Review of Secrets of Non-standard Sit'n'gos

Title:

Secrets of Non-standard Sit'n'gos

Author:

Phil Shaw

Publisher:

D&B Publishing

Date:

2010

ISBN:

978-1-904468-52-3

Pages:

192

Price:

$24.95

Reviewed by Nick Christenson, npc@jetcafe.org

November 11, 2010

Phil Shaw is a well-respected online tournament poker professional who entered the poker book market with this book's predecessor, Secrets of Sit'n'gos. However, not all sit'n'go poker tournaments these days follow the same format. There are step sit'n'gos, multi-table sit'n'gos, double-or-nothing events, as well as a myriad of games played. Shaw's new book, Secrets of Non-standard Sit'n'gos addresses the variations on the sit'n'go theme.

Shaw begins with a review of sit'n'go tournament basics that were covered in his previous book. This includes a description of the Independent Chip Model (ICM) which is fundamental to Shaw's analysis. The author also provides a chapter covering a few basic and advanced poker concepts that he uses throughout the book.

He then moves toward covering many of the non-standard sit'n'go formats that are popular at online poker sites these days. A typical treatment of each of these formats takes up about two pages, and altogether, this chapter weighs in at about a quarter of the book. Shaw then devotes a very brief chapter to poker software and poker training web sites, followed by a chapter on rakeback and reward programs. More than the last third of the book consists of hand quizzes.

First, even though some of it is repeated in the opening chapters, the information contained in Shaw's previous work, Secrets of Sit'n'gos is assumed knowledge in this book. Anyone who hasn't read Shaw's first book should definitely do so before purchasing this one.

I like what Shaw has to say about software and the rewards programs. Even though this sort of information quickly becomes obsolete, I still think there isn't enough discussion of it in the poker literature. In my opinion, online poker players who don't use HUD-type software and who don't take advantage of reward programs are leaving an enormous amount of money on the table. Informing and training people about how to incorporate these factors into their games almost certainly will do more to improve earn or reduce loss online than any strategic suggestions any book is likely to make. I think it's unfortunate that Shaw doesn't provide more information here on those topics, especially on software and training sites, which really get precious little coverage.

While I found some of his information on the non-standard sit'n'go formats to be useful. At the same time, I found some descriptions to be rather perfunctory and unenlightening, and alternately I found others to be short on details. Further, Shaw seems unclear how to approach the topic of non-hold'em sit'n'gos. For example, he provides four pages on limit razz sit'n'gos. This includes some suggestions about how to play the game, but these are quite terse. I would have preferred it if he had said something like, "Go read book X to learn how to play razz, then come back here and I'll detail the differences between razz cash game and sit'n'go strategy changes." Instead, I find the half-hearted strategic information to be worse than providing no information on the subject.

The hand quizzes are interesting, but the book simply doesn't provide sufficient background for the reader to be able to get many of them correct. A lot of the solutions depend on information from Shaw's first book, and to get some of them correct, you'd also need a hand range evaluator and an ICM calculator handy. That's not the worst thing in the world, serious sit'n'go players should almost certainly have access to both, but I would expect some readers to feel like many of the quizzes seem to belong to a different book than this one. Quite honestly, they may also wish they were able to read that book instead. Since the quizzes start on page 115, it's not like there wasn't room for the additional material.

Overall I liked Shaw's first book, Secrets of Sit'n'gos. While there is good stuff in his sequel, I don't think it's of the same quality as the first one. So, I recommend that people with an interest in the topic of sit'n'gos read his first one. Then, if they think they would be interested in the material covered by the second one even if the quality isn't quite as high, then by all means pick up Secrets of Non-standard Sit'n'gos.

Capsule:

Shaw's Secrets of Non-standard Sit'n'gos is a sequel to his first book, Secrets of Sit'n'gos, which covers many of the wide range of sit'n'go tournaments available these days at online card rooms. The first book is really a prerequisite for the second book, so it should be read first. The second book is also shorter and less well executed than the first book, so this should be weighed by those considering acquiring the sequel. Secrets of Non-standard Sit'n'gos does have some useful material in it though, so I do think there is an audience for it.

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.