|
Mastering No-Limit Hold’em by Russell Fox and Scott T. Harker Content:  
Organization:
Overall: 
Mastering No-Limit Hold’em is a basic introduction to low fixed buy-in no-limit cash games. Fox and Harker aren’t interested in big games or deep stack poker – they focus on how to play with a small or medium stack while giving the reader basic instructions as to how to adjust for a larger stack.
Book Content
I’ll start with the bad: one of my primary complaints with the strategies given in Mastering No-Limit Hold’em is that they focus far too much on preflop and flop play to the detriment of turn and river play. Although they do not ignore 4th and 5th street, they explicitly state that they assume you’ll be all-in by the flop if not preflop.
The assumption that most, if not all, games will involve large raises is problematic when making the transition to no-limit games on the internet, where at the $100NL and $200NL level (within the book’s target range), there is often deeper stack play involving the turn and river. There seems to be little discussion of situations where less than 20% of your stack is in the pot when the turn comes. Even their sample hands lack the necessary diversity to give readers a well-rounded view of low buy-in no-limit. The authors appear to reduce the game to push or fold poker.
There are also some obviously incorrect statements in this book. Hopefully, readers will be astute enough to notice these. For instance, their suggestion that playing online versus live costing a similar amount is purely erroneous. Live games cost far more per hand than online, and hence the rake has a far greater impact on a player’s win rate when playing live. The fact that one may pay as much rake in the same length of time at either venue is irrelevant because a player’s win rate will reflect how much they make per hand.
Now for the good: the authors give balanced advice on preflop hand selection, as well as a detailed break down of what things one needs to consider in picking spots. I liked their approach to playing strong but not monster hands like QQ. Often players will either overplay this hand and end up losing to a monster, or they will play this hand so passively that they let too many players see the flop and hence end up hurting themselves later on. Most people know how to fold 72o and garbage hands, but an education in how to play strong hands and moderately strong hands correctly is essential for beginning players looking to become winners.
The advice on the later streets, while relatively sparse compared to preflop and flop sections, is also quite sturdy. I like the emphasis they place on selective semi-bluffing, and on the fact that outright bluffs are usually pointless. Correct strategy for semi-bluffing is very useful for low stakes online games where one must deal with calling stations and maniacs, but cannot be so passive as to pass up opportunities to make effective moves.
The sections covering how to manage one’s game, finances and mind are refreshing. Many introductory and intermediate books skip this part, but Fox and Harker have made the effort to educate the reader about tilt and the psychological aspects of poker, along with the need for good records and a solid bankroll.
While this book has its strengths and weaknesses, I did not appreciate it as much as most poker books I have read. In part, it may be that this book isn't designed for an advanced audience, and hence, to me this book seemed mediocre and simplistic. Nonetheless, for a person who hasn’t studied the game as much, but is looking for an introduction to the fundamental concepts of winning NLHE, this book may be of great benefit.
Book Organization
The first thing one will notice when reading this book is that non-standard typesetting has been used. In a way, this is refreshing because staring at small print in arial or times new roman font can be tiresome. However, when the more flowing style of text used in this book is compounded with constant italics, it can become agitating because the text already looks more like hand writing than printed text. It’s a small issue, but it can be annoying when you read a lot in one sitting.
The tables and indices used in this book are well structured, and I found that the appendix at the end of the book contained a lot of valuable information. This is important because many poker books lack such qualities. Placing the hand examples in a “quiz” section near the end of the book, however, isn’t as effective as placing specific examples in each section. These hand quizzes would have been a more effective teaching tool had they been incorporated directly into chapters with reference to the specific concepts they addressed.
Overall Book Review
Mastering No-Limit Hold’em is good for beginners and those who know the rules, or have played a bit, but have not made the effort to delve into strategy. Although there is a plethora of books giving advice about low fixed limit hold’em, there are fewer no-limit cash game books and many are outdated. I did not give this book a great score because I found it too simplistic and presumptuous in parts, however, I would still recommend it for beginning to intermediate players.
Next week I will be reviewing a fixed limit book, “Small Stakes Hold’em” by Miller, Sklansky and Malmuth.
 
| 
