Poker Video Review

I bought a copy of Howard Lederer's new poker instructional video to check out what he had to say. I thought I'd write a review on its value for anyone who might be interested in making the purchase. I also invested into three online tournaments to put his strategy to the test using the strategy provided on the video without deviation (as much as humanly possible) which I have written about below.


My thoughts on the video...

I bought the DVD version of Howard Lederer's Secrets of No Limit Hold 'Em from this link. It is also available in VHS version as well. I paid $29.99.

The sections included in the DVD cover how to set up a home tournament game, strategy for pre-flop, post flop, poker tells, etc. The DVD version didn't include options to be able to browse a specific sections without having to fast-forward which would have been nice. The entire instructional is about the length of an hour. He opens with describing that the target audience for the video is for beginning players who want to move up to an intermediate level quickly.

The instructional comes with a couple of pages of charts including his recommended starting hands and what to do with them in what particular position. (i.e., To raise, re-raise or fold pre flop with his C group hands vs his A group hands and in what position, a chart on odds and a chart on the recommended tournament blind increment schedule based on the number of players in a home tournament.

Although I don't play live poker at home, there is some valuable information that he shared on how to keep a home tournament game moving quickly, which I found to be a great tip and was glad that he shared.

For an experienced tournament player, the video provides some interesting perspective on tightening your game and being an aggressor, I would mostly say that it is a nice refresher or a good check on where you are with the strategy you use while playing comparitive to a professional. The cards you are going in with allow you to always be in a dominant position.

The video leans heavily on instructions for players who are entirely new to the game, so the first 20 minutes or so my be a bit lack-luster for anyone who plays tournament NLHE on a regular basis, but it still has value to observe.

His section on tells is something especially helpful for n00bs, and again a refresher for experienced players.

Overall the video does have value for a seasoned player, although as an experienced player it was not what I was expecting. There are some sections that could have been expanded upon, such as betting and raising strategy post flop. Perhaps a section on blind stealing and playing suited connectors and short-handed tables. (Suited connectors lower than QJ aren't even a consideration on his starting hand groups which run from A through E)

I will say though, that for anyone new to playing tournament NLHE the video would be an amazingly great way to get to success very quickly just by memorizing the pre-flop strategy card provided with the video, and the information would prove to be invaluable.



Strategy Test:

Tested Howard's strategy at an online cardroom to see where it would fit best...

Test 1: $5.50/10 seat --His strategy for a micro buy-in vs. players just learning the game is rather difficult. The tables seem to be rather passive with 5 way hands calling around the table with people wanting to get their feet wet but not commit. The strategy remains for staying afloat as an average stack but does not allow for much leverage to build a comfortable chip stack until a few people bust off of the table. I busted off of this table in 6th place making a pot sized bet pre-flop with AKo and having one caller on the small blind who called with K8o. King Hit the flop. 8 hit the turn. Rather than calling this just a bad turn of luck, I think a great deal of it had to do with the calibre of players that were at the table and the type of hands that were showing down. The size of the pot bet was certainly large enough to fold down any questionable hands --except that one. Without fault to my opponent, on a 5 dollar buy-in and a $25 dollar top prize which buys lunch for two these days, I can see that the value of a raise for half of someone's chip stack on a questionable hand may not be considered the same way it would be if there was $200-$300 dollars at stake, IMHO.

Test 2: $10+1/6seat --His strategy did not allow for, nor mention adjustment for short tables. Naturally the play would become looser, but there is no mention at all of how far to swing loose on starting hands to build or maintain the chip stack. Not deviating from his strategy which provides 5 different groups of openers, they were still far too tight for short table play. Most of this tournament was spent trying to stay afloat on a run of very cold cards for the duration. On an all-in bet with KK as a moderately short stack, A6o called and hit the Ace. Not so much a player-experience issue at this table as with the first one, however, the overall starting hand strategy was far too tight to start at a 6-top table to think that any headway could be made. I believe the finish at this table was #3. (Money seats were 1 and 2)

Test 3: $20+2/10 seat --At this buy-in, the experience level of the players and also the top prize money at stake (ROI) for the buy-in was healthy enough that it made for a very good game of poker. Raises and pot sized bets were respected, taken more seriously and the use of Howard's strategy began to fit in here where it was much much easier to read a player's opening hands without a lot of guess work or wondering exactly what the strength of my hand truly was. Indeed using the strategy without deviation allowed me the knowledge (especially after getting to know my opponents) that it would be a very rare occasion that my hand was not the dominant one both pre and post flop. Money seat started at 3rd place. Once I hit the money seat I did begin to unwind from Howard's strategy to adjust for the short handed table. I took first place at this particular table as witnessed by songmonk.



Summary for the strategy:
This is definitely a strategy that I would recommend for multi-table NLHE tournaments, and tournaments with a buy in of $20+ or where the players are more likely to have an understanding of what they are getting into when getting into a hand and want a significant return on their investment. The strategy requires a great deal of patience. What it allows for, coming in with only dominant hands is mostly heads-up play where an A or K-high at the river is most likely to win when it goes to showdown. Most of the time a showdown is unnecessary. Where it involves having patience, is that since you are going heads up and the bet amounts with this strategy mostly allows for small pots down the line, it does add up over the course of the tournament. It also allows that for any callers who do get to the river with you have been dominated by your hand. Your chips don't get whittled by getting stuck while playing with drawing hands, they are usually starters that allow for the hand to be a "made one" pre and post flop.

The strategy overall is one that makes sense and that can be trusted to not get myself into a big mess post-flop. The video paid for itself 3 times on Test #3, with more NLHE tournaments to come, so although it really is geared for the beginning player to "get richer quicker" and I can see how it would be an awesome tool for anyone starting. It was a good investment for even an experienced tournament player, and an eye-opener on how the starters for NLHE have a tighter variation from the top starting hands at Limit Hold 'Em.