The Poker Tournament Formula

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54 Reviews

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I happened to bring the book on a cruise recently.
While relaxing by the pool I would read a few pages every day.
Later in the week I decided to join---for the first time ever---a small [$60 buy-in], fast [blinds went up every fifteen minutes] tourney.

The night before the tournament I heard from a friend [who had also joined the tournament] about the 're-buy' and 'add-on'.
Without this book I would have had no idea how those would factor into the tournament and my play.

I found out there would be three tables.
Thanks to this book I was able to review how the number of players would influence my play.

Thanks to this book I was able to use the above information to determine the 'patience factor' and tried to play accordingly.

Thanks to this book I was able to profile some players. There were at least two 'cagey-codgers', two 'canasta ladies', a few 'ball-cap players', and even two 'wimps who were gone within a half-hour after blowing their initial $60 and another $60 on the re-buy.

Thanks to the position play described in this book I used some strong bets at the right time to win some hands. I was also able to pull off a few bluffs that I would not otherwise have tried. A cagey codger even complimented me on my ability to steal the blinds.

Don't pay attention to the reviewers who whine how this book has Math in it. If I can do some division, you certainly can. I'm not a Math genius.

Unlike a previous reviewer who won his tourney, I only came in 7th, but I was happy---this was my first tournament!

In short, this book is worth purchasing. The author has an easy to understand writing style, explains his ideas clearly, and above all---has a plan.

Remember, it's as simple as rock, paper, scissors.

This book has been discussed at length at the 2+2 forums. Sklansky and Malmuth have pointed out a couple of flaws in the book (about which Snyder debates), but S&M generally concede that the methods advocated in the book work well.

This book examines the "speed" of various tournament structures, and advocates a method for playing for "fast" tournaments.

I found the analysis of tournament structures to be insightful. While I knew that slower blind levels and more starting chips favored skill (while less time/chips favored luck), I had never seen an attempt to quantify the differences between structures. Snyder does a good job with it.

For fast tournament structures, Snyder proposes a method of play based on the interrelationship between your card strength (or lack thereof), your positional strength (or lack thereof), and your chip strength (or lack thereof). His rock-paper-scissors metaphor is quite original.

Recently, I decided to play an online tournament using Snyder's principles. To my delight, I finished 3rd out of 1000 players. To me, poker books either cost you money or make you money. This is one of the few that will make you money.

For the life of me, I don't know why this poker book hasn't gotten much more attention than it has. In my opinion, the inaptly-named "Poker Tournament Formula" is as original and insightful as anything ever written by Sklansky, Harrington, or Brunson, and superior to 90% of what's on the market today. I know that it's not authored by one of the world-famous names in poker. I doubt we'll be seeing this fellow at a WPT final table any time soon. But pound for pound, this book packs a full heavyweight punch; there are at least a half-dozen brilliant original ideas here, and even when Snyder says what's already been said elsewhere, he says it better.

Honestly, for less than $15, I can't imagine what else you could want from a book. This is much more than some robotic "Poker Tournament Formula" (along the lines of the horrible "Kill Phil" system). The detailed discussion of tournament structure alone (complete with a reference website) is more than worth the price of admission. Snyder outlines in detail how to play intelligent, aggressive poker in the world of small buy-in events; quite frankly, if you don't play along the lines he recommends in these tournaments, then you simply are *not* going to win consistently.

Some have ridiculed the book for its comparison of poker to the game of "rock, paper, scissors", where chips are the rock, cards are the paper, and position is akin to the scissors. But in my opinion, this is the single greatest idea you could get out of this book: you don't necessarily need the cards to win a poker hand; you can win based on sheer chip arsenal or by outmaneuvering your opponents after the flop. It's true that these moves won't hardly work at all in a ring game against decent players (since there you *should* be playing cards and not chips or position nearly as much), but in fast tournaments this strategy is essential. This book will literally change the way you think about poker tournaments. In fact, I suspect it will actually change the way most of us view the game of poker itself.

