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Review: The No Limit Holdem Workbook

There’s plenty of poker books that teach you how to beat bad players. The latest effort from DailyVariance focuses on how to beat the good ones.

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Overview
Tri “SlowHabit” Nguyen (along with co-author Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese) has yet another quality ebook for poker players, and this one offers up a simple but intriguing formula: dissect the play of solid regulars, develop counter-strategies and then drill those strategies into your head with dozens of quizzes.

The approach makes sense in the modern online poker arena, where weak players are getting tougher and tougher to find. Tri’s theory is a good one: if you can’t find weaker players, develop a strategy that exploits the weakest regulars.

Pros
A solid book. The advice is well-articulated and relies heavily on logic and math, but not in a way that makes the material inaccessible.

The book is divided into two core sections, which I’ll roughly label theory and practice. In the theory part, Tri covers some specific elements and tactics common to small-to-mid-stakes regulars, and explains how you can exploit those elements to your advantage. That’s a nice departure from texts that just give you very generalized advice.

The practice part is about 100 pages or so of quizzes that cover the theory presented in the earlier chapters and more. The quizzes are the heart of the book in many ways, as they highlight realistic (yet specific) scenarios that players at these stakes will encounter. The answers provide concise but thorough analysis that is guaranteed to get you thinking about your game.

So, in short: Great content, both in terms of depth and accuracy, along with clarity and brevity.

Cons
This isn’t a book for beginners. That’s not a con per se’ – it just means that new players aren’t the audience for this book. They should start with the Poker Blueprint or a similar text.

The price might also put this book out of the reach of some – at $117 (the price at publication), it’s a sizable investment for many players.

The one complaint I have is that the quiz section starts to feel like a bit of a drag – I appreciate the amount of quizzes, but with nothing to break them up the section gets a bit monotonous. A bit of variety would improve the experience for readers looking to tackle the book in a few sittings.

Conclusion
Cost aside, this is an excellent poker book.

Focus: 10/10
Everything in there is in there for a reason.

Quality of advice: 9/10
Well explained, well presented and well reasoned.

Examples: 9/10
Great, but wouldn’t mind some more creativity in the presentation.

Readability: 8/10
The quiz section drags a bit.

Overall (not an average): 9/10
It might be a book for a fairly limited market, but if you’re a member of that market, this is a must-read.

VERDICT: If you’re a small-to-midstakes regular (or aspiring to be), this book must be on your to-get list.

Buy The NL Workbook at Daily Variance

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