Customer Reviews

Swayne's Advanced Degree in Hold'em

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First of all, I DO recommend the purchase of this book. However, I have some question marks about it which is why I do not give it a 4 or 5 star ranking. I think this volume should be read with an open mind, especially as to the author's approach to poker.

Swayne seems to have the full endorsement of Daniel Negreanu. Daniel wrote the foreword, and Swayne does the mathematical presentations on the training site which features Negreanu. So, no doubt Swayne is very competent. Primarily, I question his approach.

My first objection is that Swayne offers a poker "pyramid" or hierarchy. At the bottom, or base, is $10/$20 and lower limit poker. Then the next level is $30/$60 and up limit poker. Next is cash no limit, then no-limit tournaments in which the blinds progress fast, and finally, at the apex, are no-limit tournaments in which the blinds progress slowly. (As an aside, I think Daniel is a recognized, world-class player in these types of tournaments.... deep stacked, slow blind progression tournaments). Perhaps Swayne doesn't mean to say that we should all aspire to the top-level of the pyramid, or that the person who reaches that level is the "best" of the poker world. But, he sure implies that. Personally, I know some individuals who are EXCELLENT limit players. They would probably beat the socks off of a tournament player in a limit cash game. From a personal standpoint, I prefer a no-limit cash game. Does that make me "better" than the limit player, or "not-as-good" as the tournament player. No. It just involves a different skill set.

And by-the-way, if you happen to enjoy sit-n-gos, this book will be of only marginal benefit for you. Sit-n-gos are their own beast, and you can find other books that will generally be more helpful.

I think what this book DOES excel at is providing information on the hand strength of starting cards. All to often we see books that say, "Don't play Ace-rag at all, or at least not in early position." Or they say, "K-T unsuited is a dangerous hand to play." Swayne goes to great effort to quantify the value of hands, based upon position and other factors. It really "brings home" why some starting hands, which many play, really belong in the muck.

Note that a huge part of this book is devoted to quantifying the value of your two hole cards for PRE-flop play. His post-flop advice is really nothing more that several pages of rather generic advice. Valuable, yes. But still, fairly bland. For instance: "If you can't decide between betting or checking on the turn, bet." Or... "if you have a set, and nothing else is apparent on the board, bet hard, raise; reraise." Nothing wrong with any of this advice.... but by and large it's pretty generic.

If you are a no-limit player, you go through 10 chapters before you get to the one-and-only chapter devoted to no-limit. At that point you get one chapter devoted to no-limit (and you learn that some of the things you learned in the first 10 chapters no longer apply). An additional problem I have with this chapter is that Swayne sort of slips into discussions about tournament play, but doesn't do a very good job of making the point as to whether he is discussing cash strategy or tournament strategy. I do get the feeling that he considers no-limit cash play an after-thought. But, that is my perception. The whole chapter on no-limit play really needs to be re-written. Perhaps split into two chapters...one devoted to cash play, and the other devoted to tournament play.

Swayne also has some recommendations that I question. For instance, he wants you to first play 250,000 hands of low-limit cash games before "progressing." Do the math. How long will it take you to play 250,000 hands of low-limit cash games..... and you will then need to *change* your style of you really prefer no-limit cash games or no-limit tournaments. He also has other memorization tasks for the reader that seem to be of marginal value.

And then...a chapter on "Ultimate Texas Hold'em." This is a casino "carnival" game. Doesn't belong in this book, in my opinion. His argument is that UTH can, like blackjack, be beaten. But really, is any serious poker player going to be playing UTH?

Swayne is heavily oriented to the brick & mortar poker player. For a person who talks about figuring out if the table and the individual players are tight/loose aggressive/passive, he doesn't do ANY discussion of heads up displays. Actually, anyone who wants to fully incorporate Swayne would do best, in my opinion, playing on-line using a HUD.

I probably sound pretty critical. As noted, I don't think his chapter on no-limit is handled well, and to be honest I don't think you need to be accomplished limit player in order to be an accomplished no-limit player. They are really two different games that require two different playing styles. However, I DO think that that his rather detailed discussions on starting hand strength, position, and the characteristics of your table make this book a definite buy. Learning those things will make you a better poker player. But I'm not convinced that following Swayne's homework assignments in a step-by-step manner will make you a better player.

So many poker books are cookie cutter instructions of this is good, this is bad, look out for this or that; it is nice to finally get my hands on something that is different and takes a different approach to the game.

I am an analytically minded person and player and finally there is a book that uses quantifying numerics rather than the simple good and bad. I like the way that Charley doesn't broad stroke complex issues especially preflop play. This book is more than an elementary tutorial of the game of Hold 'Em. Some material is difficult to comprehend but I can attest that the issues and topics presented in this text will manifest better returns and more success for players.

After reading and studying this book my outlook on poker as a whole has changed and my bankroll has subsequently increased. Poker is about making good decisions and Charley Swayne helps the reader simplify the processes ultiamtely making it easier as a player to make the best decisions possible.

I believe this book has topics beneficial to both online, as well as, brick & mortar playing.

PATL Matrix, Table Image, Table Texture, Win Factors, Interim Hand Model. It is all good stuff

Thanks Charley for helping me increase my ROI.

Very good book for beginners. if you are starting to play poker this is a must read. It contains a lot of statistical information which will be usefull to play after the flop.

What I liked about this book the most was all the math and odds. For example: if you have JJ what is the likelihood of a higher card coming on the flop?? If you have an A what is the likelihood someone else has an A?? He uses charts/graphs to show these ideas. Some are quite surprising. I have not seen a lot of these ideas presented so well in any other book on Hold'em. His PATL matrix is also very good to apply. Thank you Charlie Swayne.

This book isn't a quick fix, but I am sure you guessed that from the title.

Well laid out with mini exams after sections to make sure the information has stuck.

A lot of information to absorb, but you couldn't help but be a better player once you understand all the concepts, but it will take many months to achieve 100% success.

This is more a college course than a quick "do this" approach to Holdem
Though I doubt that most will spend the time needed to fully grasp this work; I am sure that for those that do, regardles of past experience, your Holdem game will dramitically imporve

I have just about every poker book out there. This is one book you need to have in your poker library. It would be even better if it had a workbook. If you are a dedicated poker player who wants to improve, get the book. If you are not the dedicated player then great, I have the advantage over you because of what I got out of the book. I will be cashing in more. :)

For me this is a serious book. Given that I am math challenged I will certainly have to focus on the material. And, like any other sort of textbook, I shall have to read and study the material more than two or three times. For the many smarter than I am, I suppose it will come easier.

Not one of the best book on limit holdem.

If you want to become an expert buy Miller Limit holdem DVDs