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Two Plus Two Titles

You'll also find other recommended titles on our order form.

• Blackjack Essays by Mason Malmuth
• Gambling for a Living by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth
• Gambling Theory and Other Topics by Mason Malmuth
• Getting Started in Hold 'em by Ed Miller
• Getting the Best of It by David Sklansky
• Harrington on Hold 'em, Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments; Volume I: Strategic Play
• Harrington on Hold'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments: Endgame, Volume II
• Harrington on Hold'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Volume III: The Workbook
• High-Low Split Poker, Seven Card Stud and Omaha Eight or Better for Advanced Players by Ray Zee
• Hold'em Poker by David Sklansky
• Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth
• Inside the Poker Mind: Essays on Hold 'em and General Poker Concepts by John Feeney
• No Limit Hold 'em: Theory and Practice by David Sklansky and Ed Miller
• Poker Essays by Mason Malmuth
• Poker Essays II by Mason Malmuth
• Poker Essays III by Mason Malmuth
• PokerFarce and PokerTruth (The Actual Real World of Poker) by Ray Michael B.
• Poker, Gaming, & Life by David Sklansky
• Poker Tournament Strategies by Sylvester Suzuki
• Professional No-Limit Hold 'em: Volume I by Matt Flynn, Sunny Mehta, and Ed Miller
• The Professional Poker Dealer's Handbook by Dan Paymar, Donna Harris, and Mason Malmuth
• The Psychology of Poker by Alan N. ¶videok
• Seven Card Stud for Advanced Players by David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth, and Ray Zee
• Sit 'n Go Strategy by Collin Moshman
• Sklansky on Poker by David Sklansky
• Sklansky Talks Blackjack by David Sklansky
• Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big with Expert Play by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth
• Theory of Poker by David Sklansky
• Tournament Poker for Advanced Players (Expanded Edition) by David Sklansky
• Winning Concepts in Draw and Lowball by Mason Malmuth
• Winning in Tough Hold 'em Games; Short-Handed and High-Stakes Concepts and Theory for Limit Hold 'em, Nick "Stoxtrader" Grudzien and Geoff "Zobags" Herzog

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• Fundamentals of Craps by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis
• Fundamentals of Poker by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis
• Fundamentals of "21" by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis
• Fundamentals of Video Poker by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis

• David Sklansky
• Mason Malmuth
• Ray Zee
• Lynne Loomis
• Sylvester Suzuki
• Dan Paymar
• Donna Harris
• Ray Michael B
• Ed Miller
• Alan Schoonmaker
• John Feeney
• Nick "Stoxtrader" Grudzien
• Geoff "Zobags" Herzog
• Matt Flynn
• Sunny Mehta
• Collin Moshman

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Winning in Tough Hold 'em Games; Short-Handed and High-Stakes Concepts and Theory for Limit Hold 'em

Winning in Tough Hold 'em Games; Short-Handed and High-Stakes Concepts and Theory for Limit Hold 'em by Nick "Stoxtrader" Grudzien and Geoff "Zobags" Herzog

The recent boom of Texas Holder has forever changed the way the game is played. Many more people know how to play this game well. Even the "loose" players who come to gamble have become far more aggressive, making them more difficult to play against. So a basic tight and patient strategy will no longer guarantee that you can make a significant amount of money in games at the higher stakes. This is especially true short-handed, which have become increasingly popular in the online poker rooms.

This text is the first to tackle the complex issues presented when playing short-handed and high-stakes limit hold'em. But even if you happen to only play in softer games, many of the key concepts presented will still help you against the other good players in your game.

Winning in Tough Hold'em Games includes an examination of pre-flop play, covering issues at a depth of sophistication which have never appeared in print before including discussions of blind stealing, re-stealing, isolating a loose player, big blind and small blind defense, and blind versus blind play. Also covered are thorough sections on playing heads-up post flop and semi-bluffing. In addition, over 50 hands, taken from high stakes online games which were played by "Stoxtrader", are presented along with appropriate discussion of the strategy involved.

($29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Professional No-Limit Hold 'em: Volume I

Professional No-Limit Hold 'em: Volume I by Matt Flynn, Sunny Mehta, and Ed Miller

No-limit hold 'em was once only a tournament game. Cash games were rarely spread in conventional poker rooms, let alone the Internet. All of that changed when the game exploded on television. No-limit cash games started sprouting up at casinos of all types.

No-limit hold 'em is now the most popular form of poker. Tournaments pushed it to the forefront, and a great deal of money can also be won here. But despite that fact, many players feel frustrated with their results. They win some money, only to lose it all on one botched hand.

This book teaches you how to play and think like a professional. It shows how to size your bets, manage the pot, manipulate your opponents, know when to go all-in, and avoid the big mistake.

Do you understand critical no-limit concepts like "The REM Process," "The Commitment Threshold," and "Stack-To-Pot Ratios?" If not, this is the book for you.

($29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Sit 'n Go Strategy

Sit 'n Go Strategy by Collin Moshman

Sit Õn go poker tournaments are one table events starting with nine or ten players that usually pay the top three places. They have become very popular on the Internet and are now being spread in brick and mortar cardrooms as well. But they are not standard no-limit poker tournaments since the required strategy to be successful is different, and those who understand the proper approach have found these events to be highly profitable.

This text, written by sit Õn go expert Collin Moshman, is the first poker strategy book devoted exclusively to these tournaments. Through extensive hand examples and accompanying theory you will learn to:

1. Master expected value, tournament equity, and fundamental poker concepts,
2. Distinguish between earning chips and earning money,
3. Develop an ultra-aggressive late game strategy to steal all the chips when the blinds are high and your opponents are tightening their play,
4. Play multiple tables, incorporate tracking software, and seize online-only edges,
5. Exploit recreational players in your table selection and game-play strategy, and
6. Maximize your sit Õn go profits by treating each game as a business investment.

Whether you want extra income or a full-time sit Õn go career, Sit ÔN Go Strategy provides you with all the tools you need for ultimate success at the tables. ($24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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No Limit Hold 'em: Theory and Practice

No Limit Hold 'em: Theory and Practice by David Sklansky and Ed Miller

The definitive text on this exciting game. Taking a theoretical approach, it covers critical concepts like manipulating the pot size, adjusting correctly to stack sizes, winning the battle of mistakes, reading hands, and manipulating opponents into playing badly. It breaks this complex game down with thorough and easy to follow analyses. It's the ideal read for anyone looking to improve their cash game or tournament play. ($29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Harrington on Hold'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Volume III: The Workbook

Harrington on Hold'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Volume III by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie

Poker has taken America by storm. But it's not just any form of poker that has people across the country so excited - it's no-limit hold 'em - the main event game. And now - thanks to televised tournaments - tens of thousands of new players are eager to claim their share of poker glory.

