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Winning Low-Limit Hold'em (2nd Edition)
by Lee Jones
Spotlight Reviews
He called it "low-limit" because..., January 8, 2002
Reviewer: John M. Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
...most players can't stomach being called beginners, novices or newbies, and the bottom line is that it's true. Otherwise, it would probably pose much more difficulty for me to make money in my home games.
In reference to some of the idiocies posted below, a game played for relatively small betting increments could possibly have players of significant skill and ferocity, or cheaters who will use tricks to get your money. Jones points out that in moving past $10 big bets, you need a new set of skills. However, you should be able to know when you're making too many uncertain decisions, against players that you don't know you can beat. Selection of the right game is the first assessment any player should make, and it just happens that people are less likely to be skilled or cheaters at low levels because the stakes don't justify it.
I've read most of the significant works on poker in general, and Hold'Em in specific. Lee Jones basically writes the most accessible book on Hold'Em: he discusses starting standards, position, betting for value, and play of the straight and flush draw in Hold'Em. The worst that I can say (having read David Sklansky's first and second books on Hold'Em in addition to _The Theory of Poker_, plus Bobby Baldwin and Doyle Brunson's sections on Limit and No-Limit in _Super/System_) is that he doesn't necessarily show you all of the mathematics behind the principles, or give you helpful anecdotes to frame the lessons in your mind. If you like playing the game, you can buy those too.
The wisdom from each book on the game really doesn't change that much. Play fewer hands. Play bigger cards. Tighten up when you're the first to bet, and play draws from the blinds. Each one has a different way of communicating their insights to you, but Lee Jones does so in a conversational, easily remembered way - and the difference will show in your game.
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