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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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5) Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen: It’s an interesting concept, albeit one very familiar to subscribers of PokerXfactor and the like – review an entire tournament, hand by hand. If for nothing else, this book is a good read simply because it’s the only real example of a wire-to-wire sweating of a live tournament you’ll find. Additional bonus is the insight into Gus’ style and how it impacts the attitudes of his opponents, as well as insight into his psycho-emotional approach to the game.

4) Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo: While it’s not built specifically with tournaments in mind, this book is still a must-read for the way it identifies and articulates some of the deep meta-concepts of poker. It’s brief, pretty entertaining, and can have an instant impact on your game. Whenever a book can get you exited about playing again, that alone makes it worth the price tag.

3) Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time Volume I by Eric ‘Rizen’ Lynch, Jon ‘Pearljammer’ Turner, and Jon ‘Apestyles’ Van Fleet: A book that’s along the same lines as Gus’s, in a sense – this text is made up entirely of analysis of individual hands by one author (or, in the last section of the book all three authors). That format makes it insanely readable, and the insights from three solid online winners are a great way to get a feel for how the typical online field plays and why. It’s also a nice mix of styles, offering you a view into the TAG game of Pearljammer, the aggressive game of Apestyles, and the in between approach of Rizen.

2) The Mathematics of Poker by Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman: Again, this isn’t a book with the word ‘tournament’ in the title, but that’s besides the point. The book is all about solving poker, and due to the freezeout nature and predictable prize structure of tournaments, they’re a form of poker uniquely more suited to being solved than cash games. The book is dense at times, but the fast structure of online poker tournaments has forced tournament poker to evolve into a sophisticated preflop game and if you’re serious about understanding that game, it’s worth wading through.

1) Harrington on Hold’em Volumes 1-3 by Dan Harrington: These books are widely regarded as the foundation of modern tournament poker, and with good reason. Harrington does a great job of breaking the game down by stack size, addresses critical and common table dynamics, and illustrating it all with clear, relevant examples. It’s our opinion that you simply cannot find a better tournament text, and it’s one of those rare books that serves players of just about all levels..

5) Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen: It’s an interesting concept, albeit one very familiar to subscribers of PokerXfactor and the like – review an entire tournament, hand by hand. If for nothing else, this book is a good read simply because it’s the only real example of a wire-to-wire sweating of a live tournament you’ll find. Additional bonus is the insight into Gus’ style and how it impacts the attitudes of his opponents, as well as insight into his psycho-emotional approach to the game.

4) Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo: While it’s not built specifically with tournaments in mind, this book is still a must-read for the way it identifies and articulates some of the deep meta-concepts of poker. It’s brief, pretty entertaining, and can have an instant impact on your game. Whenever a book can get you exited about playing again, that alone makes it worth the price tag.

3) Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time Volume I by Eric ‘Rizen’ Lynch, Jon ‘Pearljammer’ Turner, and Jon ‘Apestyles’ Van Fleet: A book that’s along the same lines as Gus’s, in a sense – this text is made up entirely of analysis of individual hands by one author (or, in the last section of the book all three authors). That format makes it insanely readable, and the insights from three solid online winners are a great way to get a feel for how the typical online field plays and why. It’s also a nice mix of styles, offering you a view into the TAG game of Pearljammer, the aggressive game of Apestyles, and the in between approach of Rizen.

2) The Mathematics of Poker by Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman: Again, this isn’t a book with the word ‘tournament’ in the title, but that’s besides the point. The book is all about solving poker, and due to the freezeout nature and predictable prize structure of tournaments, they’re a form of poker uniquely more suited to being solved than cash games. The book is dense at times, but the fast structure of online poker tournaments has forced tournament poker to evolve into a sophisticated preflop game and if you’re serious about understanding that game, it’s worth wading through.

1) Harrington on Hold’em Volumes 1-3 by Dan Harrington: These books are widely regarded as the foundation of modern tournament poker, and with good reason. Harrington does a great job of breaking the game down by stack size, addresses critical and common table dynamics, and illustrating it all with clear, relevant examples. It’s our opinion that you simply cannot find a better tournament text, and it’s one of those rare books that serves players of just about all levels. Volume one covers the fundamentals, volume two gets into some of the more advanced concepts, and volume three is more of a workbook that serves as a companion to the first two volumes.