In the first volume of this series, Harrington on Hold 'em: Volume I: Strategic Play, Dan Harrington explained the basics of the game, and how to play in the early stages of tournaments, where the players have deep stacks and the blinds and antes are small. In the second volume, Harrington on Hold 'em: Volume II: The Endgame, he explained how to play the later stages of tournaments, when the prize money was within sight. In this book, Dan gives you problems to test how well you grasped the principles of the first two volumes. In addition, many of the problems focus on the key area that causes difficulties for so many aspiring players: how to play after the flop.

Dan Harrington won the gold bracelet and the World Champion title at the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'em Championship at the 1995 World Series of Poker. And he was the only player to make the final table in both 2003 (field of 839) and 2004 (field of 2,576) - considered by cognoscenti to be the greatest accomplishment in WSOP history. In Harrington on Hold 'em, Harrington and two-time World Backgammon Champion Bill Robertie have written the definitive books on no-limit hold 'em for players who want to win - and win big. ($29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Harrington on Hold'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments: Endgame, Volume II

Harrington on Hold'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments: Endgame, Volume II by Dan Harrington

Poker has taken America by storm. But it's not just any form of poker that has people across the country so excited -- it's no-limit hold 'em -- the main event game. And now -- thanks to televised tournaments -- tens of thousands of new players are eager to claim their share of poker glory.

In the first volume of this series, Harrington on Hold 'em: Volume I: Strategic Play, Dan Harrington explained how to play in the early phases of tournaments, when most players at the table had plenty of chips, and the blinds and antes were small. This book, Harrington on Hold 'em: Volume II: The Endgame shows you how to play in the later phases of a tournament, when the field has been cut down, the blinds and antes are growing, and the big prize money is within sight. Harrington shows you how to make moves, handle tricky inflection point plays, and maneuver when the tournament is down to its last few players and the end is in sight. He's also included a whole chapter on heads-up play, whose strategies up to now have been a closely-guarded secret of the game's top masters.

Dan Harrington won the gold bracelet and the World Champion title at the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'em Championship at the 1995 World Series of Poker. And he was the only player to make it to the final table in 2003 (field of 839) and 2004 (field of 2,576) -- considered by cognoscenti to be the greatest accomplishment in WSOP history. In Harrington on Hold 'em, Harrington and two-time World Backgammon Champion Bill Robertie have written the definitive book on no-limit hold 'em for players who want to win -- and win big. ($29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Getting Started in Hold 'em

Getting Started in Hold'em by Ed Miller

Recently, countless people have started playing poker, hoping to quit their jobs and strike it rich. Sadly, most of these "professional" players will wind up broke. While many people play, few win consistently.

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.

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Harrington on Hold 'em, Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments; Volume I: Strategic Play

Excerpt Available

Harrington on Hold 'em, Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments; Volume I: Strategic Play by Dan Harrington

Poker has taken America by storm. But it's not just any form of poker that has people across the country so excited - it's No-Limit Hold 'Em - the main event game. And now - thanks to televised tournaments - tens of thousands of new players are eager to claim their share of poker glory.

Harrington on Hold 'Em takes you to the part of the game the cameras ignore - the tactics required to get through the hundreds and sometimes thousands of hands you must win to make it to the final table. Harrington's sophisticated and time-tested winning strategies, focusing on what it takes to survive the early and middle stages of a No-Limit Hold 'Em tournament, are appearing here for the first time in print. These are techniques that top players use again and again to get to make it to final tables around the globe.

Now, learn from one of the world's most successful No-Limit Hold 'Em players how to vary your style, optimize your betting patterns, analyze hands, respond to a re-raise, play to win the most money possible, react when a bad card hits and much, much more.

Dan Harrington won the gold bracelet and the World Champion title at the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'Em Championship at the 1995 World Series of Poker. And he was the only player to make it to the final table in 2003 (field of 839) and 2004 (field of 2576) - considered by cognoscenti to be the greatest accomplishment in WSOP history. In Harrington on Hold 'Em, Harrington and 2-time World Backgammon Champion Bill Robertie have written the definitive book on No-Limit Hold 'Em for players who want to win -- and win big. ($29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big with Expert Play

Excerpt Available

Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big with Expert Play by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth

For today's poker players, Texas hold 'em is the game. Every day, tens of thousands of small stakes hold 'em games are played all over the world in homes, card rooms, and on the Internet. These games can be very profitable -- if you play well. But most people don't play well and end up leaving their money on the table.

Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big with Expert Play explains everything you need to be a big winner. Unlike many other books about small stakes games, it teaches the aggressive and attacking style used by all professional players. However, it does not simply tell you to play aggressively; it shows you exactly how to make expert decisions through numerous clear and detailed examples.

Small Stakes Hold 'em teaches you to think like a professional player. Topics include implied odds, pot equity, speculative hands, position, the importance of being suited, hand categories, counting outs, evaluating the flop, large pots versus small pots, protecting your hand, betting for value on the river, and playing overcards. In addition, after you learn the winning concepts, test your skills with over fifty hand quizzes that present you with common and critical hold 'em decisions. Choose your action, then compare it to the authors' play and reasoning.

This text presents cutting-edge ideas in straightforward language. It is the most thorough and accurate discussion of small stakes hold 'em available. Your opponents will read this book; make sure you do, too! ($24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Tournament Poker for Advanced Players (Expanded Edition)

Tournament Poker for Advanced Players (Expanded Edition) by David Sklansky

Tournament poker is very different from standard ring game poker. While they might appear the same from a distance, there are many differences in proper strategy that are often unknown to many experienced cash game players. Some players excel at tournament poker. This is not luck -- these are players who have a very strong understanding of what the proper strategy adjustments are, and when they come into play. It is no coincidence that the same players make it to final tables far more than their fair share. This book explains tournament strategies that only a small number of players have mastered. It assumes you already know how to play poker well, but aren't knowledgeable of tournament-specific concepts and when and where to use them. Some of the ideas discussed include the effect of going broke, the Gap Concept, how chips change value, adjusting strategy to rising stakes, all-in strategy, final table play, making deals, the "System," focusing on weaker opponents, unusual plays with aces and kings, moving in against the blind, and much more. This newly expanded version contains over 100 new pages of updated material dedicated almost entirely to today;s most popular form of tournament poker: no-limit hold 'em. ($29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players, 21st Century Edition

Excerpt Available

Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players, 21st Century Edition by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth

Texas Hold 'em is not an easy game to play well. To become an expert you need to be able to balance many concepts, some of which occasionally contradict each other.

In 1988, the first edition of this text appeared. Many ideas, which were only known to a small select group of players were now made available to anyone who was striving to achieve expert status, and the hold 'em explosion had begun.