I'd also recommend Poker Tips that Pay: Expert Strategy Guide for Winning No Limit Texas Hold em as a good compliment for "Poker Tournament Formula", with a lot more specific hand examples to study.

I've played Live and online tournaments for a few years and am overall on the Plus side. I credit my success to the great Harrington on Hold'em series (I have all 3). Then I went and got Snyder's book. I listen to Snyder. I get a 5-2 offsuit and am 2 to the right of the button and first to act. A typical fold situation, says Harrington. "Not so fast," says Snyder; Make a steal. I raise 4X the big Blind with the Blinds @ 50-100. The Button goes over the top? Now what Arnold? Kiss 400 chips goodbye - that's what.

Arnold Snyder's "formula" assumes that everyone will fold to you just because you are at or near the button in fast tournaments. It doesn't work that way, especially online turbos. Your raise means nothing to them when their M is low.

Since reading Snyder's book, I have lost 33% of my tournamnet bankroll on UltimateBet and 60% of my bankroll on PokerStars. I keep losing as I work hard to unlearn the bad habits I picked up from reading Poker Tournament Formula. I wish I had never picked it up.

This book is geared to what the author calls speed tournaments, those with relatively low starting chip counts and fastly increasing blind structures.

If you follow Mr. Snyder's advice, you are ruling out the overwhelming majority of tournaments at the major online poker rooms.

I'll save you some money. In a nutshell, play small, fast, low skill tournaments. Your cards don't matter. Play aggressively in late positions and if someone plays back at you, fold.

If you're looking for books to improve your game in 90% of the tournaments you might really play, get Harrington on Hold 'em I, II and III instead.

What Snyder points out is that ourneys vary in speed. Not only that but the different stages of tournaments vary in speed. There is a very large range of tournaments between the ones where normal cash-game skill will prevail and the extremely fast tournaments where luck really can't be overcome. Snyder recognizes this and gives methods to use the hidden factor, tournament strategy, which dominates the tournaments too fast for pure poker skill to dominate but slow enough not to be entirely determined by luck.

In fact, he gives methods to determine the speed of a particular tournament, the chance that the type of tournament will be profitable for you and the bankroll requirements to be playing in that tournament. In other words, he helps with one of the most important decisions, whether or not to play in a particular tournament.

His recognition that the "all-in moment" should be avoided and that the majority of ones chips should _and can_ be added without putting your cards face up and seeing who wins is an important virtue of the book. His understanding of position is excellent and his explation of how to use it is inspiring.

He isn't afraid of taking on the poker gurus. He points out that the gap concept, so beloved of Sklansky et al, is valid but it does not govern situations where you have position and the bet or raise is not pot-committing or all-in.

Even in the slowest tournaments I play (the weekend tournaments at Foxwoods where you start with 10K in chips) Snyder's ideas help throughout the tournament, but especially when the blinds and antes have started to make the tournament play faster.

In the Tuesday night rebuy tournament at the bar down the street, which I basically play because I can walk there and walk home, I find his thinking completely valid. Last month, I played one of these almost completely by his pure position strategy, from the time the rebuy period ended until the final table. That is, I raised from the last three seats, without referencing my cards, if it was folded to me. Called after limpers or one normal raise on the button, again without looking, although I never let the other players know that. The only exception I made was to look at my cards in the "always fold" positions or if there had been a big raise previously, so that I wouldn't miss any good hands in those situation.

I got to the final table with a chip lead and won it. This isn't the first time I have won that tournament but it might have been the most fun.

His emphasis on winning chips without showing your hand is important. Farmers have chips so that the bandits can steal them. His point that players almost always lose the most chips on hands where they really like their cards and can't let go of them is true.

We have not seen him on television and that is going to make many readers doubt his advice but he isn't talking about winning a 10K main event. He is talking about making money in poker tournaments and he knews what he is talking about.

I have played online tournaments for several years now and usually bust out in the third hour just short of the money, despite frequently being in the top 10 players at the one- and two-hour take-a-5-minute-break points. The few times I have won big prizes, I could never figure out why - the last hour always seemed like such a whirlwind as the blinds escalated.

