Crushing the Microstakes by Blackrain 79

Well, I read it.

As I have spoken with Nathan and read many of his posts here at CC, not to mention having used his coaching expertise, I was excited to read his new book. No one that I am aware of has written a book solely targeting the extreme micro stakes.

I would like to be able to say that he was informative about the micros, and I would like to be able to say that this book is an incredible tool for the micro stakes player. I would like to be able to say that he writes clearly and understandable, in a language that the micro player - who is often a beginner - can understand and relate to. I would like to, and I can.

I would also like to say that I was happy to read this book.

I was not............. Because all the things I thought this book would be, it is. And that means if you are a micro stakes player, this book will more likely than not make you a better player and harder for the rest of us micro players to beat.....

Nathan has an easy going writing style that is entertaining as well as informative. He covers all the topics a beginner need to hear. (And even a more experienced player needs to hear a lot of this again). Everything from real basics like bankroll issues, starting hands, positional play to the differences in the lowest stake games, 3- and 4 betting, HUD set up, table selection and on and on.

His book is more targeting the multi tabler who uses a HUD, and he does a great job of clearing up how to use the HUD and set it up, as well as how to understand how to use the stats, and how to do constructive table selection. But even the single table beginner who has no idea what a HUD is can benefit from this book IMO.

Crushing the Microstakes is written in a very chronological way, starting with the absolute basics, and continues on covering pretty much every topic that you can think of. Nathan has his style of play - which has worked great for him - and he explains his thought process in an easy to understand way. He is not a math geek, as he will tell you. But he does know what it takes to beat the micros. And he tells you how he does it.

As a last statement, all i can say is...

If you are a micro stakes player, and are not winning, please DO NOT get this book. Because it will make you a much harder player to beat.

Nathan, how could you????

Good Post Fletch... I appreciate that blackrain actually posts here(much appreciated)
Where Can we get book??

I like Nathan and all his posts, if I played cash I would most certainly buy the book, maybe I will go back to cash one day

Nice post Fletch!

Will probably get thisn book. I can beat cash but sometimes wonder if I could be more profitable since I've never really done any reading up on it except forums, just played and gone from there

Fletch,

Thank you for doing this review. First off I am glad that you liked the book and I will be even happier if it equates to increased success for you at the poker tables.

I think your review does a good job at summarizing the book. It is definitely aimed at the microstakes and specifically the lowest ones, although NL10, NL25 and possibly NL50 players may find it useful as well. And it is very much a practical strategy guide. I try to outline what to do in every situation that I can think of at these stakes.

For a look at the table of contents as well as ordering information you can just visit my website which is in my sig.

And yes, I do post here all the time and will be happy to answer any questions regarding it

Hey guys,

I have had some interest in doing a well or a webinar series with the book. I would certainly be open to either of the above. I could probably do them both at once with a Q & A at the end of each session. I know that Owen Gaines a fellow DTB coach and friend has done this for CC members before. I think that it is a great idea.

So let me know if you guys are interested. I know the holidays are busy so I don't anticipate starting this until late in the year or early in the new year. The book once again is available at my website (see my sig) and it will be on sale during the holidays.

ok, Im pretty dumb when it comes to e-books, so help me out guys, BR? Nathan, I saw on your site, that I can buy it by transferring the cash to your account at PS, right? And then what happens?
And to everyone, how do I actually get the e-book onto my laptop? I download it, right? With a code or something, I guess? Can I then print it off from my laptop? and what if I actually delete the file, can I download it again, or do I need to pay again?
Sorry for dumb questions, but e-books are all new to me.

Hi KerouacsDog,

With http://get.adobe.com/reader/ if you don't have it. There is no code by the way. It is printable. If you lose or delete the file just email me and I will send you a new one. No you don't need to pay again haha. No questions are dumb questions. Thanks for your interest

ah call me KD, its easier. thanks for getting back so soon(on boxing day as well!) with all the info. Oh, and thanks for actually posting at CC generally, some of the pros/stars we've had here promoting their book just stayed in their one thread(about their book) and nowhere else, its good to see you around this place.
I was looking at getting a book for micros, as thats where I am, cause Im a dick who likes to dick around at poker, rather than putting some effort into poker and moving up. From what fletchdad and others have wrote about your book, this is a must for me, so lets do this. will have to get some money into PS with Neteller now(shouldnt take long), will go do it now, then email you the username etc, and my email address.
thanks again Nathan.

I have written a review on this book, which can be found on my blog:
http://stealingblinds.blogspot.com/2...crostakes.html
Enjoy

Solid article peeleo. Good luck with the blog.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write that review orangepeeleo!