It is now a new century, and the authors have again moved the state of the art forward by adding over 100 pages of new material, including an extensive section on "loose games," and an extensive section on "short-handed games." Anyone who studies this text, is well disciplined, and gets the proper experience should become a significant winner. Some of the other ideas discussed in this 21st century edition include play on the first two cards, semi-bluffing, the free card, inducing bluffs, staying with a draw, playing when a pair flops, playing trash hands, desperation bets, playing in wild games, reading hands, psychology, and much more. (332 pages; ISBN #1-880685-22-9...$29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Seven Card Stud for Advanced Players, 21st Century Edition

Excerpt Available

Seven Card Stud for Advanced Players, 21st Century Edition by David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth, and Ray Zee

Seven-card stud is an extremely complex game. Deciding exactly what the right strategy should be in any particular situation can be very difficult. Perhaps this is why very few authors have attempted to analyze this game even though it is widely played.

In 1989, the first edition of this text appeared. Many ideas, which were only known to a small select group of players were now made available to anyone who was striving to achieve expert status, and a major gap in the poker literature was closed.

It is now a new century, and the authors have again moved the state of the art forward by adding over 100 pages of new material, including an extensive section on "loose games." Anyone who studies this text, is well disciplined, and gets the proper experience should become a significant winner. Some of the other ideas discussed in this 21st century edition include the cards that are out, the number of players in the pot, ante stealing, playing big pairs, playing little and medium pairs, playing three-flushes, playing three-straights, randomizing your play, fourth street, pairing your door card on fourth street, fifth street, sixth street, seventh street, defending against the possible ante steal, playing against a paired door card, scare card strategy, buying the free card on fourth street, playing in tightly structured games, and much more. (326 pages; ISBN #1-880685-23-X...$29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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High-Low-Split Poker

Excerpt Available

High-Low-Split Poker, Seven-Card-Stud and Omaha Eight or Better for Advanced Players by Ray Zee is the third book in the "For Advanced Players" series. In reality, it is really books 3 and 4 in the progression for two reasons. First, many of the concepts are similar for both games. And second, players mastering one game can easily make the transition to the other.

Some of the ideas discussed in the seven-card stud eight-or-better section include starting hands, disguising your hand on third street, when an ace raises, fourth street, fifth street, sixth street, seventh street, position, bluffing, staying to the end, scare cards, and much more. Some of the ideas discussed in the Omaha eight-or-better section include general concepts, position, low hands, high hands, your starting hand, how to play your hand, play on the flop, multiway versus short handed play, scare cards, getting counterfeited, your playing style, and much more. A great deal of this material has never appeared correctly in print before. (333 pages, plus a foreword by Mason Malmuth; ISBN #1-880685-10-8...$34.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Theory of Poker

Excerpt Available

Theory of Poker by David Sklansky discusses theories and concepts applicable to nearly every variation of the game, including five-card draw (high), seven-card stud, hold'em, lowball draw, and razz (seven-card lowball stud). This book introduces you to the Fundamental Theorem of Poker, its implications, and how the theorem should affect your play. Other chapters discuss the value of deception, bluffing, raising, the slow-play, the value of position, psychology, heads-up play, game theory, implied odds, the free card, semibluffing, and much more.

Many of today's top poker players will tell you that this is the book that really made a difference in their play. That is, these are the ideas that separate the experts from the typical player. Those who read and study this book will literally leave behind those who don't, and most serious players wear the covers off their copies. In many ways, this is probably the best book ever written on poker. (276 pages; ISBN #1-880685-00-0...$29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Hold'em Poker

Excerpt Available

Updated for today's double blind structure. Contains the most up-to-date Sklansky Hand Rankings available.

Hold'em Poker by David Sklansky is must reading for anyone planning to play in Nevada, California, or any place else where hold'em is offered including a home game. This was the first definitive work on hold'em poker and was originally published in 1976. Yet, it is still one of the best-selling poker books available. The text is designed for someone relatively new to the game, but it still contains much sophisticated material. The text is probably best known for the SkIansky Hand Rankings, which made the game much simpler to quantify and understand. Some of the topics include the importance of position, the first two cards, the key "flops," strategy before the flop, semi-bluffing, slowplaying, check raising, head-up on fifth street, and how to read hands. Not only was this text, which is Sklansky's first work, a major contribution to the explosive growth of this game, it is also a book that should still be read by all serious players. (110 pages, plus the original publisher's foreword; ISBN # 1-880685-08-6...$ 19.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Getting the Best of It

Excerpt Available

Getting the Best of It by David Sklansky contains six sections discussing probability, poker, blackjack, other casino games, sports betting, and general gambling concepts. This book contains some of the most sophisticated gambling ideas that have ever been put into print. Included is perhaps the best discussion of the basic mathematics of gambling, yet it is written so that even the most non-mathematical of readers can understand it. Many of the ideas discussed are those that the author himself has successfully used during his career. Topics include expectation, combinations, Baye's Theorem, the eight mistakes in poker, checking in the dark, playing tight, The Key Card Concept, casinos and their mistakes, crapless craps, betting sports, hedging and middling, knowing what's important, the Law of Averages and other fallacies, and much more. (248 pages; ISBN #1-880685-04-3...$29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Sklansky on Poker

Excerpt Available

Sklansky on Poker by David Sklansky is a combination of Sklansky on Razz and Essays on Poker, with new material added plus a special section on tournament play. Many of these ideas are not as sophisticated as some of the others that Sklansky has put in print, but they are still absolutely essential to winning play. The essays section contains chapters discussing such concepts as having a plan, choosing your game, playing according to your bankroll, the three levels of expert poker, middle-round strategy, what your opponent reads you for, the protected pot, saving the last bet, extra outs, how to play a tournament, and many others.

The razz section of the book will show you how the experts play this form of poker. Not only are the rules and structure of the game discussed, but also advice is given on how to play the first three cards, as well as all the other streets. In addition, a chapter of razz problems is provided, plus questions and answers to help keep your game sharp. (215 pages; ISBN #1-880685-06-X...$29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Gambling Theory and Other Topics

Excerpt Available

Gambling Theory and Other Topics by Mason Malmuth is absolutely must reading for all serious gamblers. Most people who gamble are basically attracted by the action and the excitement that this form of entertainment offers. But there are a small number of people who are quite successful at it. How is this so? Why is it that these few can constantly make decisions that devastate their opponents? And what does one need to do to also become successful at this extremely challenging occupation?

This text is an attempt to answer these questions. The reader will be introduced to the dynamic concept of non-self-weighting strategies and will be shown how these apply not only at the "very exciting gaming tables" but in real life as well. In addition, risk and fluctuations are discussed in terms of the statistical standard deviation, and it is explained how these relate to each other, as well as to your bankroll.

