Getting Started in Hold 'em

In Getting Started in Hold 'em, noted poker authority Ed Miller guides you onto the winning path. As someone who made the leap from beginner to professional in less than a year and a half, Ed is uniquely qualified to show new players the quickest route to hold 'em success.

This book presents the critical principles that expert players use: preflop hand valuation, domination, betting for value, protecting your hand, semi-bluffing, pot equity, pot odds, implied odds, free card plays, the importance of stack size, why chips change value in tournaments, and much more.

Whether you want to play limit, no limit, or tournament hold 'em, this book provides you a solid foundation. It's perfect, not just for the would-be pro, but for anyone who wants a serious edge on the competition. Getting Started in Hold 'em teaches you more than just how to play; it teaches you to win.

Although most of the book is dedicated to limit hold'em, the most fascinating chapter(s) talk about no-limit hold'em, in which Miller discusses an intriguing and effective short-stack strategy for no-limit cash games, which many of my fellow full-time players have been buzzing about. The reason that the strategy has rarely been used until now is that it depends on the ability to stand up and switch tables frequently - of course in casinos this is relatively difficult when there may be only one or two tables at every limit...but online poker is the perfect place to use/abuse this strategy as switching tables is as easy as the click of a mouse. Call me an old-timer, but I had never really gotten into online poker, until my son insisted I "get with the times", and I happily play on 4 or 5 different sites now. Another post here led me to pokercroaker.com which I found had bonus sign-up codes to the various online sites, and reviews of each. I will say that the style of play online is substantially different than what I was used to in live games, but Miller's book is just as applicable. It's written clearly and concisely, and in my humble opinion should be a staple in the library of every poker player, no matter the level of experience.


An Excellent Introduction to Limit Hold 'Em   June 13, 2006
G. Zawada (Fairfax, Virginia United States)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Professing to address both of the most popular forms of hold 'em (limit and no limit), Ed Miller's first solo effort does a terrific job providing useful approaches for the former. The first 35 pages are spent as a cursory review of hand/board reading and rules/regs, which may be necessary for some. However, from page 35, and through the next 80 pages, the limit hold 'em section is absolutely terrific, as Ed takes you through an in-depth analysis of the play of 9 hands from all manner of positions on the table. The best aspect of these hand examples is the marriage of visual (you see a theoretical hand played from deal to river in most cases) applications of such points as:

- Protecting your hand.
- Saving pots, not extra bets.
- Value betting the later streets.
- Pot equity
- Semi-bluffing
- Pot odds/Implied Odds
- Strategic Advantages (Pre- and Post-flop)

The no limit and tournament sections are weaker, but the fact that the limit section is so well organized and composed more than makes up for their shortcomings as the theories can be applied to NL play. Besides, most of the NL material is more thoroughly addressed in Ed's new effort (NL Hold 'Em: Thoery and Practice).

I've been playing hold 'em (admittedly mostly no limit) for 2.5 years, having been able to advance to $5/$10 levels, and found a re-read of this short and sweet book (especially the 80 pages of limit material) to be a terrific refresher, and so believe it would serve as a great intro to the game.


Great Job Ed Miller!   May 5, 2005
Reginald Flowers (Phoenix, AZ)
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

This book was great. The first 35 pages alone are worth the money i paid for it. Speaking of which, this book is relatively cheap in comparison to other books fetching $20-25. Miller gives clear and thought out examples and explanations that aren't cluttered with too much poker jargon that the beginning player may not understand. Again, the first segments of this book, such as Reading the Board, and Understanding hand strength, benefited me greatly. Along with Small Stakes Hold 'em winning big with expert play, these books should be the first buy for a beginning player hands down. A very solid read.


The (nearly) perfect beginnger book   September 5, 2005
Robert Utner (Vienna, Austria)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

If you're are a beginner to Hold'Em and really want to learn about it you probably wont't find a better book out there.

Ed Miller is an excellent writer. He succeeds in transferring the most important (basic) knowledge about limit hold'em in an extremely easy and enjoyable 100 something page read. this first part of the book alone can lead you from being an absolute loser to an at least break-even if not small winner in limit hold'em.

the rest of the book covers the basics about no-limit and tournaments which provide less info but also can get you started. he also provides you with good recommendations on the follow up books to read for each part.

ed millers writing style is really refreshing compared to david sklansky (and other experts) who's style is really hard to follow the first x times. i first tried the sklansky & co. books for a start before i discovered millers beginner book. having read it its much easier now to follow the advanced but sometimes badly written expert books.

so to repeat: if you're a beginner buy this book, because there is no better place to start.


The Bible for Beginner Poker Players   May 31, 2005
Polly Darcey (Columbus, OH)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

My only wish is that I had this book when I was starting out. It is clear, concise and it covers all of the nuts and bolts of hold 'em poker so well. If you are starting out in poker and you only want to get one book this is the one. I would consider myself an intermediate player and I was surprised how much I learned from this book. It is truly excellent and I would give it six stars if I could.