Duh. That's because they ARE a whirlwind. Snyder's book shows you how to keep your bearings at this fastest part of the bobsled run known as an online poker tournament. The insights I have gained from this book are invaluable, detailed strategies I've seen in no other poker book.

I just got done playing my first weekend tourney since reading this book and I placed 1st, winning $4000. Luck? Well, sure, but let me tell you - I would not have won this tourney today without reading Snyder's book last week. I can hardly wait to play my next one now.

Thanks, Arnold. Great, great book - right up there with Harrington's.

As a novice live hold 'em poker player, this was one of the first books I read on the subject, and I was blown away at the principles it taught me with respect to position and how the pace of the blind levels affects your strategy. I see a lot of detractive, close minded talk in online poker forums about how these methods don't make sense to these folks, and yet I find the same methods give me an edge over the uniform, predictable elite-tournament strategies these same players all put to use in unison. They don't understand that the principles outlined are simply that, principles, and not a paint-by-numbers rulebook. Even Snyder admits that his specific suggestions should be adapted to the situation, yet detractors see what they want to see (or refuse to entertain that which they can't understand).

Before reading this book, I was a timid, tight player who often got blinded off because I held out for good pocket hands. This book taught me that cards are only one element of many, and that often your play isn't dictated by your cards so much as by other factors, your position, others' betting strategies and so on.

I bet into more hands than most 'skilled' players these days, developing a rep as a loose player, and yet win more pots than them because I'm calculated about when I do and don't play aggressively. My calculated aggressiveness leads to better situations and more made hands. There is no such thing to me as a cold deck, because this approach often helps create hands. People who tilt and try to match this calculated aggression for pride's sake often get beat badly or bust themselves out. Like Arnold wrote himself, I find myself winning a lot of hands.

His analysis of tournament speeds and deciphering which tournaments are worth playing and not worth playing is groundbreaking. Readers will quickly learn how to analyze the playability and playing style required for a tournament before ever playing it, using his Patience Factor formula. All you need to know are the blind levels, a rough estimate of the field size, rebuy/add-on policies and starting chips.

As a grade-zero novice with minimal strategic skill, right after reading his book, I entered a 40 person lightning fast tourney, a tourney Snyder himself says is too fast... and using his principles, built a decent stack before busting and finished 12th, just missing the final table. I shouldn't have had a prayer of reaching the final table. With Snyder's principles, I more than had a prayer... I had a legitimate shot.

But Then maybe not. A giant leap foreward for an advanced player. New concepts and new applications. This book will not only improve your game it will change it. Ranks up there with HOH I, II, and III. Now I understand chips,position,cards,...rock,paper,scissors..it's all clear now ..What a concept! Wow!

This is an excellent book on tournament play. Contains great analyses on many aspects of tournament play not covered by other books. Highly recommended.

I have read many poker books. In each one, I hope to find 1 or 2 'new ideas', among the rest of the rehashed stuff (most books are just rehashing the same things)...

In this regards, PTF is a great book... Not only does it have many new ideas, but it's not just rehashing everything else. It's a very different approach to the game, and definitely worth reading.

If I am recommending poker books to people, this is definitely in the top 3.

4 stars instead of 5 because I would appreciated a little more mathematical rigor in some cases... I know the author is capable of it.
The problem is, he would expose some concept, like number of hands played per hour, estimate how many hands get played in a live tournament, almost double that figure to decide how many hands get played in an online tournament, and arrive at a figure like, "So, you have 140 minutes of life if you don't play a single hand"...

I would have much preferred to keep track of these things as "number of hands before you're blinded out", rather than "amount of time before you're blinded out".

Great book. Explains a lot of things you see happening in tournaments but didnt know why. The stuff in this book really works (although it is a bit scary to try at times...)

For a beginning player, learn the basics first, then read this book, it'll add a whole new dimension to your play, that you'll get to try out on the online sites immediately and see a difference.

Now this is a book you cannot miss!!!