Some of the other topics addressed are bankroll requirements, win-rate accuracy, free bets, which blackjack count is best, lottery fallacies, dangerous ideas, poker tournament strategies (including when it is correct to rebuy), settling up in tournaments, pai gow poker, super pan nine, the world's greatest gamblers, building pyramids, and much more. (313 pages, plus a foreword by David Sklansky; ISBN #l-880685-03-5...$29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Poker Essays

Excerpt Available

Poker Essays by Mason Malmuth contains many of the author's current ideas on poker and related subjects. As is shown, poker is an extremely complicated game. This is especially true if your form of poker is either Texas hold'em or seven-card stud. In addition, the typical opponent whom you will face has gotten tougher as the years have gone by. As a result, those of you who just play tight (also known as playing ABC) are unable to win more than just a small amount at the lower limits. This means that to win at poker in today's modern game requires not only numerous skills, but also a lot of thinking about the game. Topics covered include general concepts, technical ideas, structure, strategic ideas, image, tournament notes, in the cardrooms, and poker quizzes. In addition, advice is offered on jackpot games, handling pressure, why you lose, fluctuations, bankroll requirements, differences between stud and hold'em, too many bad players, limit versus no-limit, thinking fast, weak tight opponents, the best hold'em seat, playing short-handed, playing loose or tight, appropriate image, being an alternate in tournaments, taking advantage of tight play in tournaments, behaving professionally, the future of poker, and much more.

The book is designed to make the reader do a great deal of thinking about the game. ln fact, very few readers will agree with everything the text offers, but the information provided should help most people become better players. (262 pages; ISBN #l-880685-09-4...$24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Poker Essays II

Excerpt Available

Poker Essays II by Mason Malmuth. Success at poker does not come easy. However, poker can be extremely rewarding since it will allow you a degree of freedom that virtually no other profession can offer. Yet, very few people ever achieve this level of competence even though many try. The reason for this is that very few players are able to master all the skills that a top poker professional needs. Some are unwilling to make the effort--"these players usually come to gamble"--and others who try are not quite able to grasp the depth of sophistication that is required.

This text contains those essays that this author wrote from 1991 through early 1996. Topics covered include: General Concepts, Technical Ideas, Structure, Strategic Ideas, In the Cardrooms, Quizzes, Erroneous Concepts, and Something Silly. In addition, advice is offered on handling rushes, moving up, poker skills, simulations, maximizing your expectation, betting when first to act on the river, whether limit hold'em should have two or three betting levels, playing the overs, adjusting to the big ante, how to play well, low-limit hold'em, how many hands you should play early in a tournament, chopping the blinds, cardroom theory, and much more.

As with the original Poker Essays, this book is designed to make the reader do a great deal of thinking about the game. In fact, very few readers will agree with everything this text offers, but the information provides should help most people become better poker players. (286 pages; ISBN #l-880685-15-9...$24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Poker Essays III

Excerpt Available

Poker Essays III by Mason Malmuth.
Poker is a game which many people play, but in which few excel. To be successful requires a great deal of work and study, and a deep understanding of those concepts that govern winning play. Yet it is fairly easy to win at poker. All you need to do is learn to play tight, and stick to easy games -- usually those prevalent at the low limits. But there is a problem. While this is a winning formula, it won't allow you to do much better than "minimum wage." But there are a small number of players who do much better than this. These are the experts who have mastered the proper skills and have done their share of thinking.

This text contains those essays the author wrote from 1996 through early 2001. Topics include: General Concepts, Technical Ideas, Strategic Ideas, In the Cardrooms, Hands to Talk About, The Ciaffone Quiz, and Two More Quizzes. In addition, advice is offered on which game to play, controlling steaming, marginal hands, selecting the best game, bluffing, unusual strategies, raising with suited connectors, keeping poker honest, reading hands, checking aces, and much more.

As with the first two books in this series, Poker Essays, Volume III is designed to make the reader do a great deal of thinking. In fact, very few readers will agree with everything this text offers, but the information provided should help most people become better poker players.

"Absolutely must reading for all serious players."
Chris Ferguson
Winner 2000 World Series of Poker

(270 pages; ISBN #l-880685-27-2...$24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Winning Concepts in Draw and Lowball

Excerpt Available

Winning Concepts in Draw and Lowball by Mason Malmuth is the ultimate book for anyone trying to master these games. This book is for both the typical player and the professional player. It is partitioned into sections that are designed to help all players grow and improve their games. Also, it teaches the reader how to think like a top player, which is absolutely essential to winning play. Topics discussed include poker reasons, basic mistakes, basic strategy, technical plays, advanced strategy, jackpot games, killing the pot, psychology, game theory, high-draw mathematics, and advanced plays. Advice also is provided on bluffing errors, lowball value betting, profitable losing bets, playing patterns, going all in, acting the opposite, "running bad," raising with weak hands, getting maximum value, playing short-handed, and image plays. (378 pages; lSBN #1-880685-07-8...$24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Blackjack Essays

Excerpt Available

Blackjack Essays by Mason Malmuth is designed to aid the serious player beat the games in today's modern casino environment. The days when you could simply master a count and expect to be a winner just do not exist anymore. As a result, winning at blackjack requires not only numerous skills, but also a lot of thinking about the game. Unlike most blackjack books, this text assumes that the reader already knows how to count cards, and it introduces techniques that should be useful to the successful player well into the l990s and beyond. The topics covered are card domination -- more commonly known as shuffle tracking, theoretical concepts, blackjack biases, current blackjack, mistaken ideas, supplemental strategies, playing in a casino, obsolete techniques, and front loading. In addition, advice is offered on gambler's ruin, the one-deck game, back counting, betting strategies, heads-up play, becoming a professional, casino preparation, first basing, and much more.

The book is designed to make the reader do a great deal of thinking about the game. In fact, very few readers will agree with everything the text offers, but the information provided should help most people become better players. (224 pages, plus a foreword by Arnold Snyder; lSBN #1-88O685-05-1...$l9.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Gambling for a Living

Excerpt Available

Gambling for a Living by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth. Is there really such a thing as a professional gambler? The answer is an unequivocal yes! The authors of this book are but two examples. The truth is that there are many thousands of people around the country who make a good living exclusively from gambling. It is not easy, but it can be done. The key idea is to understand which games are beatable and how to beat them.

David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth have both spent many years writing about the finer points of poker, blackjack, and other beatable games. (As you will see in the book those other "games" are horses, sports, progressive slots and video poker, casino tournaments, and special promotions. They don't include craps, roulette, keno, or baccarat for reasons explained therein.)

This book, however, was written for the not quite as experienced aspiring gambler. It shows you everything you need to learn and do if you want to gamble for a living both from the practical and the technical standpoint. The rest is up to you. (305 pages; ISBN 1-880685-16-7...$24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Poker, Gaming, & Life

Excerpt Available

Poker, Gaming & Life by David Sklansky. This volume is a collection of recent articles written by David Sklansky that have appeared in various publications including Card Player and Poker World magazines. A few have never before appeared in print.

Most of the articles are about poker or gambling. However, David has recently branched out into other areas that lend themselves to his unique style of analysis and some of these essays are contained in this book.

"Poker and Gaming" topics include Being a Favorite, Are Great Players Born? Talent Versus Discipline, Will Power, The Importance of Position, Never Go Broke, When Time is Not of the Essence, and Is Your Wallet Fat Enough? "Life" topics include What It Is that Makes an Issue Controversial, Coincidences, Some Thoughts on Dying, Legitimate Grievances, and Crime and Punishment.

