Sit 'n Go Strategy
by Collin Moshman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Collin MoshmanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-07-20
ISBN: 1880685396
Number of pages: 281
Publisher: Two Plus Two Publishing LLC
Book Reviews of Sit 'n Go Strategy
Book Review: Some good advice, some questionable.
Summary: 3 Stars
I've read a few poker books and I play almost exclusively SNG games the exception being the recent addition of rush poker which I play a little bit of now and then. But for all practical purposes, I'm an SNG player.
What I like about this book is that there is quite a bit of solid advice. I've seen other reviewers mention that the majority of the book is examples with no theory behind it. I couldn't disagree more. In many of the examples, the book explores the scenarios for what would happen if you did something else. In many cases, the book lays out multiple ways to deal with a given situation. Most books don't dare do this, and basically give you hard and fast rules to live by. Unfortunately for them, holdem is a very dynamic game and there is no one-size fits all strategy for every situation. There are just too many factors to make hard and fast rules. This book does well at teaching one to be flexible, shift gears mid-game, and provide multiple outlets and theories for especially tough situations. Having said that, the book doesn't deal with every day, simple situations, which one should already be familiar with when picking up this book.
The vast majority of the book were things I already figured out through years of play. I have to say, I agree with much of it. I did pick up a bit of insight and learned a few angles that I hadn't considered before. Employing (albeit with big reservations) some of the tactics in this book had me win an SNG as a direct result, so the book paid for itself in one game.
So why 3 stars? I'd like to say 3.5 actually, but there are some things in this book that can get you into trouble, the author knows it, and then makes excuses for it.
Here's an example; we're told to push all-in in middle position against a pot sized reraise in UTG position with AKo when the blinds are low or the tourney is just starting off. Ok, well many players will both agree and disagree with this tactic. The problem however, is that this contradicts lessons in the book. For instance, up to that point we're told to avoid big pots early in the game unless we're certain that we're winning. Ok... furthermore, we're told to lay down pocket pairs up to and including QQ when facing a reraise early in the game. To me, this seems inconsistent at best. I'm supposed to fold a made hand early on, but push all in out of position. The reasoning the author gives? You're gonna love this...
Because he's assuming that you're up against a pocket pair, and because you're about 50% to win, this is a good move considering the blinds left in the pot when everyone folds. A 50% chance to win 1.5 blinds more than you bet, in a section of the book about low blind play. Then, we're told basically to expect defeat, move on, and just be happy that we made the right move.
But what really doesn't make sense is making an argument for a 50/50 hand where one 50% is somehow better than another. That would be akin to us flipping a coin for $10/pop, and you agreeing to play every time if you can pick tails. But if you have to pick heads, you'll never play? This doesn't make sense. 50/50 is a 50% chance regardless of whether you're the first 50 or the second 50. Even worse, any pocket pair is actually slightly higher than 50% to win against AKo. So really, if you wanted to pick one side to play, the advice should be reversed. Fold the AKo, push with the pocket pair. If you were say AKo against QQ, you're 43% to win. Not counting split pots, consider 43% vs. 50% x 1000 times in that situation and see that you're making a negative ROI move when compared to doing the exact opposite with the pocket pair, but whatever...
I don't know about you, but I don't push all in expecting to lose. I might bluff with an all in push, but only if I think I'm going to win with it.
Truth be told, the argument here in this example can go either way. BUT! The real problem here is that the play is inconsistent with the perspective the author tries to instill in the reader. So whether you agree with the example or not, the author tells us to do something that his theory contradicts. So you either disagree with the play, or his theory. Your choice.
Another example is that we're told to call on the button with A4s with four other players in the pot. Ok, if you like that move, why then are we told to fold AJ in the same position earlier? I agree with the author that AJ is often a second best hand and leads to trouble. But I don't understand how A4 isn't.
I could go on, but just bear this in mind; the advice here is mostly good. That which is questionable can be argued for either way. The complaint however is that the author provides examples contrary to his tactics and theories. This gives the work a high level of inconsistency and will confuse many players. The other problem with it is that going by this book, one won't have a clue what to do in situations where there aren't examples (at least, they won't have learned from here), and the previous samples have the tight and loose play contradicting one another.
Another case in point is that the author, Moshman, is a more successful author than he is poker player, which may lead some to believe that he's selling an idea rather than working it. Take a look at Johnny Chan, Hellmuth, Hansen, Bruson, Ivey... in all of these examples their poker careers far overshadow any media they've produced, but I suppose it's worth noting that one doesn't have to be well known to give solid advice. I know from experience that there are nearly bulletproof players earning a living from poker in high stakes that nobody has ever heard of, so I give Moshman a pass here.
In summary, the book is good enough to have me trying a few new things, and that's after 4 years of SNG play. I've just now started to break even, having learned by sitting at the table for the first 3 years alone, and no help. I'll be making a new database for poker tracker and see how things turn out.
Good luck out there!
And yes, I do recommend this book. It is better than most.
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