1) I wonder why people say its so good and give it only 4 stars... This book is so focused, so well constructed and it has such valuable info that it deserves nothing more than 5 genuine stars.

2) It's a very honest book. If you want the best out there for fast tournaments, both live and online, this is the book for you. Forget about Harrington (great for Big, slow tournaments like WSOP), forget about all others talking great about cash games. This one is for all of us playing in the internet in fast tournaments, and the ones that try out their chances in their local Casino fast tournaments.

3) Having played lots of online tournaments, I found myself making most of the mistakes mentioned in this book. And somehow I felt that i had to make some changes like the ones proposed in this book, but I never really knew what changes exactly and most of all WHY!!! Here you will find all the details on what to do and why it works.

4) Though that rock/paper/scissors metaphor does not work for me, it describes some great info about the way your chips/cards/position interact during a tournament. And it tells you why you can't rely on your cards only, and you have to learn how to play your position and your chip stack.

5) How about some hints? Here you will learn how to determine if a tournament is fast and how fast it actually is... And then you will learn how to adjust your game according to the tournament speed. You will learn how the initial stacks, rebuy or addon options affect your play etc. Damn, there is stuff here you can't imagine how important they are, and they are here for you to grab.

I can't say enough about how much I have learned about tournament play from this book. And since I don't participate in big slow tournaments, Harrington actually had not worked for me so far, I always seemed to be left short stacked, because of the tight and cautious way I had to play. This book liberated me and made me much more effective in my play.

thanks mr. Snyder

Well done

March 5, 2008

I first discovered this book in my local library . After I had taken it out twice I bought a copy of my own . I took it with me when I went to Las Vegas in December, 2007. I entered 13 tournaments and cashed in three of them . In almost every case I built up my chip stack rapidly and early and, true to Snyder's own observations, I only got in trouble when I preceived I had a good hand and was chasing it . I made enough money on the trip to pay for 5 night's stay and travel from my home in Saskatoon, Canada . This book sets out principles and strategies in a clear manner . I was not able to form a clear strategy by reading any of the other leading poker books I have collected . The concept of entering the pot with a raise if you are the first in is excellent advice and I can now see why it works . The position play strategy has been a revelation . I knew before that postion was important but I did not previously have a plan for my local tournament; now I do . I recently won a 39 person $ 60.00 buy-in tournament in my city . One of the other players observed during play that I was playing by the book entering the pot with 3 times the big blind (many of the others wanted to limp in) . Little did he know which book I was playing by ! My hands were well disguised as I raised with strong and weak hands (based on position) alike and I did not have to show a bluff . AS I did not play most of the hands I would say I was perceived as a tight, perhaps lucky player . I have had other players fold pocket kings and pocket queens to my bluffs !

There are always going to be detractors to the concepts in the book but I am not one of them .

I am eagerly waiting for Arnold Snyder's follow up book which is supposed to be available in May, 2008 .

Concepts are good for short fast tournaments. The only book on the subject I know of in print.

I've been playing small to medium size Poker tournaments (20 to 300 players) for over a decade.. and been pretty successful at it. I've read all the major poker books (Slansky, Brunson, etc) and those are great for understanding the math, starting hands, pot odds, etc... But of all the poker books I've read this one is my actual favorite. The main difference is that this is a niche book. It gives you very concrete and direct advice on how to play medium size Hold'em Poker tournaments. It tells you what to do, when to do it and just a liitle bit of why. If you are super interested in the "why", read the other major books. This one is a good shortcut. It is a light read that shows you how successful medium-size tournament players play.

The one rule of thumb from this book that I will never forget is:

CARDS beat CHIPS
CHIPS beat POSITION
POSITION beats CARDS

Understanding this key dynamic is what the book is all about. If you play medium size tournaments often, then this is DEFINITELY worth the read.