Overview
——–
WPTOH is a book focused exclusively on tournament play. Volume One covers early stage play through bubble play. The book focuses exclusively on hand analysis, drawing on a couple hundred hands from actual tournament play, and doesn’t provide anything in the way of fundamental theory or generalized strategy.

Book Structure
————-
The book is broken into four core parts. Each author helms their own section, and then the three collaborate on the final section. Each section follows an identical format – a hand is described and then the author gives a few paragraphs of analysis on how the hand could / should be played, how they decided to play it and why.

Unique Advantages
—————-
Since the book is constructed entirely of individual hands, it’s great for casual reading. You can easily pick this book up, spend a only minute or two with it and still get value out of it, which isn’t the case for books that focus more on broader concepts.

The author selection is a huge advantage for this book. While all three are successful players, they each have a unique approach to the game. Turner plays more conservatively, Van Fleet is well know for his at times hyper-aggressive approach and Lynch falls somewhere inbetween the two. That range of styles means the reader gets a more robust picture of the possible ways to approach tournament play than single-author texts usually offer. This is especially pronounced in the collaborative section of the book, where each author offers their own independent take on a series of single hands.

All three are competent writers, and the rapid-fire nature of the book keeps it from getting too boring or repetitive.

Disadvantages
————–
While it’s nice to have hand after hand of quality analysis, the book does suffer from a lack of structure. It would be nice for the hands in each section to be subdivided by specific topics (opening pots, pocket pairs, blind versus blind play, etc).

The book also ends up spending several pages on very similar concepts. While there’s nothing wrong with reinforcing critical concepts, it does feel from time to time like you’re essentially reading a rehashing of analysis you just read a few pages ago.

Conclusion
———-
Hard not to recommend. It doesn’t cover a ton of new ground, but handles the fundamentals very well.

Focus: 10/10
No filler whatsoever.

Quality of advice: 8/10
These are excellent players who can express ideas well.

Examples: 10/10
The book is essentially a string of examples.

Readability: 8/10
It’s a poker book. All three write well, but it’s not exactly gripping stuff.

Overall (not an average): 9/10
If you play tournaments at an intermediate level or above, you should buy this book. Beginners should wait until they’ve read Harrington and then pick this up to refine their game.

VERDICT: A solid book that won’t change the game (ala Harrington) but will sharpen yours.

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That being said, Cash Games Vol. 1 is not nearly as useful as the previous tournament books (the first two volumes, that is, as the third volume workbook appeared to be as a way to simply cash another check and isn’t worth the expense). The Harrington on Hold’em books were groundbreaking as they introduced foreign concepts like inflection points and a player’s “M” to the discussion. Cash Games doesn’t dig up much in the way of new topics and has been criticized by many on the online poker forums as advocating a much too conservative strategy. Given that the book comes from the facetiously named “Action” Dan Harrington it’s no surprise that the style taught here is very tight and aggressive.

Cash Games should prove very useful to beginners in no-limit hold’em cash games (if any such players still exist) by providing a framework that should work well in the low-limit hold’em tables in which they will undoubtedly play. The book will teach someone who’s played more than a few games on the felt a thing or two as well. For one, Cash Games made me think more about hand strengths and how I often push one-pair hands too hard for fear of being run down by a drawing hand or bluffed out of the pot later. Harrington and Robertie advocate keeping pots pretty small with hands like unimproved pocket aces.

The book opens with an introduction of concepts most players already know, including four useful principles: Strength – bet strong hands, check middling hands and bluff or fold weak hands; Aggression – aggression is better than passivity; Betting – a bet should force a stronger hand to fold, a weaker hand to call or give a drawing hand unfavorable odds; and Deception – mix up your play. Perhaps all of these points are obvious, but Cash Games point out that is useful to always keep these in mind while at the table.

The overall layout of the book is similar to Harrington on Hold’em, where chapters are followed by example hands that involve concepts discussed in the previous chapter. Cash Games also includes several sample hands from High Stakes Poker, much as the previous tomes used sample hands from the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour to broach topics.

The two authors discuss how stack sizes affect implied odds, which in turn affect hand selection. The two compare a good no-limit cash game player to a venture capitalist. Neither expects all of their investments to pan out, but occasionally a company or poker hand will yield big profits.

