. Recommended.

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