I call this book an 'underground' poker classic because it is deeply underappreciated in the poker world. I write a monthly column for one of the largest poker magazine, and in my opinion, it is the single best book for explaining winning tournament strategy...AGGRESSION. The reason aggression is the winning strategy is that a hold'em players greatest weapon at any time is Folding Equity. Meaning your ability to control your raises, and the probability your opponent will lay down their hand. The main problem I see is that the aggressive style does not fit everyone's personality, but if you want a crash course on tournament aggression, this is the book for you.

Being a avid poker player since 2003 I have experimented with differant types of tourney styles and recently put poker tournament formula to the test,against a variety of other styles including,gus hansen,dan harrington,a generic consertative aggressive approach,and my own hybrid style say to speak.
I was not biased in any style as I have all the books on each player.I played 10 $5 multi table tourneys using each style on ultimate bet.I kept up with each win and loss on microsoft excel.Here are the results:
All styles were in the negative except 3 styles which were positive they are Gus hansen positive $30.00 Dan Harrington positive $122.00 and poker tournament formula positve $243.00
I know this is only a 10 tourney test and really about 100 games should be played out to get a more accurate account,but those were the short term results.To be honest with you my fellow poker players I started out as a Dan Harrington Disciple,but it always felt like something was missing no sizzle to the steak so to speak.Poker tournament formula definetely fills in that gap.Also I generally feel more comfortable playing the PTF system than harringtons due also to the fact that it is actually more simply to follow and laid out for you practically in the book as with harringtons you have to piece it all together.Only more test will tell but this style is definetely looking good for the small fast tournaments.

This book is directly responsible for an amazing run of seven out of nine final tables made in fast-moving No-Limit Hold'em tournaments. This translates to a very healthy addition to the personal poker bankroll. I cannot think of higher praise for this book. "The Poker Tournament Formula" keeps it's promises. Amazing.

In this book, Snyder, a noted blackjack guru, ventures into the world of tournament poker, specifically focusing on today's "fast" tournaments with rapidly escalating blinds and antes. He attempts to demonstrate that in such a structure, it is necessary to play differently than one would play in a tournament such as the events of the World Series of Poker, even if the events feature the exact same competitors, due to the differences presented by the rapidly increasing blinds.

For the most part, the book does a good job of showing the need to play much more quickly and be slightly less risk-averse in a fast tournament, due to the fact that a player cannot merely sit back and wait for premium starting hands. However, some of the advice he gives for ways to go about adjusting to a new strategy are questionable at best, and most likely are chip-spewing. For example, he mentions a play in which you (in position) call a preflop limp or standard raise, call the flop and turn bets, and then raise hard on the river, even as a bluff. I generally play online fast tournaments as opposed to live tournaments, but it is my experience that in online tournaments, even if you have enough chips to execute a bluff like this, a player who fires bets on all three streets will have something far more often than not and will call your raise. Particularly at lower buy-ins, it seems to me that Snyder overestimates the frequency with which the looser players will fold to bluffs, as many will call with as little as ace high in such a situation, and will almost never fold any type of reasonable pocket pair, even if there is an overcard on the board. Such looseness from opposing players decreases the value of bluffing in some of the spots that he recommends.

Overall, however, I enjoyed the book and it gave me some new perspectives on approaching fast play tournaments. Some people disagree with his overall approach; they think that the optimal play is determined solely by the current state of a tournament, as opposed to the future state of a tournament. However, regardless of your opinion on this matter, the book generates new ideas to thinking about how to play some hands in these types of tournaments, and will certainly force you to reevaluate some aspects of your game, which is unquestionably valuable to a tournament poker player.

Along with Harrington on Hold'em Vol. 2, this book lets you know when you can afford to wait for a real hand, and when you have to make a move with any two semi-decent cards. It also explains the advantages of position and the big stack very clearly. A must read for any regular tournament player. I must also add that I found the player profiles more helpfull than other books and based on real world experience, hence more detailed than your average "loose-aggressive" quadrant.

Any player who wants to make money in small buy-in, fast structure tournaments needs to read this book. In clear, straightforward language Arnold Snyder deals with topics no other poker author has approached. It is not merely a re-hash of old information.

