Million Dollar Hold'em: Limit Cash Games

by Mark Karowe and Johnny Chan

Book Overview

Chan, who regularly plays against and defeats the best players in the world, shows how to win money consistently at poker's most popular game-limit hold'em. Players get an opportunity to get into the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580422004
• ISBN13: 9781580422000
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Cardoza Publishing
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Great refresher for the experienced but struggling player.

I took a break from limit because I moved up to a level where I couldn't seem to win anymore! Then I saw this book and it was just the thing I needed to set me on the right track. The people who would benefit the most are people who have studied all the great books on limit hold'em and have lots of playing experience, but are still not confident about their game. This book will get you back to the proper aggressive strategy required to win in limit. Like a previous reviewer said, it is like having Johnny sit next to you and tell you how to play and why. The book has only two shortcomings: 1. It is an incredibly easy and fast read, I finished it in a few hours at the bookstore. 2. Most of the hands are won by the narrator, we don't get too many hands that we lose despite making the correct play. This is still a gambling game and we are maximizing our percentages, so more losing (but correct) hands would be great. This is a book to buy and keep on your bookshelf so that you can get a quick refreshing read everytime you have a downswing or are doubting your game. It will get you winning again!

Middle limit hold'em 101

This is a great introductory text on middle limit hold'em. If you are a white-chip player looking to move to the red-chip games, this will help. Covers the basics of continuation betting, bluffing, betting for value, check-raising and some isolation plays. I really enjoyed this book. The layout of the hands are very easy to read - similar to the Harrington books. The thought process behind each move is very well explained - it will get you thinking in more advanced ways. I would love to see more poker books written in this layout. For a visual person such as myself, it was just a pleasure to read. But realistically, you will need more that this to take-on 10/20 limit and above. For a more through examination, see Ciaffone's "Middle limit Hold'em", Byron Jacobs' "How Good is Your Limit hold'em" and of course Sklanski's "Advanced Players Guide". P.S. To Bob Ciaffone: Rewrite your classic text in this format! It would be 3000 pages long, but what a learning tool it would be.

One of the best poker books out there!

This is one of the best poker books I have ever read. It is rather unconventional, in that it does not have a traditional table of contents or follow a step by step outline. In this way it is very much like how I learned to play poker at the tables. The book is a series of hands with commentary about how you should consider playing each one. The types of things covered are playing from the blinds, the importance of blind structure, how to avoid traps, value betting and how to get max value, slowplaying big pairs, how to benefit from aggressive play, how to play weak hands, making tough folds and tough calls, how to get and avoid giving free cards, continuation bets, isolation plays, defensive play, semi-bluffing, playing middle pairs, and mixing up your play. There are a lot of other things covered as well, but the list is so long, it's too much to include in this review. In addition to the commentary, there are graphics of almost all the hands which really helped me to visualize what was going on. I especially liked all the discussion about how to get maximum value out of your hands. As I was learning to play, it took me a long time to understand how important getting max value out of my hands was. I notice that most of the losing players fail to get the value they should out of their hands. It makes sense, because limit poker is mostly about getting maximum value out of your hands over and over again. People who miss this don't have much of a way to accumulate profits. In addition to all the hand examples, there is a lot of information about things you don't get from other poker books like where and when to play, the importance of playing your best game at all times, choosing your environment carefully, the importance of taking vacations, and the importance of having a stable home life. The discussion of bankroll management is worth the price of the book alone. Many players don't understand how to manage their money. Methods to protect yourself from going broke and how to move up in limits are more clearly laid out than in any other poker book I have read. One of the only drawbacks to this book is that it's true value will be lost on many of the readers because of it's unconventional layout and subtle but advanced concepts. Frankly, though, I don't mind that a bit, because that's why poker is such a great game to play.

A book written by a pro for aspiring pros.

I believe Johnny Chan's book "Million Dollar Hold'em Limit Cash Games" is destined to be a poker classic and is a must have book for the serious player looking to gain knowledge of limit cash games. The book offers practical lifestyle approaches; techniques and strategies to help make you a profitable cash game player and, perhaps, a wealthy player as well. The book is easy to read, written in a conversational tone, as if Chan is sitting next to you at the poker table giving you one-on-one advice and wisdom. The book combines well-written narrative and lots of hand examples to help clarify the points he is trying to get across. What Dan Harrington's books do for the tournament player, Johnny Chan's book does for the limit cash game player. The book does not have an index, and it is not a book you would buy to improve your no-limit cash play as it is, as titled, a limit cash game text. The book goes over money management very clearly and, if followed, will keep you from going broke and getting discouraged. Sacrifice one bet and buy this book with it. I think you will be very happy with your investment. Good luck.