Though these essays vary greatly in content, you will find them very thought provoking. Thus Two Plus Two Publishing proudly brings you these latest examples of David Sklansky's work. (207 pages; ISBN 1-880685-17-5...$24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Poker Tournament Strategies

Excerpt Available

Poker Tournament Strategies by Sylvester Suzuki.

Poker tournaments are very different from conventional poker games, and there are very few players who excel at both. But it can be done!

There are many reasons for these differences. The most important ones are: The chips change value due to the fact that most tournaments are "percentage payback." Rebuys are available early on. And, many players over adjust their playing strategy because they are aware that after the rebuy period you cannot purchase more chips if you lose a couple of hands.

Consequently, there are many strategy changes that you should be making when compared to conventional poker where you are always trying to win the most on any hand that you play. Sometimes you should be trying to accumulate chips, sometimes you should be on the attack, and sometimes you should just survive. In fact, a tournament expert will occasionally make plays which would be very wrong in a "side game."

Author Sylvester Suzuki has played in many poker tournaments. Even though the name is a pseudonym, he is a real person who understands the underlying theory that governs tournament play. This text should prove helpful to virtually everyone interested in this form of poker.

The best book by far on poker tournaments yet published. Many new good ideas, especially for the smaller rebuy tournaments. --David Sklansky

$19.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price.

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The Professional Poker Dealer's Handbook

Excerpt Available

The Professional Poker Dealer's Handbook by Dan Paymar, Donna Harris, and Mason Malmuth.

The poker industry has grown at a phenomenal rate during the past few years. It wasn't that long ago that only a few Nevada casinos had small poker rooms as an accommodation for its casino customers. But times have changed.

Today there are many locations throughout the country that offer poker including several "giant" poker facilities. However, with this explosive growth, there are a few "growing pains," and a lack of quality dealers is immediately apparent to anyone who either plays poker or works in the industry.

Dealing poker is one of those occupations that look easy when performed by a top quality dealer. You too can achieve this status with practice and effort. In fact, the best dealers not only perform their job in a seemingly effortless manner, they enjoy what they are doing.

It is our hope that this text will establish a standard in the industry. It will assure that poker continues to grow and prosper in the future. It is the ultimate book for anyone interested in a career as a professional poker dealer.

$19.95.

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Sklanksy Talks Blackjack

Excerpt Available

Sklansky Talks Blackjack by David Sklansky.

Blackjack is the one casino game where the player can easily get an edge over the house. This has been known for almost forty years and many good books have been written on the subject. In spite of this, there are still only a relative handful of people who are taking advantage of this knowledge. Why is that?

David Sklansky believes the reason is that most people think expert blackjack play is too hard to learn. They browse through a book and are struck by the complex charts and tables.

Sklanksy realized that these charts were not really needed to show someone how to play an almost perfect game. As a renowned teacher, as well as a professional gambler, Sklansky (already the author of eight books on gambling) has devised a technique that literally "talks" you through everything you need to know to truly "beat" this popular game. (140 pages; ISBN # 1-880685-21-3...$19.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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PokerFarce and PokerTruth (The Actual Real World of Poker)

Excerpt Available

PokerFarce and PokerTruth (The Actual Real World of Poker) by Ray Michael B

Serious poker players are often asked, "What's it really like...the world of poker? The answer is not easy because poker is an amazingly complex game. As complex as life itself.

This book will attempt to answer that question. You will be taken to a serious game and be sitting besides the author. That is, you will be a spectator to the unfolding drama of poker. You will get to meet the players up close and personal, witness their strong and weak points, and watch their varied reactions in victory and defeat.

Not only will you "play," but you will have to address those problems that all poker players deal with. This includes bankroll management, developing self control, and understanding what it is that makes a poker player truly great. Your opponents will range from some of the best players in Las Vegas to a brilliant Japanese Admiral as he planned his attack on Pearl harbor. (246 pages; ISBN #1880685-20-5...$19.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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The Psychology of Poker

The Psychology of Poker by Alan N. Schoonmaker, Ph.D.

Poker demands many skills and strategies. To be successful, you must be able to master all of them and then apply them at the appropriate times. They include proper hand selection, appropriate aggression, bluffing, semi-bluffing, understanding tells and telegraphs, choosing the right games, and reading hands. These skills do not come easily since they require unnatural actions.

You cannot win just by "doing what comes naturally." This book does not provide strategic advice; you should get it from other Two Plus Two books. Dr. Schoonmaker is concerned only with the way that psychological factors affect your own and your opponents' ability to play properly.

For example, have you ever wondered why some players seem extremely aggressive while others are passive? Why some are tight and others loose? Furthermore, have you ever wondered why some tactics seem to come naturally to you while others don't?

This text will answer many of these questions. It will explain why you and your opponents play the way you do. Many people know how to play properly, but play poorly. Simply learning strategy does not mean that you will apply it properly.

The author also suggests strategic adjustments that you should make to improve your results against different kinds of players, and he suggests personal adjustments that will help you to play better and enjoy the game more. (330 pages; $24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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Inside the Poker Mind: Essays on Hold 'em and General Poker Concepts

Inside the Poker Mind: Essays on Hold 'em and General Poker Concepts by John Feeney, Ph.D.

Poker is a game of many skills and to become an expert poker player you need to master them all. This includes concepts such as hand selection, position, proper image projection, and reading hands. However, there are many players who have mastered most of these skills yet they still do poorly in the games -- at best they are only small winners. And when they step up in limit and challenge the better players, they almost always fail. You see, knowing the concept is one thing, putting it all together is another.

As the text will show, winning poker is a process that requires a lot of thinking as well as a thorough and systematic approach to the game, and that is what this book is about. Topics include "Playing Too Many Hands," "Self-Weighting Cold Calls," "Short-Handed Play: Don't Miss Out," "The Strategic Moment in Hold 'em," "Countering a Good Reader," "A Poker Player in Therapy," and "Thoughts on the Effects of the Poker Literature." Those of you who are serious about your game should find much of this material to be extremely valuable. (275 pages; $24.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

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The Fundamentals Series

Casino gambling is a lot of fun. It can also be very expensive if you do not know what you are doing. Quickly losing your money because of poor play does not have to happen. By reading the appropriate title in this series, you can play better in a reasonably short period of time than the vast majority of people who visit a gambling center.

However, as beginner's guides, these books are not designed to make you a winner. In fact, some of the games which they address are impossible to beat. But when you make the best decisions, they can still be a good gamble which means that after a short period of time, you can be ahead.

The Fundamentals are published as a series of booklets at a suggested list price of $5.95 each.

