Great Poker Book

Alton writes like he is your friend, and he is giving you last minutes tips before heading out to the casino or playing online.

The book covers everything you need to know for playing NLH at the micro stakes. The information is presented in a logical sequence. The book starts with the foundations of what you need to know to play NLH with essential topics and different player types. Then it gets in the mechanics of playing different hands pre-flop and post-flop as both the aggressor and as the caller. But it is not an ABC approach to playing poker. It is what factors you should consider in different poker situations. There are numerous examples to help drive home what you should consider in certain situations. As Alton introduces a new topic, there are concise definitions to help the listener understand the topic. It is evident that he understands the material. He does a great job of explaining everything in plain English. There is so much in this book that the listener should go back and listen to sections that they are the weakest on until everything becomes automatic.

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Great "must have" book!

These are the stakes most people play. You need to master them. Most people do not, so by reading this book, you will have a HUGE advantage. And most home games don't have many more than six players, and when they do, a few often bust out quickly, and that brings it down to six. This is a very common situation for many poker games, so again, why not master this? I haven't played much online poker, but I assume you can choose a six-max table as well.

This book is for both beginners and more advanced players. It starts off very well explaining some of the terms and beginner concepts. It does a great job building upon concepts throughout the book, and it covers everything you need as it gets to the more advanced topics.

After the beginning section, there are four more sections, progressively getting more advanced:

HUD Stats and Player Types
I really liked how in-depth this section went into heads-up play. Most hands end up with only two players, so mastering HUD is critical.

Pre-Flop Strategy
I think this is a great section, and it really helped me out. I would consider myself an intermediate to advanced player, but I sometimes struggle making the right pre-flop plays. I really learned a lot of things to think about here, they make sense, and I'm anxious to try them out during my next game.

Essential Poker Math
This is another critical section, and I love the way it starts simple and progresses in way that i can keep up. I did re-listen to some parts so my brain could keep up. But we could all probably use refreshers here again and again.

Post-flop Strategy
I was really impressed how deep this section went as most play is post-flop. Lots of players want to see the flop, so you will probably see more flops than win pre-flop. Given that, there is a lot to know, and he does a great job going over lots of scenarios (like whether you were the raiser or caller, etc.).

In summary, this was an easy read (or listen) book. Other than the math part, listening was perfect. Even with the math part, listening was fine, but I would recommend listening to those parts when you are able to pause, rewind, and reflect as opposed to be driving in a car. This book is very well written, and it's easy to follow. You will definitely learn a lot, and you will be way ahead of your opponents. It's worth a lot more money than the price of the book because you will win so much more after reading it. I would very strongly recommend this book to anyone who plays small stakes who wants to improve their game and earn more money.

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Easy to follow and very well-organized!

I've been meaning to leave this review for quite a while, but better late than never!

As usual, Alton brought many ideas that I've struggled to grasp within my reach.. Listening to the audiobook is terrific for me too, since I can just re-listen until I get it.

This isn't my first Alton Brown book, and it definitely won't be my last. He always delivers crisp, concise writing. (Now if he can just make me actually follow his advice a bit more consistently!)

Do You Want To Be In The 5%

That win in poker? Then read this book! Alton Hardin hits another home run!!! Love this book.

A Must Have Poker Book and Audio

Alton Hardin’s Micro Stakes Poker is in my opinion one of the premier poker books available for smaller stakes – I have been studying for five years utilizing free sources and paid sources, books and videos so I have an extensive experience to make this comparison.

This book is a robust blend of theory and technical guidance. You learn a very well laid out conceptual framework with practical implementation. This can be summed up in the common expressions: “soup to nuts “– “A to Z”. If you go to the book itself on Amazon you can view all of the multi-faceted chapter listings – I won’t relist them here. Alton covers EVERYTHING so you will become a competent, knowledgeable player – which leads to confidence at the tables with just plain more enjoyment in feeling in control of your play. Game flow becomes more interesting as you understand the totality of the game – every hand is a new experience.

I personally think starting with listening to Chapter 12 – Studying for Poker Success – lays a groundwork for effective use of this material – then start back at the beginning of the narrative.

Alton weaves in excellent hand play/situation examples to illustrate his concepts. I like to replay these several times – even pausing the narrative at each street/situation to decide what my play should be, or if the situation meets certain criteria taught for a specific action. These become reinforcing “pop quizzes”. Then I proceed to listen again to the answers/analysis to assess if I am truly mastering that concept.

