Expert Plays for No Limit Tournaments
Book Review from "What're The Odds" blog. Author: Jusdealem
How many moves do you know?
In an attempt to improve my poker game during the last couple of years, I've purchased several poker books. I'm sure many of your bookshelves are also stacked with Sklansky, Harrington, Cloutier, Brunson and the 'Tell Guys'; Mike Caro and Joe Navarro. Today, I'd like to recommend an excellent one to add to your collection. The latest addition to my poker library is Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves by Mitchell Cogert.
Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves gives you one hundred and one expert plays for no-limit tournaments. It is the poker reference book that combines winning poker moves found in almost 20 years worth of poker materials with plays uncovered in heads-up battles against poker pros. -Mitchell Cogert
I have to confess, even as a poker blogger and an avid reader of poker strategy, I didn't even know about some of the moves discussed in this book! Of course, some are extremely well known, like the Continuation Bet, the Squeeze Play, the Stop and Go, the Isolation Play etc., but there were several that were unknown to me.
You may know some of these moves, but you don't know them all. And if you don't know them all, you are at a distinct disadvantage. It's time to step up to the poker table with confidence and an arsenal full of winning moves. -Mitchell Cogert
Each move is defined in a straight-forward, easily understood manner with example hands following. Unlike other strategy books I've read, I didn't have a single huh?? moment throughout the entire book!
Cogert's mantra for this one is Risk is Good and talks about embracing the risk associated with NL tournaments. Risk is good, because playing safe in tournament poker is a sure way to lose. While we may all know this, it helps to be reminded. I remember a live tournament that I played at Sam's Town not long ago where I 'forgot' this simple Golden Rule and proceeded to play the weakest poker of my life. I'll never forget that tournament. It was a lesson well learned. Too bad I hadn't read his book the night before that one.
Of course, it's all about knowing when to take these risks. For this, Cogert provides an Odds Chart with the number of outs you have and odds against improving on the flop and turn in the back of the book. Also, there's a FAQ section, such as How often will I be dealt pocket Aces? or What's the probability of my opponent having an Ace-high hand with a better kicker than me? The answer gives percentages on AJ, A10, A9 and A8, which I found interesting.
Then there are the Tips sections sprinkled throughout. There are some great tips in this book, such as the one on Fear: When your opponent makes a bet that puts fear in you, ask yourself if that is true or false. Remember that fear is often referred to as False Evidence that Appears Real. Is he bluffing? Semi-bluffing? I found these tips to be smart, thought-provoking and very useful.
If you've ever overheard someone say something like...."I decided to float the flop, then the turn. When I bet the river, he tanked and folded."...and wondered what they were talking about, you should definetly give this book a read. Even if you are familiar with floating, with 101 moves there are bound to be ones you don't know, but should know.
Not only will this book help you to incorporate more power moves into your tournament poker game, it will also help you spot when opponents are making these moves on you! You'll be able to effectively counter their moves and foil their plans.
My verdict: Ship it or skip it? Ship it!
What Are Poker Players Saying About
Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves
"Unbelievably awesome. What is amazing is that in a book less than an inch thick, you get the best of books you would have to spend perhaps thousands of dollars on to get the same great information.
Some of the 101 tips you may never use, but just one or two of them may end up making you 100 or more times the price of the book....After reading this book...it was like the brightest light bulb ever went off in my head. This book has the potential to set off 101 of those light bulbs. Consider me impressed, and grateful to have this tool that so many other players don't."
-threebanger
“I've been meaning to send you a mail and thank you for your book...101 winning moves. I see myself as more of a cash game person but wanted to improve my tournament play. I belong to a local poker league and hadn't done better than a 4th place in a little over a year. I got your book toward the end of last year and won the league main event using your techniques. This year out of the 10 tourneys (monthly) so far I have won 4 gotten 2nd in two 4th and 6th. I know the book helped. Thanks.”
-Brett
“Great book!! Thanks”
-gandalf6567
“I am fairly new to no limit hold 'em, having only started playing last year. I quickly learned that I knew a whole lot less than nothing.
After deciding I needed some assistance and not having any family or friends who played, I started some 'home study'.
I bought the usual books, some Harrington, some Sklansky etc - all very informative, boring, tight and not very effective in the hands of a newbie.
Your book is a revelation. It is like all the best bits from the dozen or so books I have already read all in the one volume with thought provoking sample hands to demonstrate application of the technique being discussed.
I would like to give balanced feedback and state that there are a number of typos appearing throughout the book which can be a little distracting however the meaning is not lost. (For what it's worth I am willing to send you a list of them if you are interested.)
All in all this is the best NL tournament book I've read. It has definitely improved my play and my awareness of when moves are being made on me. I can't wait for you to publish Vol II !!!”
