Review of

Review of Pot Limit Omaha 8 Revealed

Title:

Pot Limit Omaha 8 Revealed

Author:

Dan Deppen

Publisher:

self

Date:

2009

ISBN:

1-44219-763-3

Pages:

186

Price:

$29.95

Reviewed by Nick Christenson, npc@jetcafe.org

August 26, 2009

The online poker industry has made an indelible mark on the game. Sit'n'go tournaments, 6 max tables, micro-limits, and heads-up freeze-outs have all been online innovations. One game that has become popular online but is almost never spread live is pot-limit Omaha high/low 8-or-better, or PLO8 for short. Dan Deppen has written Pot Limit Omaha 8 Revealed as the first book to cover this game exclusively.

The book assumes that the reader is already an experienced poker player who understands terminology commonly found in the poker literature and who has some limit and big bet experience. It also assumes that the reader is familiar with online poker and is at least acquainted with many of the more common online poker tools. I find this to be entirely appropriate. This is a good book for someone with online poker experience who is looking for a new game to learn. Those who are new to poker or online play almost certainly want to start someplace more fundamental.

After leading with a couple of introductory chapters, the author provides chapters on pre-flop and flop play followed by two chapters on post-flop considerations. The book concludes with three chapters on tournament play, miscellaneous topics, and hand examples.

I found the introductory comments to be a bit hyperbolic. The author suggests that PLO8 is not only much more profitable than any other available online game, but that it has lower variance. The book is also geared toward beating the opponents who frequent these games at the time the book was written rather than on optimal strategy. These claims might be true, but I generally prefer poker books that aim for a more timeless and quantifiable approach. I'm sure that not everyone agrees with my preferences.

The information Deppen provides seems reasonable to me, but I'm not sure how much of it wouldn't occur to someone who was familiar with both limit Omaha high/low and PLO. Of course, not everyone is, and even those who are might find it much more convenient to read Deppen's book than work all this out for themselves. I would say that the book is aimed toward poker players of intermediate skill level with little or no PLO8 experience who are looking to broaden their repertoire, and I'd also say that it succeeds in meeting the needs of its target audience. In today's crowded poker book market, that's no small accomplishment.

The poker book market has ebbed since the poker phenomenon peaked a few years ago. Also, barriers to self-publishing books have been lowered in recent years. Thus, a large number of the new poker books I'm seeing are being self-published, and Deppen's new book is part of this trend. Pot Limit Omaha 8 Revealed is well written, which is my primary concern for self-published books. In the first couple of chapters there are some awkward page breaks involving tables, and the editing in the last chapter is haphazard. I suspect it was added or significantly reworked late in the publication process because the rest of the book appears to be fairly well edited. While somewhat distracting, none of the editing issues bother me enough to downgrade my recommendation of the book.

If a book on no-limit hold'em of equivalent quality to Pot Limit Omaha 8 Revealed were to find itself in my hands today, I'd probably dismiss it as unnecessary and unremarkable. However, since Deppen's work is the only book on the market specifically geared toward this game, it is entirely appropriate for him to cover what might otherwise be considered to be elementary strategic considerations. It is decent, and it does cover a game in a depth that no other book does, therefore I believe that Pot Limit Omaha 8 Revealed achieves its aims. I'd recommend this book to those who are interested in this game but haven't given it a great deal of thought. It's not a great book, but it does a serviceable job of filling its niche.

Capsule:

Pot Limit Omaha 8 Revealed does a decent job of providing enough good information about PLO8 to make it worthwhile for intermediate players with little to no experience in this game. It is self-published, and I found a few layout problems early in the book plus there are some editing issues in the last chapter, but overall it reads well. I can't say this is a great book, but it does a decent job of achieving its aims, and I recommend it to its target audience.

Note: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher. I have no other interest, financial or otherwise, in the success of this book.