Tommy Angelo is the Nuts

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes are from Tommy’s book. I hope he doesn’t sue me.

It’s been said dozens of times on Two Plus Two, and countless others in countless other places, but Tommy Angelo and his book Elements of Poker do in fact combine into a near-nut holding. Now some of you are probably scratching your head saying “I read that book, and I just didn’t get anything out of it”. Others will do the same thing in the near future, either based on my recommendation, someone elses, or purely because you got a gift certificate for Christmas. If you find yourself feeling this way, it’s probably because you’ve never tried to be a live cash game pro (which, with the possible exception of a joy for teaching and writing, is probably the only thing I have in common with Tommy Angelo. Note that I said joy of…not proficiency for). If you have tried to “support your rent and food habit” by playing live poker, Tommy is for you.

Here’s what you won’t get out of Tommy’s book: Almost any technical discussion of how to play play poker whatsoever. There is a small section where he talks about the basic principle that ace-high sometimes drags the chippies UI, but other than that his purpose is not to teach you how to play poker. He assumes that you’ve already got that part of being a poker player under control.

Here’s just a little of what you will get out of Tommy’s book:

An understanding, if brief, that you don’t always play your best poker. Not even close. And a realization that the best way to improve your win rate might not be to improve your best poker game. It might be to improve or curtail the deployment of your worst poker game. Think about it…

An interesting way to look at the game as a series of decisions, most of which don’t involve cards or betting. Deciding to (not) change seats. Deciding to (not) change tables. Deciding to (not) quit the game. Deciding how much money to bring to the table. Deciding how many chips to have on the table (one metric ass-ton). Deciding how much cash to keep at your house (Ten (10) “largish” losses for your game. This is more than 300 big bets for those of you quick with the maths).

Discussion on how to play 6^th street (the time from the the last betting action until the hand is done being talked about) correctly, including what to (not) say, and how to handle or even implement slowrolls, fastrolls, slowcalls, slowfolds, fastgrabs and fastrolls.

And finally, one of the most inspiring passages I have ever read in a poker book involving taking a shot and going pro. This passage was coupled with Tommy’s realization that going pro is often a chicken and egg problem for many players. You can’t get good enough to quit your job unless you quit your job…I beg to differ J