Customer Reviews

Cash Games (How to Win at No-Limit Hold'em Money Games) Vol. 1

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Harrington on Cash Games" is a two book series that deals with full ring no limit cash games. Volume I deals with general concepts, preflop play and flop play. Part one of the book begins with basic ideas. Harrington recommends skipping this section if you are already familiar with the fundamentals of no limit hold 'em and I agree. This section of the book does not cover any new ground. Part two of the book deals with broad elements of no limit cash games. The section on stack size is excellent and explains how different stack sizes call for vastly different preflop and postflop strategy. The section on hand reading is good as Harrington goes through some of the thought processes required to break down and analyze a hand. There's a very brief discussion of metagame. This involves exploiting your image and making small costly plays which you expect will reap greater dividends in the future.

Part three is about tight aggressive preflop play. This is where the book starts to lose some of its shine. The book is stuck in what is conventionally referred to as "level 1" thinking, that is "What cards do I hold in my hand?". Different types of opponents require different strategies but the book plods on with many pages of "I have X hand in Y position. What should I do?". As a trivial example an opponent who is a "rock" and rarely tries to steal your blind requires a different strategy from a maniac who tries to steal your blind every time it is folded around. The book does not really address tailoring your play to your opponent preflop.

Part four of the book is about tight aggressive flop play. Once again the book falls short in a number of areas. To take an example, if you raise preflop and are out of position, Harrington recommends mainly checking KK on a rainbow K72 flop (that is you hold top set on a board without many draws). What Harrington omits to mention is how you should play your distribution of hands in this spot as part of a balanced strategy. For example if you are checking top set but continuation betting most of your hands that miss, this begins to create an imbalance that an opponent can exploit. All the examples are about "How do I play my hand" and the author does not address the question of "How do I balance my distribution of hands in this spot".

As in the preflop section, there is very little discussion of opponent type and this is where the book loses the most marks. Discussion of opponent tendencies is extremely limited. A typical example would be "Let's call 10 percent of the time and fold 90 percent, calling only against the loosest and most aggressive players". Given that you are supposed to randomize your actions using your wristwatch and that Harrington doesn't explain how to quantify "loosest and most aggressive players" these guidelines are difficult to follow. There are other quirks and inconsistencies that would be jarring to the astute reader. For example, after calling a bet out of position with 7h6h preflop and then leading out on a TT4 board and getting raised, Harrington recommends calling 10% of the time to "balance our value calls in other situations". To me this statement is rather obscure and although this volume specifically focuses on preflop and flop play, I feel it is an injustice to leave the reader in this predicament without at least a brief discussion of turn and/or river play. Another inconsistency occurs when at one point Harrington recommends raising with middle pair "to represent top pair" whereas throughout the rest of the text, Harrington recommends mainly calling with top pair. If your strategy is to mainly call with top pair, then it is difficult to try to represent top pair by raising. The last section of the book is tight aggressive play with multiple opponents. This is basically Harrington saying "Don't bluff, play more cautiously and people usually have what they're representing".

The book certainly has moments where it shines. The "problems" sections contains detailed and well thought out analysis. The text will provoke a lot of thought about the game even if there are some specific examples which seem unpolished or unfinished. Novice players will gain a lot from the text. Intermediate players should only expect to pick up a few gems every now and again. As a brief note there are parts of the text that apply to other forms of the game for example short handed online no limit. However these types of games have a lot of specific nuances that the book does not address at all (for example light 3 betting and light 4 betting preflop). Overall I still recommend this book as a buy even though the book seems to treat poker as more of "a card game played with people" rather than "a people game played with cards".

Dan Harrington's three volumes on no limit tournament strategy became instant classics in the world of poker literature. No one before had ever attempted such a comprehensive discussion of optimal tournament strategy, with unique and extensive hand examples drawn from real-world play. Certainly no one with Dan Harrington's record and reputation had done so. Now, in this planned two-part series, Harrington tries to tackle cash game play in the same style and manner as his tournament books. In doing so, he has written a good, solid book, but not a great one, and certainly not another classic.

