Small Stakes Hold'em: Winning Big with Expert Play

Ed Miller &
David Sklansky

Like many of us, I'm sure, who started playing poker (again) after starting to watch it on ESPN, I've always been a no-limit tournament guy. But, let's face it, there are only so many no-limit tournaments a person can enter, especially with the expectation of making real money. Now, at the other end of the spectrum, you can walk into a card room practically anywhere on the planet and find a cash game. (This trend will likely expand quickly as well, with Game Show Network now showing the wonderful High Stakes Poker every Monday night.) Now, most of us don't have the hundred-grand buy-in to sit down with Daniel Negreanu and Eli Elezra (and all us amateurs are, I'm sure, as envious of Fred Chamanara as I am for actually being able to do so). For us, there are the small-stakes tables. You're not going to win a hundred grand on one hand playing 2-4, but it's a great way to build your bankroll. The thing is, ring game play is a slightly different beast than tournament play. Poker experts Mason Malmuth and David Sklansky and small-stakes expert Ed Miller have put together a book to outline the differences and teach the average guy how to play effective small-stakes poker. And I'm here to tell you that it works. My ring game play improved substantially while I was reading this book, and has continued to stay strong after I finished it. And, really, that's the best review you can give a how-to book: it works.

The format is the usual Two Plus Two format: separate parts that cover various aspects of the game, extensive examples, hand quizzes, and the question-and-answer section at the end as a refresher in between detailed readings. Good, solid stuff. Highly recommended for beginning ring players.