Nice review. Have heard a lot about the book and I'm deffo going to buy at a point.

@Nathan
Congrats on all your success and on the book! Seems like people are really pleased with it.

Does the book contain estimated hand ranges to VPIP ratio?

Nah i think he says you can Download Pokerstove then type in a % and it will give you a hand range there http://www.pokerstove.com/

Yeah, just gotta watch using Stove for this though because of the way it treats small pocket pairs. In general most players will open 33 before a hand like J8o but if you put a 40% range into stove J8o is included and 33 is not. Just need to manually add in the small pairs and take out the other junk to account for what the average players true range is based on their Vpip.

If you're in the micros this is well worth the read.

I bought this book around the 20th last month and as a micro player, it's definitely helped.

I've put in 45kish hands at 4nl FR since I read it and here's my graph from PTR. Pretty good turnaround -- all because of this book.

Awesome job, I also bought the book when it first came out. It has helped a ton, i agree totally with Fletchdads and WVs review.

You want to learn how to crush the Micros, Get it


Also on Wvs comment above listen to him, he knows about pokerstove alot more than i do. I have actually looked at it only a few times but what it basically does will give you a hand range when you put in a VPIP or PFR % . I think its against the rules though to use it well your are playing on the tables , but if you just studied and review past plays you will eventually understand what a 14/11 type player or a 70/20 player lol will be calling or raising with.

There is a proverbial starting hands chart on page 66. In the following ten or so pages I talk about the ranges in more detail from each position, and why we choose those ranges. I hope that answers your question as I am still a little bit unclear about what you mean by "hand ranges to VPIP ratio"

Thank you Degnovic and great work matt0216!

How do I get my hands on this astonishing piece of writing?

I do not have a working credit card yet, but I do have some money on PartyPoker, do you accept payment from there?

Thanks in advance!

I can accept Moneybookers or Paypal as well. I have stopped receiving transfers from any poker sites because they (rightfully so) do not want their customers receiving constant transfers for products or services.

To get started with PokerStove, CC video How to use PokerStove (http://www.cardschat.com/f53/how-use-pokerstove-165772/)

hey im thinkin bout pickin up this book but is this book mainly on using a hud? cuz at the moment im not using a hud and im playin at a site where u cant use a hud i dont think. should i still benefit?

I have actually played the majority of the hands in my poker career without a HUD. I started 5 or 6 years ago when HUD's were not widely used at all. And then I thought they were a waste of time for several more years after that and still didn't use one. I was totally wrong and I probably cost myself a lot of money over the years. I guess if you are playing at a site where they are not allowed then that is fine. In all other cases I highly recommend getting one.

My book talks about and refers to HUD stats a fair bit but not to the point where it is necessary that you have one to make sense of the information. Most of the book is really just about making fundamentally sound poker decisions at the micros.

Here is a detailed review by a live player (obviously doesn't use a HUD) which may provide some more insight:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...7&postcount=26

alright thank you nathan i will try to pick up the book this week

i try to buy the book today, but the US gov denied the payment...
sorry could not help it..lol

blackrain,
if i were to ask you a question hear on this forum would you answer. Cause i got a good one that been bugging me for sometime.

why did they deny you? i just pickd up a copy i think it went smooth

Why would "the US Government" deny the payment? I just bought mine a couple of hours ago, and all went well. Yes, I'm in the US. I'd check to see if there was some other issue, rather than just "the US government".

Haha, I think he was joking guys. Or is there a new Black Friday for my poker book now too?! Sick beat.

Dreams, absolutely, ask away.

Doh. Yeah, I totally missed that the first time. Book seems really good so far.

yes i was joking guys.

But the question...do you think that the poker site that you play at has alot to do with being a winning player...example i am a winning player at stars,tilt,cake,everleaf, AB. But for some reason i can not win on merge , and bodog (or what ever they call them selfs now.) So do you think that part of being a winning player is were you play at as well...
thank for this..but have to get a pro view on this

Well, DT, I'm far from a pro, and hopefully BR79 will respond as well, but I think the reason for this is that those sites (Merge, Bovada) are 2 of the few that still cater to US players. Simply put, after Black Friday in the US most casual players simply abandoned the game, leaving the fish/regs ratio significantly lower on those sites.

There are still fish there, just not nearly as many as before. It's just natural, then, if those sites have more regs and fewer fish (which is largely the composition of the US-based player pool now), that sites that cater to these players (that is, US based players), will be somewhat tougher to beat.

Anyway, just my .02