The Course: Serious Hold 'Em Strategy For Smart Players Paperback – April 28, 2015

I've been playing poker since I was 18 years old. That's close to 40 years as of this writing. I started playing 5-card draw for cash with co-workers every Friday night. After having done that for a while, I ended up traveling to Las Vegas where I fell in love with 7-card stud hi-lo. It was a great game, and back in the day virtually no one played NLHE (no-limit hold 'em). Well, if you've been around the game for a while, you know things changed -- for the better -- when hold 'em exploded in popularity.Years back, in the mid-1980's, hold 'em began to gain popularity. That's when I was introduced to the game. That's the game that I truly fell in love with, and have been playing it ever since,Along the way, I soaked up as much information about the game as I could. I read books, I watched play whenever it was televised, I practiced the game at home with friends, and I played as much as I could on frequent trips to Vegas. Once my local casino launched an expansion of their poker room, I was there several times a week.I had always considered myself an above-average poker player. My sessions would be up-and-down affairs, with generally a few more winning sessions than losing ones. I read Doyle's book and Dan Harrington's books and books from several other well-known poker players. But by far, without any doubt, Ed Miller's book "The Course" has been the VERY BEST book on playing low-to-medium stakes NLHE I have ever read.Ed's writing style is clear and concise. His focus on cash games vs tournament play is appropriate for my and other primarily cash players (though don't shy away if you're a tournament player). His decision to divide the book into discussion and instruction of individual skills is perfect.Ed, unlike many authors, provides his take on various situations but is also smart enough to advise the readers to feel free to modify his instructions if it suits your style better.Despite all my years of experience, Ed changed my point of view on several important issues, and that that made ALL the difference in my game and my success. In the end, I read the book twice before I went to the casino with the primary intent of playing using Ed Miller's instruction. In three sessions applying his advice I am up almost $2,000 having closed out each session on the plus side of the ledger.If you're thinking about buying "The Course" by Ed Miller and you're a serious poker player, stop thinking and click the BUY button immediately. Once you receive and dive into this book, you will be extremely pleased.

I never wanted to play No Limit Hold'em. I've been playing poker for 35 years and, I estimate, that I've logged about 20,000 hours at the table. Most of these hours were spent playing limit Hold'em. I was pretty good at it and consistently, month after month, won money. About 10 years ago, I started getting my toes in the no-limit waters as the limit games started to become scarce. I didn't much like No Limit because, frankly, I did not know what the hell I was doing.About five years ago, limit games became all but extinct and I was forced to make the transition to No Limit. For 4 years I managed to survive using my poker savy and experience. Nevertheless, I still had to pay my dues.About a year ago, I finally got to the point where I felt that I was a competent No Limit player and began winning steadily. That's when I began to enjoy no limit. After about six months, the room where I was playing spread a limit game one day. The thought of playing limit poker again was nostalgic. I decided to sit down in the game and have some fun for a while.After about 30 minutes, I was so bored that I couldn't take it anymore and had to leave the game. It was like someone who smoked weed for 30 years and then, when weed became unavailable, they started smoking opium. At first, smoking opium was scary. Then, after a while, they became comfortable with it. Then, after smoking it for 4 years, they really, really liked it. Well, now, there's no way that they can go back to weed.Nowadays, for the most part, limit poker is gone. It is unfortunate because limit poker is like poker with training wheels. It's a great way for someone to start playing poker. With limit poker, someone can make big mistakes and it only costs them a small amount of money. However, with no limit poker, small mistakes will cost someone big money. This is why Ed Miller's book is so valuable. Simply reading it will not make someone an expert. However, it will provide someone with a fundamental understanding of the game. This, in turn, will save them a great deal of money while their expertise increases thru experience, thought, and study.A lot of what was in the book, I already knew from experience. I gained this knowledge thru trial and error. That's an expensive and slow way to get an education. I wish I had read at Miller's book five years ago. In fact, I wish I had read it ten years ago. But, better late than never.Ed Miller's book has brought my game to a higher level. For example, for the first time, I understand what Doyle Brunson meant when he said that if he had the button every hand, he could win without looking at his cards as long as his opponents did not know he wasn't looking at his cards.I'm already about halfway thtu another book written by Ed Miller, How To Read Hands at No Limit Hold'em. After that, I intend to read Playing The Player and The 1%. No Limit Hold'em is a game where someone can never stop learning more about it. As Ed Miller points out in his book, No Limit Hold'em is a more complex game than chess. This is why, although computers can easily beat people playing chess or limit Hold'em, computers cannot beat human's at No Limit Holdem.After you read this book, you will want to go back and read it again and again. In fact, you will need to read it again and again. I suggest you read with a yellow highlighter in your hand. Highlighting the parts that are important or meaningful to you will make it much easier to review later on. Good luck at the poker table.