Book Review: ‘Small Stakes No-Limit Hold’em’

Chris Grove : June 24th, 2009

There’s certainly no shortage of poker-focused ebooks floating around the internet these days. Most are of dubious quality, with minimal amounts of advice sprinkled in alongside aggressive advertising pitches. The ‘name’ authors have by and large avoided the format to this point, for a variety of reasons, but now Ed Miller is bucking that trend with his new book (co-authored with Sunny Mehta, and Matt Flynn) ‘Small Stakes No-Limit Hold’em’, available exclusively in digital (pdf) format.

Overview
Miller & co have a very specific purpose with this book – to outline a winning strategy for modern online $1/$2 6 max no limit holdem games. That probably seems like a narrow focus to most, but Miller’s basic thesis is that the fundamentals necessary for beating those games translate into a solid skill set for beating no limit games of nearly any stripe, and it’s hard to argue the point.

The book spans a bit over 300 pages. At the current time, there are no plans for the book to be released in paperback form.

This is the second effort from this trio – read our review of Professional No Limit Holdem here.

Book Structure
A solid logic drives the organization. The book is divided into four basic sections; Part One details Miller’s basic theory on the game and provides a core framework for understanding the rest of the text. Part Two tackles the specific challenges inherent to 1/2 6 max no limit online. Part Three then diverts the discussion to more meta-game concerns, and Part Four takes a step beyond the scope of the text to cover advanced tactics and concerns players will have as they move beyond 1/2 games.

Pros
Miller & co are established authors with a strong sense of how to communicate both beginner and advanced ideas, and those skills are on display in this book. There aren’t many wasted words or sections, which is saying something for a book of 300+ pages.

The e-book nature of the text means there’s a good deal less of a gap between writing and publication, which is a critical asset in our eyes. Online games are constantly shifting and evolving, so the closer you can get your advice to the context of the current game, the better your book will be. Another potential advantage: the authors suggest that they’ll be updating the book at various points which, if the follow through, would be an excellent reason to recommend this book, as there’s tons of value in a book that can change as the game does.

The book also does an excellent job of summarizing key concepts frequently, which is a useful aid, especially for the lazier reader. You’ll see tons of paragraph breaks where a key concept is restated in simpler terms and in larger text – an obvious device, but also an effective one.

At the end of they day, any poker book is made or broken by the quality of its advice, and there’s no fault to be found with this one. There’s clear logic and reasoning behind all suggestions, strategies and tactics.

Cons
One word will sum up the cons for most people: price. At $99.95, the book clocks in at 3-4x the cost of a traditional poker book. If updates are built into the price, and if updates occur, that certainly mitigates the cost somewhat, but it’s impossible to factor that in without a firm update schedule (there isn’t one).

This also isn’t a book for beginners. That’s obviously not a universal con (it’s a pro for many readers), but it’s something that readers who have enjoyed Miller’s past work (which generally focused on more fundamental advice) should be aware of before purchasing the book.

Conclusion
A unique text with solid advice that should be read by anyone looking to beat (or keep beating) 1/2

Focus: 9/10
Solid. No filler.

Quality of advice: 8/10
These are winning strategies – they’re not always the easiest to execute, but Miller & Co hold up their end of the deal by explaining and articulating everything well.

Examples: 7/10
The examples of concepts with hands are solid, but keeping the examples in text instead of providing some break or graphic is a little annoying.

Readability: 8/10
The book moves fine. Relative to other poker books, the writing is clear, precise and fairly engaging.

Overall (not an average): 9/10
This book fills a critical gap – providing recreational to intermediate players with the tools they need to be competitive in modern online no limit games. It’s a bit short of being a Harrington on Holdem, but not by much.

VERDICT: If your bankroll allows, buy it. If it doesn’t, consider setting aside a bit each week until you can afford it. At any reasonable stakes, this book should pay for itself in short order.

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