Poker Ed Miller - First Article I Read in Card Player Magazine!

This individual must eat, sleep, dream poker 24/7 as he continues to crank out book after book, and his articles in CardPlayer Magazine are just so "on point." I've also taken the liberty to mention some of his books (at the bottom of this page), so get your E-copy, hard copy or paperback (if there is a paperback), whenever you feel the need to improve your game.

Here's an example of his work:

Courtesy of Ed Miller via CardPlayer Magazine:

"If I were teaching a new player to play no-limit hold’em, and my goal were to get this player up to a professional level of play, how would I do it? What would my lessons look like?

Let’s say I had only three months to do it. With most people, I will admit, it would be a tall order. The learning curve is steep these days, and I don’t think everyone could make it from zero to pro in that short a time.

I’d have to make compromises. I couldn’t try to cover every possible situation. I’d have to find the important bits and skip the rest.

I’d also have to tailor the lessons a bit to a specific type of game. The most important skills in some game types are not as important in others. With this in mind, here are what I think my top five lessons would be for a new player trying to beat the $2-$5 no-limit hold’em games in Las Vegas.

Lesson No. 1. Don’t limp into pots ever. And don’t call preflop three-bets unless you are trapping with an ultra-premium hand.

Limping into pots, calling the preflop raise, and then check/folding the flop when you miss is an enormous leak. It’s also one that nearly every player who hasn’t been specifically coached out of it exhibits.

In my opinion, most players would see an immediate improvement in their winrates if they simply refused to limp in with any hand, especially if they chose to instead fold most of these hands.

For most players, refusing ever to limp means playing much tighter, particularly from out of position. Until you’re already an established pro player, tighter is better.

Lesson No. 2. Don’t pay off big turn and river bets.

This lesson might be different in some types of games, but in the Las Vegas $2-$5 games, it’s easily a candidate for the single most important piece of advice. Do not pay anyone off. When someone makes a big turn or river bet or raise, your one pair hand (or whatever other hand you’re thinking about calling with) is a bluff-catcher. That means, in the great majority of cases, your opponent won’t be trying to make a value bet with a worse hand. Either you’re beat or your opponent is bluffing. And players in these $2-$5 games do not bluff often enough to make calling worthwhile.

So you don’t pay off. I know it can be frustrating to feel like you’re getting muscled out of a huge pot, but the fact is, most players in these games do very little muscling. They try to make hands, and then they bet the hands they make. A big bet usually means a big hand. You don’t need to call to find out for certain.

For the rest of his 5 lessons, just google "The Top Five No-Limit Hold'em Lessons" to find his article.



Please comment on any of his 5 rules above for a lively discussion, or about any of his books you have read. Thanks in advance for participating.

And don't forget to purchase "Small Stakes Hold'em" his cash book, it's worth it.

 

While I will limp behind (both with speculative and some larger hands to balance my range), I don't open-limp. It does make me play a bit tighter when out of position, but if for opening a pot, if I'm raising every hand in my range, it helps to conceal the strength of my hand.

Not paying off, IMO, is a big key whether you're playing small stakes live or micro stakes online.

I'm more of a tournament player than a cash player, but have been starting to get into some cash games. I did get Small Stakes and it's next on my reading list. I always look forward to reading his articles in CP as they're a great resource.