Small Stakes Hold’em Book Review

Limit hold’em isn’t hot─ it isn’t sexy. And because it isn’t sexy, there aren’t many books written on the subject. Most people don’t realize that poker isn’t all about high stakes, no-limit poker. You need to diversify your game knowledge to find out what you’re good at. For some people, limit hold’em is the key to poker riches. Small Stakes Hold’em is one of those few books.

This book is the product of the great minds of Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth and it’s full of tips and tricks to help you play profitable small stakes limit hold’em.

You may think you know everything about Texas Hold’em. You may have read all the books about no-limit you could get your hand on, but these books won’t prepare you for the intricacies of limit poker. Consider, for example, that in no-limit hold’em you can destroy your opponent’s pot odds at anytime. That’s not the case in limit poker. In limit poker, you’re opponent could chase their flush to the river and get great odds to do it.

One of the first things Small Stakes Hold’em teaches you is that limit hold’em can be won or lost pre-flop. When you’re playing no-limit hold’em, you can play around with low suited connectors and suited single gapers to your heart’s content. When one of these hands hits in no-limit, you can get a big payday. These hands require much more skill to play than they do in no-limit poker. In fact, most people shouldn’t play them at all.

Pre-flop strategy isn’t the only thing that you’ll learn in this book. Small Stakes Hold’em covers everything. You’ll learn the basics like pot odds and slow playing and you’ll learn more advanced techniques like calling light and controlling the pot, but this isn’t a purely theoretical book. The last chapter is full of quizzes to help evaluate how much information you retained. Once you’ve master your craft and can pass the paper exam, you can move on to the practical portion in the real world.

Small Stakes Hold’em is the ultimate guide to limit hold’em. This book will take anyone from shark bait to poker pro in no time. That is─ if you can read it all the way through.

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I crave the excitement and freedom of no-limit poker. Whatever the reason, I found this book to be a difficult read. How do I put this delicately? It’s boring as hell. You can only read bet-bet-raise, bet-raise-check, bet-bet-bet so many times before you want to gouge your eyeballs out with a spoon. But for the studious few who are able to trudge through it, Small Stakes Hold’em will reward you with lots and lots of money.

No-limit Hold’em may be the king of poker games, but that doesn’t mean it’s the most profitable game for you. There are many marginal no-limit hold’em players who could be limit virtuosos. All it takes is the right knowledge and a little practice. For those of you want to give limit hold’em a try, Small Stakes Hold’em is mandatory reading.