Posted on Sun Mar 22, 2009 02:42:48 PM
Filed under News, No Limit Hold 'em

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These days I’m continuing to work furiously on the new no-limit book with Sunny Mehta and Matt Flynn. We’ve made excellent progress. We have finished writing everything, and we’re in the editing stage. At the end of last week we finished edited together the first 160 pages or so which is the core of the book (and it is really dynamite). We could very fairly release just these 160 pages and call it a book and it would be great, but we wrote another maybe 50-80 pages of good material and we want to include this “bonus” material for you guys too. Including the bonus material, I believe (though I wouldn’t swear) that this is the longest book I’ve worked on, and it’s quite densely packed with great ideas… so you guys will definitely get your money’s worth.

The core material is a small-stakes no-limit book designed to help you maximize your performance at $1-$2 6-max games and easier. The “bonus” material will help at $1-$2 and easier, but it is important stuff if you want to move up from $1-$2 to $5-$10, $10-$20, and beyond.

I’ve been getting regular questions about the book, asking me for more details, for the table of contents, and so forth. So far I haven’t posted too many details because I wanted the book finalized before I got specific about what’s in it. The book is now nearly finalized. We’ve set an internal deadline of two weeks from tomorrow to have the entire book assembled into its largely final condition (but before final editing and proofreading). So expect tables of contents and much more detailed info (including possibly excerpts) beginning about the second week of April. I’m currently setting up a website just for the book, and we’ll probably post all of the info there. I’ll alert you guys with posts here whenever anything juicy goes up.

I’m really stoked about this book. I hope you guys like it as much as I do.

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Tags: matt-flynn, no-limit-holdem, poker, river-play, small stakes no-limit hold'em, stoxpoker, sunny-mehta, value betting

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20 Responses to “Book Update And Value Betting Videos At Stoxpoker”

vb_rounder

@ Sun Mar 22, 2009 05:48:52 PM

Ed, is the new book’s focus primarily on 6-max? i hadn’t realized this was the case before.

I am hoping there will be plenty of material and hand examples for us old live FR 1/2-2/5 players as well…

Ed Miller

@ Mon Mar 23, 2009 09:13:54 AM

vb_rounder,

The core of the book is example-driven and focuses on beating a $1-$2 6-max game.

We chose that focus for a good reason – if you can beat a $1-$2 6-max game, you can destroy probably over 98% of all no-limit games in the world, and you can also play poker for a living.

I think the book will have a ton of value for a live $1-$2 and $2-$5 player… all the focus on bluffing and barreling, value betting, and isolating bad players will pay great dividends in those live games.

Bottom line is that $1-$2 6-max is a level where the simple concepts are still the most important (as opposed to, say, a nosebleed game) but where your opponents play well enough that you are forced to learn the game thoroughly (as opposed to, say, $1-$2 live where you can get away with huge gaps in your knowledge and still win). That’s why we think it is a perfect model game for our book.

Gaston Jeremy

@ Mon Mar 23, 2009 09:51:30 AM

Ed, will there be a printed version available at some point? I would like to read the *printed* book during my summer vacation in July

Also, if the book will only be available online, then I hope you offer us “creditcardless” Europeans an option – say through bank transfer – to purchase the book.

Can’t wait…it’s like waiting for Christmas at the age of 5 lol

Ed Miller

@ Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:02:13 AM

We plan to do a printed version at some point, but unfortunately probably not by July (though I suppose it’s possible). If we do a print version, we may sign a contract with a print publisher or we may do it ourselves, so it could be 6 months to a year (or possibly even more) before it comes out in print depending on the publishing deal and so forth.

And good point about the creditcardless Europeans… I’ll definitely look into it. One of the advantages of digital distribution over an American print publication is that it’s much easier, faster, and cheaper for Europeans to get the book. We definitely want to make it as easy as possible for you guys.

Tim

@ Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:18:59 AM

Hi Ed,

+1 on creditcardless Europeans here!

Anyway, if we buy the e-book, are we allowed to print it out (laserprinter) for easier reading, or does this constitude a copyright infringement?

BTW, just out of curiosity, which is your favorite poker book NOT written by you?

Ed Miller

@ Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:25:54 AM

Hi Tim,

Printing it out is fine and well within your rights once you’ve bought the e-book. I’ll try to make sure it’s easy to print the book out when we choose the system we use to distribute the e-book.

Hrmm.. favorite poker books not written by me. I’d probably say Theory of Poker by David Sklansky and Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo, though to be fair I haven’t read many of the books that have come out in the past few years.

threads13

@ Mon Mar 23, 2009 04:50:58 PM

Totally looking forward to it, Ed. I’m sure it will do quite well in the community considering not only the source but also that it will be the first 6-max books NLHE (to my knowledge at least… wouldn’t be surprised if I’m wrong though).