Fundamentals of Poker

Excerpt Available

Fundamentals of Poker by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis discusses the most popular casino and cardroom poker games - seven card stud, Texas hold'em, Omaha, razz, and lowball draw. It covers everything from the ranking of the hands and poker etiquette to the most important strategy considerations that are necessary just for basic survival. As poker spreads across the country with the gambling fever that is sweeping the nation, it may be a good time to advance your knowledge above your Friday night poker buddies, and learn those basics that the serious pros agree on.

Fundamentals of "21"

Fundamentals of "21" by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis discusses the most popular of casino table games - blackjack. It covers everything from the basics of `21" including insurance and rule variations, basic strategy, surrender, card counting for both single deck and multiple deck games. The information that this text contains is absolutely essential for basic survival.

Fundamentals of Craps

Fundamentals of Craps by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis discusses this uniquely American casino game. It covers everything from getting started, right bets, wrong bets, taking the odds, other low house percentage bets, other ways to cover the numbers, one roll bets, and some other topics including a discussion of systems. This text will simplify the complicated looking craps layout and help you to avoid to those bets which are suicide to your casino bankroll.

Fundamentals of Video Poker

Excerpt Available

Fundamentals of Video Poker by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis discusses the most popular forms of video poker - jacks or better, tens or better, deuces wild, and joker wild - that are found in most major casinos throughout the country. It covers everything from the mechanics of play, the ranking of hands, standard and progressive machines, and full pay machines to the most important strategy considerations that are necessary just for basic survival.

All books are must reading for anyone new to these games or to anyone who does not understand the basics of these games and who would like to do better. Each text includes quizzes which are designed to not only help you learn the material better, but to make your play in a casino or cardroom much more enjoyable.

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David Sklansky

David Sklansky is generally considered the number one authority on gambling in the world today. Besides his nine books on the subject, David also has produced two videos and numerous writings for various gaming publications. His occasional poker seminars always receive an enthusiastic reception including those given at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

More recently David has been doing consulting work for casinos, Internet gaming sites, and gaming device companies. He has recently invented a new game called Poker Challenge, soon to appear in casinos.

David attributes his standing in the gambling community to three things:

1. The fact that he presents his ideas as simply as possible (sometimes with Mason Malmuth) even though these ideas frequently involve concepts that are deep, subtle, and not to be found elsewhere.
2. The fact that the things he says and writes can be counted on to be accurate.
3. The fact that to this day a large portion of his income is still derived from gambling (usually poker but occasionally blackjack, sports betting, horses, video games, casino promotions, or casino tournaments).

   Thus, those who depend on David's advice know that he still depends on it himself.

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   Mason Malmuth

   

   Mason Malmuth was born and raised on Coral Gables, Florida. In 1973 he received his BS in Mathematics from Virginia Tech, and completed their Master' program in 1975. While working for the United States Census Bureau in 1978, Mason stopped overnight in Las Vegas while driving to his new assignment in California. He was immediately fascinated by the games, and gambling became his major interest.

   After arriving in California he discovered that poker was legal and began playing in some of the public cardrooms as well as taking perodic trips to Las Vegas where he would play both poker and blackjack. In 1981 he went to work for the Northrop Corporation as a mathematician and moved to Los Angeles where he could conveniently pursue his interest in poker in the large public cardrooms in Gardena, Bell Gardens, and Commerce.

   In 1983 his first article "Card Domination--The Ultimate Blackjack Weapon" was published in Gambling Times magazine. In 1987 he left his job with the Northrop Corporation to begin a career as both a full-time gambler and a gambling writer. He has had over 500 articles published in various magazines and is the author or co-author of 12 books. These include Gambling Theory and Other Topics, where he tries to demonstrate why only a small number of people are highly successful at gambling. In this book he introduces the reader to the concept of "non-self weighting strategies" and explains why successful gambling is actually a balance of luck and skill. Other books he has co-authored are Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players, written with David Sklansky, and Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players written with David Sklansky and Ray Zee. These two "advanced" books are considered the definitive works on these games.

   His company Two Plus Two Publishing has sold over 300,000 books and currently has 24 titles to its credit. These books are recognized as the best in their field and are thoroughly studied by those individuals who take gambling seriously.

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   Ray Zee

   

   Ray Zee was born and raised in New Jersey, and spent his college years in the East as well. Unlike other students, Ray did more than just study. He began to gamble on the side in school, and when he graduated he was ready to start his career, which just happened to be in the dessert of Nevada.

   Ray quickly realized that there were many opportunities in various forms of gambling and began to search for ways to exploit the inequities in many of the games. This included blackjack, horse racing, sports betting, slot jackpots, and of course his favorite game, poker.

   It wasn't long before he became known as one of the top poker players and most knowledgeable gamblers in the world. And when we say world, we mean it literally because there are very few places where gambling is offered that Ray has not visited. In fact, you can go to many cardrooms all over the world, mention the name Ray Zee, and get an immediate response.

   Ray usually chooses to play in very high stakes cash games, many of which feature some of the best players in the world. It has been said that "He leaves them with their eyes wide open when he departs." Ray is also one of the very few players that is considered expert in virtually every form of poker played for serious money. He is also one of the very few gamblers (still around) that has been to all the World Series of Poker Tournaments at Binions Horseshoe Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

   Rays book, High-Low-Split Poker for Advanced Players is recognized as the premier book on split pot games, and this has increased his following and helped to promote these games as well. He is considered an invaluable member of the Two Plus Two Publishing team, and his advice and wisdom is widely sought by many of his peers and adversaries at the gaming tables.

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   Lynne Loomis

   

   Lynne Loomis has been a professional freelance writer and editor for 20 years and has written countless articles on gambling and other industry-related topics. She also occasionally can be found in casinos and cardrooms around the country.

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   Sylvester Suzuki

   Sylvester Suzuki is the pen name of a freelance writer who currently resides in southern California.

   As a teenager in the late 1940s, Mr. Suzuki, who was born and raised in the Seattle area, began his poker-playing career with such penny-ante favorites as "baseball" and "spit in the ocean." He then steadily progressed to no-limit lowball as a merchant seaman in the mid-fifties.

   Shortly after graduating from the University of Washington in 1959, Suzuki departed for assignment as a civilian administrative officer with the Eight United States Army in Seoul, Korea. During a twenty-five-year career with several Department of Defense agencies, primarily in overseas areas, Suzuki was a poker-playing regular in a variety of officers clubs, bachelor officers quarters, and on-base family housing facilities.

   Since his retirement in 1984, Mr. Suzuki has been playing poker primarily in the casinos of California and Nevada.

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   Dan Paymar

   Dan Paymar was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. Before turning to a career in the poker industry, Dan spent four years at Michigan Tech, becoming an engineer. His first work in the computer industry was in field service for Bendix Computer, which was bought out by Control Data in 1963. In 1967, Dan moved on to develop a text editing system for Encyclopædia Britannica.

