Alex Fitzgerald has written several excellent poker books in the past including The 100 Biggest Mistakes That Poker Players Make, Exploitative Play in Live Poker, and the evergreen Myth of Poker Talent. Alex’s poker books are always informative and entertaining, and his new book is no exception. As a low-stakes tournament player myself, I was eager to read Alex’s new book How to Beat Players Who Never Fold. This poker book is designed to help players succeed in low-stakes casino tournaments and cheap home games.
In this book, Alex helps the reader understand why so many low-stakes players resist folding their cards. Then he systematically teaches you how to benefit from that fact. Along the way he throws in some good-old low-stakes strategy and, as always, a wealth of example problems to learn from.
Why Poker Players Never Fold
Alex begins his book by helping the reader get inside the head of the typical low-stakes poker player. He explains that many of these players are at the poker table to have fun. And folding is not fun. The reader, however, as a serious student of the game (as evidenced by the fact they are reading his book!) can beat these players who never fold with a little patience and strategy.
Alex goes on to typify the player types who do not like to fold. He identifies Stations, Maniacs, Nits, and Regulars, outlining their behavior and mindset to help you figure out how best to play against each. Alex tries to help you understand each of these player types so that you can both identify them and better strategize against them.
He then explains that it is the very act of folding that separates the skilled players from the masses, and helps the reader figure out when to find the fold and when to bet for profit. Alex emphasizes the need to observe the other players at your table carefully to figure out their player type and general behavior. Once you know how the players at your table typically act, you have the keys to beat them.
Slaughter the Big Blind
Once Alex lays out his player types and recommends a general approach for each, he moves on to some basic strategic poker plays. These moves, he explains, will be very profitable against the typical no-fold ’em players you will find at your low-stakes table. For example, Alex explains that players in the big blind are typically playing too wide a range. You can take advantage of this fact post-flop and profit significantly from this knowledge. Alex also talks about handling limpers and players who open too wide in general.
Alex discusses when to value bet (frequently), when to slow down and find the fold, and when to bluff (frequently pre-flop, rarely on the river). Alex is a big fan of over-betting and really wants you to focus on value, value, value.
The book also covers some real poker basics like carefully observing the players to your left to better isolate their ranges and to see if you can pick up any tells. He talks about how you need to make sure that you aren’t playing too many hands yourself. And, of course, he covers the importance of position in the game.
Alex also lays out some complicated behavioral analysis. What does it mean when a player bets quickly on a wet board? How about when they take their time? Can you get an idea of whether another player is bluffing that all-in on the river? What tells can you pick up about the players around you? Alex walks you carefully through each of these situations. He even covers managing your own image, and how to play profitably while not getting kicked out of home games for “being no fun.”
Multiway Pots
Another great feature of How to Beat Players Who Never Fold is the extensive coverage of multiway pots. So much poker strategy covers only heads up situations. The assumption of many books and poker training sites seems to be that you will generally find yourself heads up with one other player. Anyone who has ever sat down in their local poker room to play a $50 tournament knows that heads-up pots are the exception, not the rule.
Alex understands this, and spends a significant proportion of the book teaching you how to handle situations where you open pre-flop and two (or more) players come along for the ride. This is where the training examples really shine. Alex starts with simple situations (where you have the best position in the hand) and moves on from there. Each lesson he teaches is followed by a “problem.” First he lays out the situation with a helpful table diagram to orient the reader. Then he asks “What would you do?”. Finally he explains what he would advise and exactly why.
Alex also covers numerous heads-up situations later in the book, but this multiway content is some of the best you’ll find anywhere.
The paperback and ebook version of the brand new title by Alex @pokerheadrush Fitzgerald is out now worldwide. Audiobook version will publish very soon.https://t.co/JDDJQmLrM3
— D&B Poker (@DBPoker1) August 11, 2024
Ask Me Anything
A unique and effective element of this book is the inclusion of reader questions coming from the many players that Alex has coached or worked with over the years. Each section of the main training text (Multiway Pots, Heads-Up Pots, and Three-bet Pots) is followed by a question and answer session. Alex prints the relevant reader queries and then answers them in great detail. Alex answers questions such as “If someone triple-barrels into me in a multiway pot, should I believe them?” and “How should you play when someone three-bets you?”. His answers are both clear and followed by thorough explanations.
Summary
How to Beat Players Who Never Fold is an excellent primer on handling low buy-in tournaments and home games. Alex Fitzgerald understands that low stakes players are fundamentally different from the pros that so much training data is created for. The low stakes game is different as well. This book is designed to help the thoughtful player master these games and be profitable even when “nobody ever folds”!