Regards,
-Mark Shuetrim (Australia)
Last night, at a local tournament, I found myself in an identical situation as described by one of your questions. I took the action as suggested in the correct answer and took down a huge pot. I ended up placing second in the tournament. Thank you so much.
-Jill Scholten
“Thx. Loved UR Book.”
-Rextaiqi
“I bought the e-book and I have to say I think it is superb. As you explain, we have to pull off some moves but trying to find out piecemeal from blogs, and books is really difficult.
The other thing I really like is that so many of your examples are with effective stack sizes of around 20BB. A huge part of any on-line tournament is spent with the field having an average stack of about 20BB yet few books cover this well. As a relative beginner in tournaments this makes life difficult
Once again - thanks. This is a very useful book.”
-Trevor Duddle
"I've never seen the early chip leader dominate all the way to the end. I managed to do it last night. I was in a game with 6 guys. I won quit a big pot on the 4th hand of the night when my flush got the better of another guy's pocket aces. And I
kept the chip lead right to the end. I knocked everyone out except one person (who I had knocked out already but he bought in and got knocked out again by another
player) and when it was heads up, I was 12 : 5 chips ahead. I will admit I was very lucky on a lot of hands but I took a lot of the plays you mentioned in your book to accumulate chips even when I don't have the big hands.
Thank you again for the advice from your book. Regards,"
-Brandon Long
“I have purchased your book and enjoyed it.”
-sosh
"I purchased this book after seeing some of the problems on youtube. I am amazed that word has not got round the poker circles how good this book is."
-Thanks Harry
"Hi, i have already bought the book on pdf, i read 1/3 of it, and then played a 5$ MTT and became 11, 1 seat from final table...so i'm very happy with the book :-)
Kindly Regards"
-Thomas Clausen
“I've enjoyed the first reading of 101 Winning Moves, and plan to reread it again and again.”
charlesja523
“Mitchell,
I just wanted to say that I loved your book. I bought it after taking your poker quiz, which I did pretty well on haha, and it has really helped me with tournaments. I'm not old enough to play live yet but the moves you talk about in your book helped me win my first online tourney and I've cashed in 5 of the last 7 that I've entered, including making the final table in 2. I just wanted to say thanks for putting together all those moves and I love reading your blog as well!”
Have a great day,
-Jordan Nilson
“great book, thank you!”
hayn123
"I purchased your book a couple of months ago and am introducing some of the moves bit by bit. I've started to play more aggressive than previously, in the right spots of course, and am having better results than before (4 final tables in a row cashing over $2k in $20 MTT's). Im also trying to learn a bit more of the small ball strategy so i can play more hands when over 20BB's and help mix up my play.
Great book.
Thanks
-Daniel
“Thanks! GREAT BOOK!!!!!”
-Allan Wiser
"I discovered I'm have been playing too tight. I played a little more aggressive at my Wednesday tournament finished 3rd.
Regards,
-Rich Baca
“Great book!”
Cheers,
-Marc
“I bought your book and really appreciate it!!”
Best Wishes,
-Ken Proudler
“Very nice, very good job.
This day, I finished 3rd in tournament (Full Tilt 10+1$ 45 players) ... this was the first time :-) .
Thanks,
Pascalgarnier
“Great stuff, I'm reading it almost as we "speak"...
Keep up the good work!”
-Conrad Holm
Norway
“Hi! I bought your Tournament Poker e-book today & it is amazing! I haven't tried a tournament yet, but it really opened my eyes to what I have been doing wrong. Thank you for this wonderful book. Have a great day!”
-ginger92
“Thank you Mitchell,
I've been reading the PDF version and it's refreshing to get your advice. Finally a book that is different from all the others on the market who all promote tight play!
Looking forward to getting the hardcopy.”
Kind Regards,
-Chris
"Just downloaded it today and was breezing over the preflop section while playing poker on the other monitor and entered few low stakes tournaments to test a few things out without looking at the majority of my cards and its paying off."
-Anonymous
“Just started reading your book, seems our playing styles are very similar, am getting ready to move up to bigger tournaments.”
-Stuart
“Hi Mitchell
I've read all the books you've mentioned Incl. Harrington's cash games, but I still believe that Gus's book and your book are the best I've read so far and profited from. If you need to take your game to a different level, you need to figure out the "thinking" of the expert mind......and Gus' book does just that. (Currently I'm reading " Check Raising the Devil" which is Mike Matusow's biography.)
I was on Royal Caribbean's Baltic cruise last month and I won the poker tournament there, thanks to some of the books I read and also the TV programs I've seen. Unfortunately, there were insufficient players so I had to settle for a cash prize, otherwise they give a seat for the caribbean poker tour.
Enjoy your blog. Keep it going.”
Cheers!