   With two other engineers, Dan started Educational Data Systems. Their goal: to write a BASIC language interpreter and disk operating system for the Data General Nova computer to handle up to sixteen users. As far as we know, this was the first time-sharing system ever to run on a minicomputer. When the company began manufacturing its own computers Educational Data Systems became Point 4 Data Corporation.

   Always the idea man, Dan then developed an accessory for the Apple-II computer which he sold via his own mail order business and through retail outlets.

   In 1989 Dan changed his career direction about 180 degrees and returned to school -- to become a poker dealer. That same year, he moved to Las Vegas.

   After five years working as a poker dealer, playing some poker, and getting interested in video poker, Dan became an instructor for poker dealers at Casino Gaming School. Not satisfied with the instructional materials then available, the original edition of this book was born. Starting as a booklet of fifty pages, the text evolved as new situations and questions came up in class that were not covered. In 1995, the second edition of the original text, with eighty pages, was published and sold in gaming bookstores.

   Dan has been playing video poker since 1989 and began analyzing it and writing about it in 1991. Several of his articles have been published in Card Player, and he has a regular column in Blackjack Forum. Dan and associate newsletter editor Doug Reul are highly respected among both professional and recreational video poker players for their accurate analyses and easy-to-use strategies.

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   Donna Harris

   Donna Harris was born and raised in California and came to Las Vegas in 1979 for the World Cup of Darts, which was held at the Sahara Hotel. She was the first female official for this event. Like many Las Vegas visitors, she was fascinated by the prospect of building a career in the casino industry, and in 1980 she returned to Las Vegas to deal blackjack professionally. Her first job was at the Golden Nugget Gambling Hall in downtown Las Vegas.

   That same year, after becoming intrigued by the game of poker (which was played directly across the pit from where she dealt), and then playing poker after work, Donna asked to be transferred into the cardroom where the legendary Bill Boyd was the manager. Her initial position was as a "shill dealer" -- a dealer who only dealt when the "regular" dealers were out of the lineup -- usually to play poker. Her other early job duties included brushing tables, getting fills and player's checks, and "playing poker" as a shill. She dealt poker until 1985.

   In 1982 Bill Boyd retired, turning the cardroom over to another legend, Eric Drache. At that time very few women were in poker management and Eric felt that many of his regular customers, who originally played in "smokey back room" type environments, would not respect the decision of a young and inexperienced female floorperson. However, Donna persisted and was given the opportunity to succeed.

   In 1985 Donna became the relief shift manager at the Golden Nugget. When The Mirage opened in 1989, she was selected to be the swing shift manager for the new cardroom and became cardroom Manager in 1989. She has also held positions in both The World Series of Poker and Grand Prix of Poker tournaments held in Las Vegas. Her experience includes traveling with Poker Cruises International, whose routes to most ports in the Caribbean and Mexico have now been taken over by Card Player Cruises and Classic Poker Cruises. She was also aboard the first "poker cruise" to England on the QE II in 1985, and worked poker tournaments in such exotic locales as Marakesh, Morocco, and Port Vila, Vanuatu. As of this writing Miss Harris is still employed at The Mirage. She has been with the Golden Nugget/Mirage Corporation for nearly eighteen years.

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   Ray Michael B

   Ray Michael B. is a semi-retired neuro-surgeon, a recreational player, and a poker aficionado, which he defines as a serious student of the game.

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   Alan Schoonmaker

   Alan Schoonmaker earned his Ph.D. in industrial psychology at U of California, Berkeley. He taught and did research at UCLA, Carnegie-Mellon, and Belgium's Catholic University of Louvain. After running management development at Merrill Lynch, he worked as a consultant in twenty-nine countries on all six continents. His clients included the world's largest corporations such as IBM, Mobil, GE, GM, and Chase Manhattan. The annual sales of his clients exceed one trillion dollars.

   He has written or co-authored three research monographs and five books on industrial psychology. His work has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Japanese, and Indonesian. He has also developed several multi-media training programs. His "Selling: The Psychological Approach" was once the world's best selling computer based instructional program for business people. A major theme of his work is understanding and adjusting to different kinds of people, which is also the theme of The Psychology of Poker.

   For two years he wrote the "Psychology of Poker" column for Poker Digest. That column now appears in Cardplayer magazine. His next book, Business Is A Poker Game, will be published soon by Two Plus Two.

   His attitude toward our game is unique for a poker writer: "I play only in smaller games because maximizing my profits is much less important to me than relaxing and learning about people. I became a psychologist because I enjoy people-watching, and a cardroom is a wonderful place to do it."

   "Players in small games are much more interesting than the more serious players. They are more varied, open, and relaxed. They laugh more, tell better stories, and never forget that the purpose of playing any game is to have fun."

   "As the stakes get higher, the players become more serious and homogeneous. Most of them study the same books, know the same odds, and try to use similar strategies. In the smaller games there are more rocks, more maniacs, more calling stations, more nerds, more "Deluded Experts," and more oddballs, which means I learn more and get better material for my writing."

   "Most poker writers focus on how the champions think and play, but hardly anything has been written about ordinary players. I want to help them to understand themselves and the people in their games."

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   John Feeney

   John Feeney spent his youth in Phoenix Arizona. After attending the University of Colorado he moved to San Diego to pursue graduate work in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology. His interest in poker was sparked while observing a hold 'em game during a weekend trip to Las Vegas. True to his background, he took an academic approach to the game, studying the poker literature, consulting with David Sklansky, and getting the requisite playing experience. By the time he received his Ph.D., poker was beginning to compete with psychology for his attention. He soon began to log more hours in the cardrooms of Southern California, and ultimately poker became his primary focus.

   Today John can often be found in games in his area or elsewhere. When not at the tables John now devotes a portion of his time to writing. His articles in Poker Digest have been well received, and he is a regular participant in poker discussions on the Internet. You may spot his "posts" on the Two Plus Two Forums. Away from poker John enjoys spending time with his wife and two young daughters.

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   Ed Miller

   Ed Miller grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He received an S.B. in Physics and another in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT in 2000. After a year teaching, he moved to Redmond, Washington to work as a software developer for Microsoft.

   Looking for a new hobby, he deposited a couple hundred dollars in November 2001 to play $1-$2 and $2-$4 hold 'em online. After losing his initial stake, he sought to improve his game, and he found the books and website of Two Plus Two Publishing LLC. He participated in discussions on the forums at www.twoplustwo.com, and after a few months he turned his losses into wins in a $4-$8 game at a local card room.

   By January 2003, he had moved up to $10-$20 and $20-$40, and in March he left his job to play poker full-time. By then he had swapped roles on the online discussion forums from beginning player seeking advice to expert player giving it. After six more successful months playing in the Seattle area, he moved to Las Vegas, where he currently resides. Also in 2003, Dr. Alan Schoonmaker, the author of The Psychology of Poker, introduced Ed to David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth, and a partnership soon was born with this book being their first result.

   Today Ed usually plays between $10-$20 and $30-$60, but can occasionally still be found in the $2-$4 to $6-$12 games around Las Vegas.