JJS

@ Mon Mar 23, 2009 06:04:22 PM

I’m planning to buy this book too. The 2+2 folks were pushing to get the book out faster (“before Harrington’s new books” etc.). I guess that’s one point of view, but I’m glad that Ed and the other authors didn’t rush it and took the time to do it right.

Ed Miller

@ Mon Mar 23, 2009 06:18:47 PM

The 2+2 folks were pushing to get the book out faster (”before Harrington’s new books” etc.).

Please don’t take Mason’s public comments about why he didn’t want to do the book at face value. I don’t particularly want to make an issue of it, but in my (well-documented) opinion Mason’s public statements have been substantially misleading.

Having said that, I don’t think you guys will be disappointed with the book.

Tommy C

@ Tue Mar 24, 2009 07:10:27 AM

I have been looking forward to the book, I’ll be picking it up the day you make it available. Good luck.

JJS

@ Tue Mar 24, 2009 05:46:49 PM

The last thing I want to do Ed is re-hash all the stuff about Mason. Especially considering that the last time I opened my big mouth on that subject I managed to deftly insert my foot. I didn’t know what the story really was and it doesn’t matter any more anyway since it’s all “water under the bridge” as they say.

All I am trying to say is that I am glad that you guys are taking the time to do it right. I haven’t been disappointed yet by any of your books and I doubt that this one will be the first…

vb_rounder

@ Tue Mar 24, 2009 09:11:45 PM

what’s worse: not having 2+2′s name behind your book (for wider distribution), or having to deal with that egomaniac and his regime? tough decision there imo. hope the ebook route will be profitable for you guys.

Larry

@ Thu Mar 26, 2009 07:05:01 PM

Hand one.

Not sure I prefolop raise that much. Probably a smaller raise is OK– you get initiative cheaper and since you aren’t trying to make a top pair hand here, really, expecting to get paid off, you’re not looking to make the SPR small.

Flop: of course you want to value bet. When he calls I think he’s got hearts, a medium pair, two overs maybe with hearts, or a T. If he’s got a T you are ahead of a few but behind most. I don’t know anything about this player so I don’t know if he floats or thinks you are spewy or what.

Turn brings another flush draw and gutshots and an overcard. I think a bet is good. When he calls I think maybe he’s got hearts, maybe with the Q, or a T. He might raise with a T, however, now that there are more draws. It’s possible he’s being stubborn with pocket nines or something insane (again, if he thinks you’re very aggressive) or picked up some wacky diamond draw.

River: Check– OK. At this point you are chopping with any T. The question is can you induce a bluff from some idiotic heart draw? When I first saw the hand I thought, “I call and chop,” or take it from Ah5h or something. In the awful live games I play I’ll see a bluff there a fair amount, or a chop from a badly played T. Here, I don’t know. Certainly KQh or QJh fits this hand pretty well. My guess is the moral of the quiz is that you are supposed to fold.

Hand 2

Pre flop is fine.

Flop is fine, but maybe I bet a little bigger. When he calls he’s got any of the normal J’s or Q’s or 9T or KT. Set of 3′s should raise so I think that’s out. Some opponents would call one bet with a mid pocket pair.

Turn gets tricky. You are still way ahead of his range. I’d probably still bet, because there are a lot of pair plus gutshot hands that can still call.

River. Not a good card. Against certain opponents I make this bet and get paid off by worse two pair hands, but can easily fold to the CR. Knowing nothing I wimp out and check behind, even though I think the SB leads if he makes the straight a lot of the time. He knows it’s a scare card and you’ll be checking behind a lot. So maybe the moral of this one is you are supposed to jam and get paid by TJ and TQ. But I’m almost certainly still checking.

Ed Miller

@ Mon Mar 30, 2009 02:55:39 PM

Hey Larry,

Thanks for the comments on the hands. I was going to post my thoughts on the hands by now, but my schedule is beyond hectic and I forgot to. Oops. My next post should be about the hands.

Soren

@ Tue Mar 31, 2009 07:55:17 PM

HAND #1 is really tough without having some idea of his preflop call range (specifically how often it includes mid-to-low suited connectors) and his postflop looseness (how likely he would be to fold 99-77 to your turn barrel).

I would assume that his v-betting range on the river looks something like:

AhQh, KhQh, QhJh (definitely), AQ (could peel flop), AsTs, JsTs, Ts9s, Ts8s (possible but might not cold-call pre with some of those and might have raised flop or turn with them).

His potential bluffs:

KhJh, Jh9h, 9h8h, 9h7h, 8h7h, 8h6h, 7h6h, 6h5h, 5h4h (some of these are more likely than the others obviously). I assume he would check back the river with the Ah. He might try to bluff you off a chop, but I think he would most likely check it back given the strength you’ve shown.

99-77 = The lower the pocket pair gets, the more likely he would be to fold the turn. There is some chance he gets to the river with these and they do comprise a lot of combos in his total river range. I assume JJ would check back on the river (rather than turn it into a bluff) because you could easily have AA-KK and might not fold it.

If he peeled AK and turned a gutshot I think he would check that back as well.