-Nerio
“ I have both your books (RAZZ & 101 moves) and have found both have helped me fix leaks in both games. I’m still trying to apply some of the 101’s to my NLHE tourneys, with limited success so far (the low stakes I’m able to play at limit the effectiveness as at low buy-in so many take the “any two can win” & big Bet/all-in strategies to extremes).”
Regards,
-dave
“The 101 book was freakin great!! There were like 3 typos but O well. On page 191 point 93 you said lose and i hope you meant tight, if not I'm really confused lol. But anyway the book was great. The coolest part I thought was how you put the reader in the Villian "part" instead of the normal Hero. All of the on line stuff I have read I am always the hero. This really hit home 4 me. So...Great Job!!
-James Mosteller
i have your book and it is great. imo the way it is written is way better than skylansky and harrington. it has really helped.
i love your book. thanks and good luck.
-bill
“Hi Mitchell,
You are the most lucid, clear-writing poker author I've found and I really appreciate your work. The 101 Winning Moves book is just so valuable. I love how you have separated out all those strategic moves in a crystal clear, concise and understandable manner.”
Thank you.
-Wily
Mitchell:
"I just wanted to say that your book is SUPERB! In the last month I’ve read several no-limit books and yours is up there with the best. It’s more like the cherry on top of the pie. Some of the titles I’ve been studying are “Tournament Poker for Advanced Players: Expanded Edition” as well as the famous “Harrington on Hold’em” series. Together with these titles, your book has made me into a much better tournament player. I’ve played in 23 $40 buy-in tournaments in the last month and made the money in 17 of them.
Before your book, I was a weak-tight player who got lucky every once in awhile and cashed in tourneys. Even after reading Harrington and Sklanksy, I wasn’t very good. Your book showed me the way. I now play a very aggressive game and it works. People at the local casinos tell me I play like Gus Hansen, which is never a bad thing. I look forward to more hold’em titles from you!"
-Jules Carter
“Hello, I bought your book No limit Poker 101 and am enjoying it very much. I am about 3/4 the way thru it. Extremely good material. Will reread it again when I am through. It is already helping me win or place in the money in sit and go tournaments. As for you widget quizzes, keep them coming. I need all the help I can get.
In your book you emphasize "Risk is Good". I noticed this on the WPT shows on TV. I am starting to believe in it, but with common sense. Thank you for your book and keep up the tips that you provide.”
-Robert Kerwin
“I have your book and it is great. imo the way it is written is way better than skylansky and harrington. it has really helped. I love the book. thanks and good luck.”
-bill
“I already purchased your book a couple of months ago and am introducing some of the moves bit by bit. I've started to play more aggressive than previously, in the right spots of course, and am having better results than before (4 final tables in a row cashing over $2k in $20 MTT's). I’m also trying to learn a bit more of the small ball strategy so i can play more hands when over 20BB's and help mix up my play, do you have any advice for small ball at all? Much appreciated if you do. Great book by the way.”
Thanks
Daniel
“I spent last week rereading your book (3rd time) and preparing for a tournament that I played in last Saturday, the Canterbury Fall Poker Classic here in the Minneapolis area. $500 buy-in, 210 players. I finished in 15th place and took home a nice chunk of change.
I used the no look blind steal for the first time. At level 9 the blinds were $1000-$2000 with $500 antes. I had about $40,000 in chips and needed to stay aggressive. I actually did it from under the gun, raising to $8000. (You might say I combined 2 moves). It worked and I took down an uncontested $9000. As I discarded my hand I saw I had 2h 3s. I'm glad I didn't look as I would have been a nervous wreck, however I "embraced the risk of the game". I was eliminated about an hour and a half later when my top 2 pair went down to a straight on the river.
Thanks again for your help.”
Kindest Regards,
William Barman
“I purchased your ebook about 10 days ago via paypal. The book is excellent, thanks.”
-ejohnson2513
I wanted to thank you for your book "Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves". I, like you, had intensely studied TJ Cloutier's book "Championship No Limit and Pot Limit Hold'em", only to repeatedly come up just shy of the money in major tournaments. After studying your book I finally made my first breakthrough and cashed in the 2008 WSOP, Event #32, $1500 No Limit Hold'em, finishing in 181st place out of 2300 players. While this is a modest success it is a positive step forward and I just wanted to thank you, -William B.
“Great work on the book! I definitely learned some new tricks, and I've played and dealt in many no-limit tournaments! I think it's vitally important to consider many factors in making a poker decision, as you do very well, such as position, stack sizes, pot size and table images (yours and your opponent's).”
-Ryan W.
Amazon's #1
Best Seller in it's Category
About the Author
Mitchell is a successful
poker author,
coach, & player.
He is a strategist
to business including
Procter & Gamble
and Hewlett-Packard.
PokerStars Intellipoker selected his first book
for international distribution to educate players worldwide.
New!
Play to win. Not to bubble.
