REVIEW
No-limit hold'em may be all the rage right now, but in the United States there are still far more limit hold'em games spread in public card rooms than anything else, probably more than all other games types combined. A plethora of books are available for those who are beginners to low limit hold'em, but much less is available for experienced players who are looking to win at the middle and upper limits. Barry Tanenbaum has had success in these games for many years. Finally, he shares some of the secrets to his poker success in his aptly named new book, Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy.
Tanenbaum is a successful player, a long-time poker columnist, a well respected public speaker on poker matters, and a successful poker coach. Not only does he have considerable knowledge of and insight into the game, but his magazine columns, seminar appearances, and coaching practice affords him a great deal of experience in communicating these ideas to poker students. Consequently, his ideas are clear and precise as they come through on the printed page.
About the first third of the book contains necessary material outlining Tanenbaum's approach to the game, setting the stage for the subsequent discussion of strategic details. At times, this part feels a little dry, but this foundation is necessary for the specific advice that follows. These fundamentals are referred to constantly in later parts of the text, so the reader should not merely skim through them on their way to the meat of the book.
Part 2, the balance of the book, covers poker situations that a player commonly faces in mid limit to upper limit games, where the stakes are high and the opposition is tough and aggressive. Those who haven't played in these games will almost certainly be surprised at the sorts of situations that are described, as well as the way the author recommends playing them. However, this is the way that bigger limit hold'em games are played, and Tanenbaum knows well what it takes to show a long-term profit in them.
Tanenbaum's advice is clearly communicated, carefully thought out, and incisive. I believe his analyses of these poker situations are very strong, and he often discusses aspects to hands that did not immediately occur to me. His strategic advice is liberally sprinkled with examples that are perfectly constructed to elaborate on the points he makes. In so many places he provides so much good advice, that I expect that multiple readings will prove necessary for most poker players to extract everything that Tanenbaum has to teach.
If I had to come up with one complaint with the book, it's that Tanenbaum's advice is precisely tailored for the aggressive mid to upper limit hold'em games that one finds in public card rooms. I'm not at all certain that some of these plays work as well in lower limit games or less aggressive games at these stakes. It appears to me that many of the strategies Tanenbaum employs are designed to exploit tendencies in many of the player types who inhabit those games played with higher denomination chips. They may not show the same long-term results if the composition is significantly different than what the author assumes here.
This doesn't mean that those who play the way Tanenbaum suggests will be losers against less aggressive players, but they might not extract as much money from such games as they might with other strategies. Often, the author points out which of his tactics are specifically designed to exploit some of the super-aggressive playing styles that are common at his limits, but I'm not certain that he does so as thoroughly as he might.
As a whole, though, Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy more than lives up to its title. This is a very strong book filled with excellent analyses of how to play and win in middle limit hold'em games and beyond. I expect those who are trying to move up the limit hold'em ladder will gain a great deal from this book, I know I did. Consequently, I strongly recommend it for those who play in these games or are looking to do so. This is one of the better strategic poker books I've read in quite a while.
Capsule:
The title of Barry Tanenbaum's Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy is well deserved. This book is filled with good advice for those who are looking to beat middle and upper limit hold'em cash games. The author's experience as a columnist and coach shines through with strategies that are easy to understand and examples that illustrate their concepts perfectly. This is a very strong book for those who play middle and upper limit hold'em, and I expect those who study it will get a great deal of mileage from it.
Nick
Christenson
Gambling
Book Reviews
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