Winning Low-Limit Hold'em

Winning Low-Limit Hold'em author: Lee Jones rating: asin: 1886070237 binding: Paperback list price: $24.95 USD amazon price: $16.47 USD

Winning Low Limit Hold'em is a very good introduction to limit hold'em. Lee Jones, the former cardroom manager at Poker Stars is the author, and he teaches a simple, straightforward style of poker in a very accessible way.

The book starts off with the very basics, including a discussion of the rules and the general mechanics of playing poker. The book continues with preflop hand selection, play on the flop with various types of hands (about 1/5 of the book covers specific types of hands and what to do with them), and how to play the turn and the river. Each section has a quiz where you can test your understanding of the previous chapter. There is a lot of good, basic advice in the book, such as not to bluff too much, how to profit from free cards and how to categorize your opponents. There are a few miscellaneous chapters on topics such as player stereotypes, spread limit games and bankroll considerations.

Jones advocates a "fit or fold" strategy in most cases. The book has received some criticism for a simple style but if you are new to the game then it's a safe way to learn how to play. In the section on play after the flop, the author advocates a fairly tight strategy, stating that you need a decent hand like top pair or a strong draw to continue most of the time. He recommends folding second pair routinely, which seems excessively tight in many situations.

I recommend this as a very good primer to limit hold'em. It's not an advanced book but it teaches you to stay out of major trouble and beat the low limit games.