Despite the criticism that Harrington is too conservative, he and Robertie discuss some advance bluffing concepts in the book, such as floating and firing two and three barrel bluffs and in which situations these techniques should and shouldn’t be used.

The book also includes and interesting section on evaluating hands in multi-way pots. The authors discuss how well aces hold up against multiple players with various holdings, as well as how unprofitable it is to call with junk hands in the blind even with fantastic initial pot odds. Even if you’re getting 7-to-1 on your money with K-7 offsuit you should chunk those cards in accordance with the true chances of winning.

Overall, while Harrington on Cash Games Vol. 1 isn’t nearly as groundbreaking as Harrington on Hold’em the book is worth a purchase. After all, you only need to learn a new concept or two that improves your game to make a book like this worth the cost.

Book Structure
Laid out in typical 2+2 format. The text progresses in a linear fashion through the basic stages of SNG play, with a couple of flanking chapters that address meta-game issues. Chapters are separated generally by concept, and each chapter has a substructure of concept description followed by concept illustration through a series of quizzes.

Pros
This is pretty much the definitive text for single-table SNG play at this point. Moshman is a very successful SNG player with a brutal amount of game experience (and a serious amount of instructional experience as well), and he’s built a great guide to fundamental SNG play.

The 2+2 style is always effective in communicating and reinforcing game concepts, and this book is no exception. While it’s not always the most elegant style from an aesthetic standpoint, the format and layout of the book definitely promotes comprehension and retention.

This book is also a great alternative to the dozens of ‘SNG Systems’ you’ll see floating around the internet. Most cost more and provide a fraction of the insight Moshman offers.

Cons
A lot of the material Moshman presents is readily available from other sources (although not in any one place as a complete resource). The book also feels a little short at 281 pages (especially when you consider the large typeface and broad margins of 2+2 books).

A short book doesn’t have to be lacking by definition, but it did feel like Moshman left some things undercovered. There’s very little discussion of adjustments to make for multi-table SNGs (which, to be fair, isn’t the purview of the book in the strictest sense), and you also don’t get much in the way of specific line analysis or tactics for advanced play.

Conclusion
The go-to book for learning SNG play.

Focus: 10/10
Pretty precise. There’s no filler here.

Quality of advice: 10/10
Top-notch. Moshman obviously understands the game on a deep level and communicates that understanding effectively.

Examples: 8/10
Concepts are illustrated effectively and frequently – primarily with hand quizzes.

Readability: 7/10
Typical 2+2. it’s not a page turner, but few poker books are.

Overall (not an average): 8/10
Great for newer SNG players.

VERDICT: Essential if you’re learning SNGs or trying to improve. Experienced players may already be familiar with the majority of the book, but can still benefit from the refresher course.

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Book Structure
————-
Classic 2+2 set up – concepts are presented, overviewed, deconstructed and then reassembled and applied, in that order. You’ll also find the wide margins and large typeface that’s common to books with the 2+2 imprint.

Unique Advantages
—————-
The book is clearly written, well-argued and decently illustrated. The ideas presented in the text might not be revelations to a lot of players, but they certainly do have utility in just about any conceivable no limit cash game that you can play, whether live or online.

Disadvantages
————–
The two core concepts (REM and SPR) are, more or less, just systemized common sense. There’s not a whole lot of new ground being broken here, and at points it really feels like the authors are spending excessive amounts of page space trying to convince you of the brilliance of their system – an overcompensation that drags down the flow of the book.

The book is also heavily weighted toward live cash play in terms of examples and applicability, and primarily covers full ring application of the ideas presented.

Conclusion
———-
Good book, and worth your time. I just wish it lacked the unjustified self-importance that spoils too many of its pages.

Focus: 10/10
NLHE cash is the exclusive focus, and there’s a minimum of filler.

Quality of advice: 8/10
The advice given is solid, if not a bit familiar.

Examples: 10/10
Good in terms of quality and quantity.

Readability: 7/10
The incessant self-pats-on-the-back and occasional clunky sentence hurt the book in this area.

Overall (not an average): 8/10
There’s no good reason not to buy this book, but there aren’t a ton of great reasons to run out and get it right now.

VERDICT: This book could have been 100 pages shorter and it wouldn’t have mattered much. That said, the remaining pages are excellent, so add it to the library.