Harrington was destined to fall short tackling this subject matter. To begin with, no limit cash game play has been written about extensively, starting with Doyle Brunson in 1979's Super System and carrying on through a plethora of Sklansky's 2+2 books throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Thus, while Harrington was able to discuss several unique and unfamiliar ideas on no limit tournament strategy (including the importance of blind structure, the M number, chip management, inflection points, among many others), there's not much new ground here to cover. In fact, this book only contains two new "Harrington Laws", and both of them are lifted from Sklansky (the gap theory of calling an early position raiser and the unimpressive observation that more people in the pot means that a player needs a stronger hand in order to bet).

So basically there's nothing exactly new here. I agree partially with the review by Don Nguyen below; the book does indeed focus way too much on level 1 thinking (i.e. how strong a hand do I "need" given a particular flop and position). However, to its credit the book does indeed move beyond this level of thinking, at least occasionally, to discuss playing back at loose maniacs with marginal hands or taking advantage of a handful of "prime" bluffing/semi-bluffing opportunities. But mostly, the hand analysis is fairly straight-forward, conservative, and unimaginative in the extreme. Things are even further confused by Harrington's odd insistence on assigning an exact percentage to whether he would raise, call or fold in a certain situation (sometimes on the order of 80% fold, 15% raise, and 5% call). I understand the need to randomize one's play, and could see Harrington making a suggestion such as a player should "mostly fold, but consider raising as a bluff against some weak opponents", but the random percentages thrown out by Harrington seem arbitrary. And who exactly is really going to glance at their watch to determine whether they should perform the 70% call, or the 30% raise? In my mind it's much better to vary your play to your opponent rather than according to a random number generator.

All in all, this is a good, conservative tome on cash game play that's comparable to much of what's out there in the poker literature. However, many readers may remember that Vol. I of Harrington on Hold 'em Tournament Play was also very by-the-numbers and unimaginative, emphasizing a more or less rigid, tight aggressive strategy. I have high hopes that the next installment on cash game play will feature some of the same level of insightful thinking we saw in Vols. II and III of the Harrington on Hold em series.

I'd also recommend The Poker Tournament Formula and Poker Tips that Pay: Expert Strategy Guide for Winning No Limit Texas Hold em for readers that are looking beyond the Harrington series.

While expectedly falling short of the tournament series which was always going to happen do to cash games being a much more complex topic, these books are perfect for someone wishing to start the transition to cash games from tournaments from a tournament player's perspective.

I for one have been reasonably successful in tournament play for 2-3 years, but have always struggled with cash game play and could never figure out why. This book was very helpful to me in that it explains WHY the two types are different, and the adjustment in perception that has to be made.
If you are a tournament player this will definitely introduce some ideas that you will not be comfortable with and hands that you have been quite happy to get all in with in a tournament are now hands that are very often beat by the turn and beyond. But if you are open minded and try the concepts introduced here, I think you will see an improvement in your results...As with the previous Harrington books, the hand problems are fascinating and provide a lot of insight...
These books will likely not help the experienced and successful cash game player much, but everyone else should learn a lot. Coupling reading thse books along with Professional No Limit Poker Vol 1 will improve your understanding. Well worthwhile

Bottom line -- I was a break-even Cash game player (and a winning tourney player) when I bought this book and now I'm a winning Cash game player.

Yes, this book is for CASH game ***beginners*** and if you're past that stage, you shouldn't be reading (and criticizing) the book for being what it is -- a beginner's book that lays the foundation of your knowledge of how to play cash games.

But let's be real -- everyone who masters anything must first be a novice and must first learn the basics, the foundation, the mundane details of the subject.

And that's exactly what you get here -- the foundation. And it does an outstanding job of doing exactly that.

Dan Harrington is an accomplished pro, and a captivating and often witty writer. The quality of his prose is well above that of most poker books.

In Vol I, he establishes broad cash game principles, and lays a foundation for presenting a tight aggressive style. His coverage of pre-flop play is rigorous, with plenty of example hands that reiterate concepts. For flop play, there are entire chapters devoted to both heads up and multiple player hands.

Vol II, also excellent, covers the turn and river, and the loose aggressive style.

This is a great book, and is deserving of many re-reads. It is particularly good for those who want to refine or counter a tight aggressive style.

