ITH Poker Forum

[russ fox]

I might as well get some discussion going. I mostly play no-limit hold'em cash games live (I look at a computer screen all day, so playing online doesn't appeal to me...and I live within an hour of the best poker rooms in the country), usually blinds between $2-$5 and $5-$10. I also play some tournaments, but I've cut down tremendously my tournament play.

My writing partner, Scott Harker, mostly plays online: short-handed limit hold'em and no-limit sit-and-go's.

Together, we've written two books: Mastering No-Limit Hold'em (on restricted buy-in no-limit hold'em) and Why You Lose at Poker (covering the 16 biggest errors players make in poker). This year I co-authored another book, Winning Strategies for No-Limit Hold'em with Nick Christenson. The latest book is on deep-stack no-limit.

So feel free to ask some questions. I'll even take questions on my day job (taxes--I specialize in taxes for professional gamblers; my tax blog is at http://taxabletalk.com/).

[taz115]

Welcome to ITH Russ and Scott and thanks for taking the time to answer some questions!

I just thought I'd let you know that the traffic for the forums will likely be down thjhis next week or so as many of the most active posters are at the WSOP playing in the first weeks events. I expect that the pace of questions will likely pick up as the month goes along.

taz115

[taz115]

I also play some tournaments, but I've cut down tremendously my tournament play.

Care to say why? I know that the appeal is likely diminished if you have access to profitable to NL cash games.

[badboywes]

Hey Russ nice to have you here as a guest this month. I live in Fallbrook Ca and was curious if you ever play at Oceans 11 in Oceanside?

[russ fox]

I also play some tournaments, but I've cut down tremendously my tournament play.

Care to say why? I know that the appeal is likely diminished if you have access to profitable to NL cash games.

It has mainly to do with the hours that I work, and the fact that I'm a morning person. Most tournaments in the Los Angeles area start at between 4pm and 7pm; that makes for a very long day -- I get up most mornings before 5am and hit the gym. I also have to battle traffic if I want to play in one of those tournaments (I live 30-45 minutes from the major LA cardrooms in no traffic...which happens rarely).

-- Russ Fox

[russ fox]

Hey Russ nice to have you here as a guest this month. I live in Fallbrook Ca and was curious if you ever play at Oceans 11 in Oceanside?

I've played at Ocean's 11 a few times, mostly before the no-limit boom. On weekdays, it's about the same drive from where I live to Oceanside as it is to the L.A. cardrooms. I am planning on going to Ocean's 11 sometime this summer just to see what their no-limit action is like, but it will likely be after the WSOP.

-- Russ Fox

[badboywes]

Hey Russ nice to have you here as a guest this month. I live in Fallbrook Ca and was curious if you ever play at Oceans 11 in Oceanside?

I've played at Ocean's 11 a few times, mostly before the no-limit boom. On weekdays, it's about the same drive from where I live to Oceanside as it is to the L.A. cardrooms. I am planning on going to Ocean's 11 sometime this summer just to see what their no-limit action is like, but it will likely be after the WSOP.

-- Russ Fox

Thats pretty cool man I have not played as high up in limits as you but I hear there very soft. Once my kids are settled in school I plan to make that and Pechanga my main place to play and see how far I can take it. I look forward to hearing the questions and your responses this month. It is nice to meet you and maybe some day i'll bump into you at the tables.

Wes

[Doc T River]

Your two books are in a crowded field. Competing against Mastering are Largay's book, O'Connor's book, and now Harrington's new book while your other book has to face Taylor and Hilger's book as well as Schoonmaker's most recent offerings.

What makes your books different from the others and why should a player buy your books as opposed to the others?

I have to admit that I am asking from a curiosity standpoint as I have most of the books I mentioned above. Actually, the only book I don't have is Harrington's most recent.

[russ fox]

Your two books are in a crowded field. Competing against Mastering are Largay's book, O'Connor's book, and now Harrington's new book while your other book has to face Taylor and Hilger's book as well as Schoonmaker's most recent offerings.

What makes your books different from the others and why should a player buy your books as opposed to the others?

I have to admit that I am asking from a curiosity standpoint as I have most of the books I mentioned above. Actually, the only book I don't have is Harrington's most recent.

While I have all the books you mention except O'Connor's, I haven't read any of them, so it's hard for me to directly compare our books to any of the others except Alan Schoonmaker's newest book.

Alan's books are almost totally from the pyschological standpoint. Why You Lose at Poker looks at the sixteen biggest mistakes that you can make--some relate to psychology while others are purely poker related. I think it's an excellent book for any player to cut leaks in his or her game.

Mastering No-Limit Hold'em is a good introduction for beginners to restricted buy-in no-limit hold'em.

-- Russ Fox