Weighting these combinations (he might not ALWAYS turn his counterfeited PPs into bluffs or peel turn with them, he might not always peel flop with AQ, and he might have raised his other Tens on flop or turn, etc.) I think it is pretty close to even, maybe slightly more bluff combos in his range.

You could consider a few other variables: Hero’s line is so strong (usually his weakest hands will be Ace-high or counterfeited PPs) that it might dissuade Villain from bluffing (therefore more likely Villain is v-betting). Without bet-sizing reads it’s hard to tell the motivation for his size. It could either be that big to maximize fold equity against Ace-highs or it could be because he ended up with the nut full house in an unexpected way and is trying to maximize his payoff by looking like a bluff.

Given that you need to win approx. 1/3rd of the time, I thought at first this hand was a fold, but now examining it more closely, I think it’s close. I wouldn’t hate it either way, especially without reads. With reads, this can be an easy call or an easy fold.

Would appreciate any thoughts on my points. Looking forward to hear results/your thoughts.

Larry

@ Thu Apr 09, 2009 04:32:45 PM

Hey Ed. Don’t forget about these hands, please. Soren and I are dying to know.

Ed Miller

@ Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:06:36 AM

Egads, I did forget about these hands. So sorry guys. It’s crazy here in bookland these days.

I’ll give you the quick summary of what happened. I apologize somewhat because I left out some important information in each case. My opponents in both hands were kind of dingbat types.

The first hand would have been like a 55/35 super loose aggro type. The second hand would have been like a 45/5 loose passive type. Most hands I play are against dingbats because I isolate them so much.

In the first hand, I snap-called. Indeed, my whole point for checking was to induce a bluff. IMO my other reasonable option is to shove for value. But I like checking to induce here better.

The guy is a dingbat, and dingbats call with drawing hands on boards like these all the time. He can have a flopped flush draw or any of the various straight draws around the Q and T (having called with two big unpaired cards on the flop). He can also have a pocket pair that got counterfeited on the river. He might bluff with all these hands on the river, but he’s unlikely to call a shove.

He’ll call a shove with pocket pairs bigger than tens (unlikely that he has these), or fairly likely a hand with an ace. If he’s managed to go runner-runner on me with a queen, he wins my stack either way.

So it’s a check to induce versus bet for value decision, and though I usually prefer betting, in this hand because of the nature of the board and the fact that I think he has a lot more busted hand combos than hands he calls with, I like inducing.

He ended up showing J 8 , so he went the busted gutshot route.

I screwed up the second hand. I meant to stop it before hero’s action. I bet about 1/3 pot there for value. I like that value bet because I can fold to a check-raise fairly safely (would be very gutsy to bluff check-raise this board after a voluntary river bet… and my opponent is not that sort). And I can squeeze value from lots of weaker two pair hands. If I have JT I probably just check it down. The fact that I have top two is what makes me want to get some value on the river here.

I ended up getting called by A T .

Larry

@ Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:17:04 AM

Oh hey, thanks for taking the time to close this up. Somehow, I didn’t realize you were the player. Hope the book is going great. I’m really looking forward to it.

DafarginNuts

@ Sun May 31, 2009 05:29:38 AM

WOW!!! 2+2 really has a boner about anything about this new book on thier site.
I mada a post about the release date and as expected post was deleted. Amazing its the only new release 2+2 has has refused to acknowledge.

Little Old Lady

@ Sun May 31, 2009 07:30:41 AM

Mason’s stated policy is that non-2p2 books may be discussed in the forums provided that the thread is started by someone other than the author(s), publisher, or anyone else associated with the book. When threads were started about Small Stakes No Limit, threads which adhered to this policy, these threads were locked and/or disappeared. Mason’s explanation was that it was against policy to talk about non-2p2 books (specifically about matters like table of contents, pricing, etc.) before publication. At the moment there is a live thread about Phil Hellmuth’s new publishing company and its first announced (but not yet available) book, something about various pro players and their poor money management skills or whatever. Not only is this thread alive and well, but Mason posted in it to tell everyone that he turned down the opportunity to publish Phil’s autobiography and that Phil was unhappy with the publisher of Play Poker Like the Pros because of low royalties, implying of course that Phil wanted to go with Mason because of Mason’s famously high royalties (but, oh, the price in aggro those royalties come with). LMAO!

I am interested to see what happens in a couple of weeks when early purchasers (which I hope some of you will be) start to post reviews, questions, etc. According to Mason’s various statements, that should be permitted. I think Sunny still has a live account over there and presumably, according to stated policy, should be able to answer questions and respond to comments. Matt of course was banned and AFAIK not unbanned. Edward stopped posting, and I don’t really know if he was also officially banned or what would happen if he posted over there–which of course he won’t. I too have a live account and was never banned. I do not post there, but I wonder if I would instantly be disappeared if I tried–which I won’t.

Stay tuned….

LOL

Book Update And Value Betting Videos At Stoxpoker

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