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   Nick "Stoxtrader" Grudzien

   Nick "Stoxtrader" Grudzien

   Nick worked as a Wall-Street trader for ten years before taking a hiatus to play poker "professionally," write this book, and spend time with his wife and two children, ages four and two. He currently spends his time playing high-stakes, online cash games, and traveling to a few of the bigger WPT and WSOP tournaments. He splits his time evenly between limit and no-limit play, and continues to study the game intensely.

   Nick started playing poker seriously in the fall of 2003. He rapidly moved up in limits until the spring of 2005 at which point he reached, and has continued to play in, the highest cash games online. As Nick moved up in limits, he had the luxury of a stable job and considered poker to be recreation, at least initially. Bankroll requirements and risk objectives can be much more lax when the limits you play are small relative to your current earning potential, and this is a big reason Nick was able to move up in limits so quickly. Once Nick started playing $100-$200 limit hold 'em online, bankroll considerations started taking a somewhat more serious perspective. Since then, he has always had 1,000 big bets in his poker designated bankroll for any limit hold 'em game in which he has played.

   Nick is one of the featured bloggers at Stoxpoker.com and regularly posts entries and produces instructional videos there. He also posts frequently under the name "Stoxtrader" at twoplustwo.com.

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   Geoff "Zobags" Herzog

   Geoff "Zobags" Herzog

   Geoff received undergraduate degrees in mathematics and economics from Colorado College where he and Nick were fraternity brothers. After college, Geoff worked briefly as an actuary before enrolling at Harvard Law School. Upon graduation, he moved to Miami to work for a big law firm that specialized in defending financial services companies in multi-million dollar, class-action lawsuits. While there, he met his wife, Laura, who was also an attorney at the firm.

   After one year of practicing law, Geoff decided it was time for a change and moved to Jacksonville, Florida to work for a small venture capital company which invested in technology start-ups. Eventually, he became the Chief Legal Officer for one of the firm's portfolio companies. About this time, Geoff got interested in online poker when Nick explained how lucrative it could be. After many hours of coaching from Nick, and in less than one year, Geoff was able to move up in limits, going from $0.50-$1.00 to $50-$100. During this time, Geoff realized he could make more money playing poker than practicing law, so he "retired" to focus exclusively on poker. Since then, Geoff has had success grinding out a large number of short-handed limit hold 'em hands, usually playing 6 tables at a time.

   With the free time Geoff gained from playing poker for a living, he decided to pursue his other dream of being a professional hockey player. Even though he had not played competitively since college (8 years prior), Geoff was able to play a few games for the Jacksonville Barracudas of the Southern Professional Hockey League during the 2006-2007 Season.

   Geoff is also a CFA(R) (Chartered Financial Analyst) charterholder. He frequently posts at stoxpoker.com and twoplustwo.com under the name "Zobags," and coaches a number of students on their limit hold 'em game.

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   Matt Flynn

   Matt Flynn

   Matt Flynn grew up in Oakland, California. He received his applied math degree from Harvard in 1990 thanks to an academic scholarship from the Walt Disney Foundation. He earned his M.D. from Duke University in 1996. After internship at U.C. San Francisco, he served as resident and chief resident in dermatology at Stanford. During his training, Matt wrote four bestselling medical Board review books with his intramural basketball teammates and fellow medical students. Matt currently lives in North Carolina with his wife and two sons. He has a private dermatology practice and is the volunteer dermatologist for children served by the Wake County Health Department.

   Matt got his start in poker at age 8, when his then-87-year-old great-grandmother taught him to play 7-card no-peek at a Thanksgiving gathering. In 2000, Matt began playing limit hold 'em at Lucky Chances in Colma, California. It was there that he met poker author Tommy Angelo. The two immediately clicked, and over the next few months Tommy mentored Matt into high-stakes limit games. Through Tommy, Matt met no-limit pro Alex Roberts, who taught him the fundamentals and sat him in his first game. It was love at first raise. Afterwards, Alex said, "We have another ex-limit player."

   Under Alex's tutelage, Matt apprenticed in the $10-$10-$20 game at Lucky Chances and never looked back. He has played and studied high-stakes no-limit ever since. He met Sunny Mehta in 2005, and through him Ed Miller. This is their first collaboration.

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   Sunny Mehta

   Sunny Mehta

   Sunny Mehta grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey, where music was always a big part of his life. He graduated from the University of Miami School of Music in 2000 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz and Studio Guitar. He moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2002 and began playing, recording, and teaching music professionally.

   In late 2003, Sunny started playing poker in his free time, and took a great interest in it. After studying the game via the forums on www.twoplustwo.com and honing his skills in local games, he was playing professionally by 2004. He started by playing low stakes online games, and by 2005 he was playing in the biggest no-limit hold 'em games in New Orleans. Through www.twoplustwo.com, he made the acquaintance of Matt Flynn, who shared his interest in analyzing and discussing poker.

   In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Sunny moved to Las Vegas where he became a fixture in the high stakes no-limit cash games. In Las Vegas, he met Ed Miller, a New Orleans native himself. Ed, having already written two books for Two Plus Two Publishing LLC, introduced Sunny to Mason Malmuth. Sunny introduced Matt to Ed and Mason, and a book project took form by early 2006.

   Sunny pined for the unique culture of New Orleans and, despite enjoying the success in Las Vegas, decided to move back to the Big Easy in 2006. He continued to play no-limit hold 'em online, as well as in local live games. He has played in a wide array of no-limit games, from $.25-$.50 to $25-$50, online to live, shorthanded and heads-up to full ring, cash games to tournaments.

   Sunny currently lives in New Orleans where he plays poker, writes about poker, coaches poker, plays music, writes music, and enjoys the local flavor. For questions pertaining to the book, private poker lessons, or anything else discussion-worthy, you can contact him at www.sunnymehta.com. You can also find him on the forums at www.twoplustwo.com.

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   Collin Moshman

   Collin Moshman

   Collin Moshman graduated in 2003 with an honors degree in theoretical math from Caltech. Later that year, he began playing $0.10-$0.25 cash no-limit hold 'em and $6 sit 'n go's. By the time he was crushing the $215's sit 'n go's and beyond, he abandoned his post-graduate studies in economics to focus on sit 'n go poker as a full-time career.

   During a term of study at Cambridge University, Collin visited Scotland with his father to hoist the famed clach cuid fir -- the Scottish stones of manhood. His exploits are detailed in "An Up-Lifting Journey," appearing in the June 2003 issue of MILO Strength Journal. Other interests of Collin include racquetball, dealer's choice home poker games, free-market economics, and 19th century music.

   Lastly, Collin has the Stu Ungar-like quality of wanting to bet on just about everything. His current wager is that he can teach his arts-oriented girlfriend, Katie, to play poker better than she can teach him to sing. Collin considers this bet a lock, barring sudden possession by Frank Sinatra.

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