"The instruction in this book is going to increase your variance. It’s going to have you risking your stack a lot more often than you’ll be use to. If you do things right, the author, Ed Miller, says your hourly win rate will increase. How much variance should you expect? Miller says that you should have a bankroll of $20,000 to be a regular player in a $2-5 NL game. That’s an awful lot of cabbage to win $10-20 an hour. You can make $12 an hour at Hardees and get there in a $3,000 car.

Luckily, it’s all baby steps. He starts you off in $1-2 NL and the play he recommends is pretty straightforward. Learn and master the first three steps on $1-2 and then move your game to $2-5. It might take a while though to bankroll that $20,000 to play $2-5 unless you also have that Hardees job.

I don’t have the $20,000 bankroll to play $2-5 but I went ahead and read those sections anyway. There is some good stuff there. Be careful how much you raise pre-flop and bet the streets. You are probably giving away too much information if your betting varies. Also, watch how others raise pre-flop and bet the streets. They are likely giving away too much information that will help you. That’s solid advice.

Contrary Ideas that I am still reflecting on:

1) Much poker literature will tell you that being suited is mostly inconsequential. The chances of making a flush are only 6% and you might not even have the best flush. And if three of any suit hits the board, players tend to slow down. Ed Miller says horse feathers. He doesn’t want to play unsuited connectors because it’s that 6% that gives him the extra showdown equity if his bluff fails.
2) If you have a big pocket pair and the flop brings draw possibilities, you don’t want to price the draws out. Bet enough so that they will chase. If they happen to hit their card then fold. Miller reckons you will lose some hands but win more money overall having them drawing at you.

Conclusion: Will this strategy work? I think the better players at the table will make some money this way if they are playing with the players Ed Miller is talking about. I see the guys he means in games all over the country when I play on business trips. And even average players could make some money for a while if this strategy doesn’t catch on widely. My review here is just the 10th one in six years so maybe it’s still new enough not to be exploited. My gut here is that serious players won’t review this book because they don’t anyone to know they are using these strategies. If you knew a guy was playing like this, it would be easier to beat him.

Doyle Brunson’s Super System was quite influential in the 70s and 80s to the point that even Brunson could no longer play that style he describes. It’s been a while since I read it, but I see some overlap. Doyle loved to bet on the come and he induced a lot of folding. When the opposition called Doyle, he usually had outs. He called it a freeroll on all the money he won inducing folds. The Course seems to play a more disciplined version of that style. I would guess the holes would show at higher levels and Miller says as much as he introduces new strategies at new levels.

This is a system of play and systems are popular because they offer a shortcut to winning poker. The problem arises in our own human imperfections. Can we stick to the strategy? Will we keep our wits about us as the action creates adrenaline? Miller offers some tips and on how to keep from going on tilt. He covers much of what I would call the challenges of discipline. Can the reader overcome so many human weaknesses? I’m curious to go to a card room and see if this is a strategy that people are using.

June 2025 Update:

It's been almost four years since I read this book and I didn't see a lot of this kind of play at the time. Then it started creeping into the 2-5 games I would play. Then the gambling 2-5 players started moving into PLO where chasing is rewarded, leaving more of the variance players at 2-5. I moved back down to 1-2 where the action is greater than it was when I left. I think I would get something worthwhile reading it again because I would better understand this play having now seen it. "

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Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - Image: Tyndale House Publishers

Try to forget for a minute that there are people who take this stuff literally. The book actually works as a sort of sci-fi novel, the kind Robert Heinlein might have written for adolescents. The characters are paper thin and the truth is revealed to true believers. It is a scandal that this stuff sold so many copies. But it was worth the read to know what all the fuss was about. Entertaining, sure, but still a major eye-roller."

"A compelling and well researched read about an indigenous woman who married a fur trader and lived a remarkable life. I thoroughly loved listening to this excellent and informative historical fiction on audible."