As a good-to-mediocre limit player, I searched a long time for a book that would improve my no-limit game given that I already knew a good deal about limit poker. This is that book. If you've never played hold 'em, this book is going to be over your head; you won't even understand the first few pages. If you've played limit hold 'em and want to become a solid no-limit player, this is the book for you.

The book is in depth on all betting rounds and promotes the kind of thinking that a good no-limit player needs to have. I also learned a few new ideas about randomizing my play and river bets that I hadn't considered before. At the end of most chapters, a thorough set of problems is presented that really drill the ideas well. Self-testing on those problems alone make the book fun and worth the price!

Like most poker books, the English is poor. Apparently something about playing poker well excludes knowledge of the subjunctive! It's still more readable than most poker books. The chapters on bankroll management and other miscellaneous topics in Volume 2 were unnecessary and thankfully brief. There were some minor inconsistencies in the book and maybe even some math blunders, but relatively few given that the two volumes together are around 800 pages.

I think that it's a rare player that wouldn't stand to profit from buying this book and reading it. The book isn't complete without both volumes.

I had great expectations on this book (and Vol II) but I have been a little disappointed. First part is quite obvious, pot odds, commitment and so on. Second part is an extensive but quite boring list of flop situations and how should be played...I would have liked more explanations and less percentages, but Harrington seems very fond of the latter. If you are a good player you'll not find anything new, If you are a beginner it will be quite useful.

Another excellent book by Harrington. I read this book about a year ago and loved it. If you enjoyed his tournament play books, this series on cash games are perfect. Thanks for the great work, Dan.

fist things first. this book is not for beginners. you need a good grasp of poker lingo and basic play to appreciate this book. i read volume 1 and 2 and these are the best books on NL Holdem.
the first volume is preflop and flop play and the second book is on turn and river play plus some bonus topics. these books should be bought and read as one book.
the positives are as follows:
it gives you concrete examples that were based on live and internet play. the problems are easy to read. the explinations of what actions to take and what your thought process should be in the problems are complicated but necessary . there are so many hand examples that it becomes engrained in your brain by the end of the books.
this is a book for "big stack" no limit. 100 big blinds and up. if you know Dan Harringtons reputation as a tight player(Action Dan) you will be suprised at how loose he reccomends you play. he constantly tells you to mix up your game and raise with some pritty light hands. if you play as he reccomends you will have you opponents totaly confused.
his opinions on how to use a wristwatch to randomise your actions and the "metagame theory" are worth the pice of the books alone!
this book is not a recipe book on how to win...far from it. but if you are willing to put in the time and effort to apply his concepts...you will be a dangerous player at the table!

the only negative thing i can say is that he only raises 3 big blinds in 90% of his examples. each game is different. at my local cardroom a 3x raise gets no respect. 4x and 5x big blind raises are the norm and tend to narrow the field. and there is no advice on the caped buyin games that are common in california cardrooms.

hope my review was helpfull...Mike A

... Cash Games (Vol. I) by Harrington and Robertie has already improved my game. Previously I tended to play 90% of the time too tight, mistakenly mis-using what I'd learned from reading books about tournament play (3 of which happen to be by H & R). The other 10% of the time I was mainly getting too deep & big into small hands like top pair/good kicker, 2-pair and better hands, however devalued by threats on the board.

Early on my cash game was profitable only because of a short streak of beginner's luck. After that brief period of 'invincibility' ended I watched my bank roll steadily drop and drop and drop, even as I backed off my initial loose-weak play and (wrongly) applied tournament principles to my cash game. I remembered thinking, "I'm doing well in small tournaments; why am I losing money in cash games?!?"

I've read H & R's tournament volumes (just about to finish Vol. III) and credit Dan and Bill greatly for helping me to consistently place in online sit-n-go's and small, 1 or 2 table home tournaments. After receiving an email notifying me of the availability of this new cash game series, I ordered on the spot. Now, after reading less than a quarter of the book and applying the initial principles covered in just those pages I've enjoyed 2 profitable no-limit cash sessions and feel much more confident in my game. Although, tempered by experience, I don't expect to improve further until I read further, ....

So, I'm looking forward to finishing Cash Games and pre-ordering future volumes. I highly recommend Dan & Bill's books, and can't advise you to get this particular book more strongly.