Harrington on Cash Games.. is this book the creme de la creme on cash games or what?

Considering purchasing Harringtons new series on Cash Games (relatively new anyways). Just wondering how it rates in comparison to other cash game specialized (NLHE) books out there on the market. Is it la creme de la creme by comparison,.. much like his Tourney strategy books?

Heading in live play direction lately (tourneys as it is my niche in poker) but also wanting to get more focused on ring (soft live tables and want to get more focused there as well). Any thoughts from any readers (probably going to buy them anyways... why not?) but just interested in hearing any reviews from members here.

tks,
GL on the tables!

I read most of Vol. 1 of Harrington's Cash Game books and then got side tracked. I need to start over and then read both books all the way through, ten go back and make notes. But, I completely agree with you. The Cash Game books are not only the best I've read, but they will also help your tournament No Limit game and even your Limit Hold'em cash game. It's truly amazing how different No Limit is played in cash games vs tournaments.

I can honestly say that Harrington's books have been the most helpful to me in terms of understanding the game.

Get No Limit Hold'em Theory and Practice first.

Harrington On Cash Games I & II are the best NLHE books out there. No other poker book has helped me advance my NLHE cash game thinking more. Can't say enough about them.

Well go ahead and start playing the ring games to get some expirience, i mean you dont have to join the big tables right away... there are a lot of books for ring games, plus you have a good view of the game from tournaments so youll catch on easy from there and adjust your play to the soft tables in your local casino

I know alot of people are going to disagree with me, but i dont think that HoC is all that its cracked up to be. Its made out to be some sort of holy bible of cash games, and dont get me wrong I think it really is a great book but I feel that its important to point out that this book is not tailored to micro limits. Look at the example hands, theres no games lower the 2$/4$ NL, which is hardly micro. Now just so everyone knows where I stand I do think the stratergies he describes are very good, and the book is very well written but some plays I just dont agree with at micros. Stuff like limping AA 20% of the time at 10NL will get you slaughtered. Dunno. just my 2c, im still reading the book and i AM learning alot, butI get the feeling I wont get to employ alot of what I learn until I reach some higher stakes.

I personally think that both his series for Tournaments and for Cash games are the best poker books out right now.

While Harrington's tournament books were obviously the best tournament books to date, I also found his cash books a little lacking.

I seriously recommend Professional No Limit Hold 'Em. It does a great job of explaining the thought process one should use before and during each hand. It's SPR concept is a little difficult to incorporate, but the sections on planning your hand around commitment and using the REM process have been the most helpful to my cash game than any other book, including NLTAP.

I will have to look into that one. I have seen it but I have never heard any comments on it. It is by Matt Flynn and Ed Miller, right? Found it on Amazon for ~$15.

what does REM stand for and can you explain what the REM process is?
thx

I think the books are fine, but are really focused on fighting against very good thinking opponents. So for low limit online play, it's not optimal because it relies too much on not being exploitable and too little on exploiting weak opponents.

Also he doesn't go into the distinct advantages that you can go by properly exploiting HUD stats, which is crucial to online play.

Frankly, it's a good buy if you play live. For someone like me who mostly plays online, then becoming a member of stoxpoker for instance will give you more bang for your buck (although it is somewhat more expensive than the books).

Belgo, how do you like StoxPoker? I know a couple people that use it, but I have heard mixed results. Basically, the bad reviews that i have heard have been because people don't use the site enough, therefore it is a very expensive membership to be wasted and not used. But the people who do like the site use it all the time. So I was just wondering on your standpoint.

it's great if you play 6max cash games. That's what most of the videos cover.

it's not expensive the way i joined: open an account with a partner site and clear a number of hands (provided you play well enough and high enough for the required minimum to be reachable)

Yea, I saw their deposit/bonus method for getting the 6 months free. Maybe I will have to look into that. I mean, I am on Cardschat and other forums everyday, why wouldn't I go on there everyday as well. I would say as long as you use it fairly often it could be beneficial. Thanks Belgo.

I kind of agree with those who say these book aren't the be-all-end-all that some make them out to be. I'd recommend both NL Holdem: Theory and Practice and Professional No Limit Holdem before HoC. Although I would suggest reading all 4 as the best option.

If you have the second book it has a section specifically directed at 0.10/0.25 online and $1/$2 live games, which he believes play about the same.