This to me is a bona fide “textbook” – Alton has put an incredible amount of time into teaching poker for the reader/listener to actually “learn”. So many other sources seem disjointed muddling their teaching attempt. You can become quite overwhelmed studying poker so I find Alton’s framework keeping the many dimensions “in mindful order”.

The narrator is a professional Alton has used on his prior Audible book doing an outstanding job. An Audible book of this nature is a surprisingly informative delivery format – “hearing” the book is a different level of comprehension. I find myself more laser focused on the section I am listening to – as opposed to sitting with a hard copy looking to just finish a chapter to get to the next chapter. I listen in the car, while vacuuming, drying the dog after a bath, and just during quiet time.

While Alton focuses on cash games I feel this book is just as applicable to tournament players also – especially Sit n’ Go formats. As a former cash player that focuses now on these faster small tournaments I apply Alton’s teachings every game. You can take his teachings then round them out by learning adjustments for the later stages of these tournaments and also learning the ICM concepts on stack size adjustments. Much of these tourneys play like cash games at the $1-$10 buy-ins, especially before the bubble.

This can be a stand-alone book in the Audible format – but you might want to consider buying the hard copy as a companion for an effective one-two punch, which I have done. I also recommend Alton’s Essential Poker Math, Expanded Edition – as effective a math presentation as Master Micro Stakes Poker is for all poker aspects. The extra math edge makes decision making under time pressure much easier and more effective. I have both the hard copy and the Audible versions of this math book.

I am fan of all of Alton’s work having a complete library of his books and videos. His materials not carried on Amazon can be found at Microgrinder Poker School.

Lastly – I think beginners will come away “knowing No Limit Poker” confidently and enjoyably. But I think experienced players will find plenty of context and specifics to round out their game.

Another Great Must Have Book!

Alton Hardin has put out on Audible another great book full of extremely useful and need to know material in this thorough Master Micro Stakes Book. Extremely easy to follow and easy to understand. Alton has added the necessary info in here from types of players, understanding odds, reading HUD stats, hand ranges, bankroll management, to all the different types of betting, c-bet, 3-bet, defense plays and a lot more. Extremely informative.
This book narration version is a long 12+ (well worth) hours that covers need to know material and is well worth it. This is for the beginner and for those who are changing from tournament play to online cash games. Also for those looking for a refresher in some areas. This is a very easy to understand book that is easy to follow and listen due to the narration. You can find a lot of Alton Hardin’s material on Udemy as well as his online site MicroGrinder. Which, spoiler alert, he gives you a free course of this exact book on his online MicroGrinder site.
This is a book that every serious player that wants to contend, whether it is online or live, is the book to have. This is an excellent book that contains invaluable material that you you to know to contend and excellent at the tables. Along with the free online course that goes along with this book, you cannot go wrong. Definitely well worth it for the player that wants to excel. Another great book from Alton Hardin.

Great for anyone wanting to learn good fundamentals!

I am normally skeptical of audiobooks. But the way each section is broken down makes all the concepts really easy to understand. This book is a must for anyone looking to improve their skills. Whether you are new to poker or you are just looking to brush up on the fundamentals this book is for you.

Does it again!

I truly enjoy Alton's books. He has the ability to make difficult subjects very simple. He explains a great way to process hands at the table, that is simple and easy to apply. He also provides dozens of hand examples for you to review. The other part of this book that is so helpful, is showing the reader the patterns that show up in no limit hold'em Once he shows you what they are, he teaches you how to handle them. Worth the money, if you want to learn poker and build an online bankroll!

Another Awesome Book by Alton Hardin

I'll preface this by saying I am a big Alton Hardin fan. When it comes to poker books, I don't know if anyone can rival the depth of thought and ease of reading that Alton puts forward. This latest book did a tremendous job of starting with the big picture and general guidelines for being an effective poker player. The book then goes in-depth with the detail on pretty much every possible situation that exists in poker. All in all, if you are a beginner, this book is a must-have. And if you're pro, chances are there is some area of your game that you need to improve on, and I assure you this book goes in-depth on that area. 5 stars.

Great poker book.

Alton does a great job to teach you how to become a profitable player. The book covers every subject from table positions to player types to 3betting and ranges. Its a very big book with lots of great info. Nice Job! 👍