Book Structure
Clocking in at about 400 pages (with none of the large-face type or wide margins you’re accustomed to if you’re a 2+2 reader), this book covers a lot of ground. The book is broken up into 5 sections: Basics, Exploitive Play, Optimal Play, Risk and Other Topics. Each section is segmented by chapters, and each chapter is capped off by a review of the key concepts it contained.

Unique Advantages
This is really the only (modern) book of its kind. You won’t find another text that takes such an in-depth approach to the meta-math of poker. Other books that talk about poker math are content to settle on the surface, focusing on concepts like pot odds, reverse implied odds, equity, stack ratios, and so on, but this book bridges the gap between fundamental game theory and application of said theory to poker.

Some books will change the way you think about a given situation; others will change the way you perceive certain tactics. This book has the potential to completely change the way you think about poker as a game as well as the proper method for approaching the game from a developmental perspective.

This is also a unique book insomuch that it has utility for just about every player (truly novice players will likely be in far over their heads).

Disadvantages
You can’t write a book like this without using a lot of numbers and letters that represent numbers arranged in weird ways unfamiliar to the average reader. There’s a lot of mathematical language deployed in the book, and while Chen and Ankenman do a good job of walking you through difficult concepts, this book is still not going to be a casual read for the average player. It’s going to demand some effort on your part (which should actually be considered an advantage, but might be a turnoff for more casual players).

Conclusion
Chen and Ankenman have broken the mold of what a poker book should / can be, and in doing so, are offering a template for a new era of poker. This book may well end up being regarded as the SuperSystem of its era – a text that marked a fundamental shift in the way that poker is played.

Focus: 10/10
No filler. This book is about developing and employing mathematical models that can be used to understand proper play in poker, and just about every word goes to that end.

Quality of advice: 10/10
Outstanding. This book very rarely, if ever, makes a claim without valid warrants.

Examples: 8/10
Good but, given the complexity of some of the concepts, additional examples would have been helpful in spots.

Readability: 7/10
This is a dry book. It’s more akin to reading a textbook on a subject you enjoy than anything. I don’t know that there’s any way Chen and Ankenman could have avoided this without sacrificing focus and clarity.

Overall (not an average): 10/10
A groundbreaking book.

VERDICT: Buy it and get ready to go back to school.

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Poker books are a great investment that can pay serious dividends for your game. The great thing about books is how much they can do for your game if you’re just willing to put a in a little effort above and beyond a once-and-done skimming. Here’s a list of quick tips for increasing the return you get from your poker books:

1. Have a pen handy when you’re reading. Those margins on the pages of your book can – and should – be put to good use. Jot down whatever comes to mind as you’re reading – do you agree with the advice in a given chapter? Does something about a particular paragraph make absolute sense or little sense at all? Not only can these notes help you to really engage the material on your first read, but they also provide a handy reference point for you later on down the line to gauge how your game has developed over time.

2. Try reading the book out of order when you go back for a second or third read. Sometimes it can be easy to drop down into skimming mode when you’re revisiting things you’ve read. One way to avoid this habit is to force yourself to look at the material in a different way, and reading the text out of order – maybe starting with the last chapter and reading it backward, or reading every other chapter, or whatever works for you – the point is to not allow yourself to read the same book you read the first time.

3. Take the time to write chapter summaries after you’re done reading. I’m not suggesting you rewrite the entire chapter, but there’s something powerful about knowledge you imprint both through reading and writing. Also, just like with notes in the margins, your chapter summaries are great artifacts for watching your game develop and progress.

4. While you’re reading the book, try to have some copies of recent hand histories available. When a key concept comes up in the book, refer to your hand histories and compare how you played to your idea of how the author would have played. While hand examples in books are helpful, applying the material to your own, recent experiences will help to make the ideas stick quicker.

5. Keep a binder with copies of key pages from all of the books you’ve read. If you want to break it up by category, by game, by street, even better. All poker books contain a healthy amount of filler, along with material that might not be worth your time on future readings. By distilling each book down to a series of key pages, you can build a powerful collection of abridged books that can help correct your game in short order when it derails.

There’s nothing wrong with buying a book, reading it once and then putting it away for good. You can still get a lot of quality ideas from a once-through. But if you’re anything like me, you’d like to squeeze as much value out of your investment as possible – and a little extra work with the books you already own can often provide better results than reading a new book