Poker's 1% - The One big Secret That Keeps Elite Players on Top (book review)

Cracking the Maths code in other words.


There are two ways to become a more successful better Poker player and Ed Miller reveals all in his book Poker's 1%, although I'm not completely sure if I've even still got my head around the ideas he reveals, which were totally new to me!



In the introductory pages, Miller concludes: "The bottom line is : as long as you build your strategy around trying to make big hands, you will never be good enough to move up and match with the professionals. You will lose to them. Until you abandon the entire thought process and rebuild from scratch you will never beat them. Poker is not a slot machine. Stop playing it like one."  Overall, he suggests most poker players are trying to make big hands and stack you.  From playing Pokerstars I completely agree with this.  If they don't feel like they have a very strong hand usually the players give up easily.  He concedes that you can use this 'playing tight, folding too much to raises' to your advantage by playing in a more aggressive way that can take advantage of the 99% of small stake strategy players who play a similar way.  'If you fire one barrel on the flop and the player calls, bet again on the next street, if he calls again, fire a third barrel!'.  Fight at all costs to win the hands you are involved with, still with good hand selection of course, not just any old junk..that goes without saying.



Now it comes to the second idea of the book and it is a concept that is used primarily by the top pro's.  I will have to read this short online PDF version of the book again, if not download the full version with an extra 100 pages added, to fully understand it...as might you too.  And this is the idea of using frequencies to play against opponents.


"Poker isn't not a game of people with cards.  It's not about knowing when to holdem and when to fold em.  It's  not about trying to make hands that stack people.  It's not about playing tight.  It's not about being patients.  It's not about bullying people.  It's not about being the most aggressive player at the table.  It's not about any ohony idea she like these that lie a true the heart of 99% percent of players strategies." (Page 31)


"Like all other gambling games, no Limit Hold'em is a game of frequencies.  The math of the game dictates that you check, fold, call, bet and raise in all situations with specific basic frequencies.  These frequencies are all but impossible to exactly solve for.  But if you are satisfied with just getting close to the right frequencies, you should be satisfied with that.  It's actually not that hard."




"The rest of your poker career should be devoted to figuring out how to make the your play take maximum advantage of that idea.  If your frequencies are more correct than the players you play with,  you will win their money." (Page 31)


"You need to call more than 67 percent of the time to deny your opponent a profitable half-pot bet with any two cards.  That's a lot of calling!  It's a whole lot more calling than your typical $2-$5 no-limit regular player does.  The same logic also applies on previous streets.  When your opponent bets, there isn't a threshold beyond which he can bet any two cards profitably.  Whenever your opponent bets, he's giving you odds to call, and he's giving himself odds to bet any two cards.  If you expect not to get trampled, your u have to call frequently enough to deny a profitable bet for any two cards.  Therefore, when your opponent is betting less than the pot, you should usually call."


"Now let's look at the second rule - it is similar.  What happens if you bet on every street and then fail too frequently to bet the next one.  You give your opponent effective 2-1 pot odds to call on an early street.  And with your big hands you let them off the hook to easily because you aren't bluffing enough."




'Stick around.  You give your opponents few freebies, few cheap ones.  When checked to, you usually bet.  When raised, you usually call.  In other words, you're a big pain in the ass."  "This is the way the 1% plays.  Elite players bet a lot and don't fold very much." (Page 38)


Conclusion

'I've quoted a lot from the book, but this was necessary to ensure I recited all the information as accurately as possible in a summary form, especially as I'm still trying to familiarise myself with this concept.  While I've found David Sklansky's books more interesting to read and highly useful for effective game play in a wide range of situations, the knowledge shared in this book, could be the 'piece de resistance' for ultimate game play and to help you move up the levels.  I think the overall idea is well described in the final few sentences I qouted from the book - just be a massive pain in the ass!'  Already I've been doing this a lot thanks to the new methods revealed in No Limit Hold'em Theory & Practice, but overall when you put all the little actions together, they come to mean the same thing regarding frequencies.  If your frequencies are better than the player you are up against, you will make money.  This is definitely a book worth a read...at least twice!


Rating: 7/10


Will I try to use the idea?  You bet I will!  I completely agree that at low Stakes Hold'em the players play far too tightly and this can be used to advantage.  If checked to, I usually raise.  If raised, call.  As long as you suspect you could have a chance of winning of course!  The only difference now after reading this book is that I will do it more, including calling those half pot bets on the river.


Thanks for reading.  Good luck.

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I have been playing poker for about 15 years. I play online currently and I've played poker in casinos, card rooms, local games and with friends. I play NL hold'em tournaments and cash games and can also play Pot Limit Omaha, a game I also love.
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Good luck!

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