He shows that the first thing you need to understand is a tournament's structure because this factor greatly affects how you will play. Slow and fast structures demand different types of play and you must be keenly aware of this if you hope to succeed on a regular basis.

Those who read this book and apply the methods in it will, I believe, enjoy an almost unfair advantage over those who do not. This book fearlessly dispels some of the myths and shiboleths of poker lore too. He shows for example that the utility of a large stack in tournamnent play make it far mor valuable than a short stack.

I for one am grateful that Snyder is willing to put this information into print and write about it in an interesting and compelling style to boot. Buy the book! Actually, please don't because then I can beat you more easily!

I have many poker books. Not one of the previous books I have read makes it clear how to use your position to win like this book does. I has totally changed the way I play, and makes playing poker a whole lot more fun for me.
I may never be a great poker player, but there are some that are going to get a nasty surprise when they play at my table from now on.

I bought the book, read it, studied it and applied what I learned. Out of 350 people, I came in 3rd in a NL Tournament. Even if the book cost $99.95 it would of still been a cheap price to pay...... This is my poker bible.

Although I don't 100% agree with the author on all aspects of his theories and strategies, much of what he writes about rang true to me based on experience.

This is the first time I have read anything describing how not all tournaments are built alike. This book deals very specifically about low buy-in, fast structure tournaments, whereas pretty much all other books on tournament poker are about basic strategies. The strategies put forth here are intended for that type of structure, so if you are brand new to tournament poker, you should start with the Harrington on Hold Em volumes for a solid basis for tournament play and read this book after you have gotten your feet wet with tournament play.

The author does a very good job of pointing you in the right direction of other books when what he is proposing is considered out of the norm of normal play so as to not lead you astray if you are not playing in a fast tournament. He has some very interesting and informative charts you won't find elsewhere in the poker literature.

If you play in small buy in tournaments with fast blind structures, this is a must read.

After reading the Harrington and Sklansky books, I headed to the online tournaments, and quickly noticed that the strategy he recommended didn't work most of the time. While I sat waiting for premium hands to bet, other players were building chip stacks, the blinds were creeping up, and before long, I'd find myself hopelessly short-stacked.

I'd been searching quite a while for a book that addresses this issue with no luck until I happened upon this one. Finally, Eureka! This book deals precisely with strategies for fast tournaments, and helps you understand the power of position, cards, and chip stacks in relation to tournament structure.

It is unlike all of the other poker books out there, as it's not primarily about how to play specific hands, odds, etc. It's specifically about how to adjust your game for the speed of the tournament.

Why? I dont want anyone to know this info. Simply the best poker book on NL tourneys since Kill Phil and HOH 1, 2 , and 3. Maybe even better.

I read the Harrington books and learned how to play good poker. Then I read this book and learned how to play good tournament poker. Books talk about 'loosening up' your game they don't typically say how to do it. I knew I was playing to tight and this book showed me how to be much more aggressive.
I've gone from 'survival' mode in a tourney where I'm usually mid to small stacked and hang on until I get in the money to 'thrive' mode where I'm usually the mid to big stack in the tourney.
If you're the small stack and you get a bad beat then you're out of the tourney. If you're the big stack and get a bad bet then you just loose some chips.
!!Big difference!!
Since any 2 cards can loose and any 2 cards can win - be the big stack!
I haven't played enough using this style yet to really make sure I'm not on a winning streak but I've monied in 43 of my last 90 tournaments. I'm building up my bankroll by playing at the micro level ($1-$3) right now but this is still a good win ratio.

I haven;t finished this book yet and already it's improved my game tremendously. As an example, I've always known the value of position but this book shows how to use it as an active weapon. This section alone increased my win rate noticeably.

This book is clearly geared for tournaments with rapid structures and the author makes no claims otherwise. I play 98% of the time online. This book fits the needed turbo strategy very well. If you play online turbos or fast paced brick and mortar games this book is absolutely required.

The author also has a nice online site with charts and graphs etc. Definetly the book I would get for playing any fast structured game.

Ok, it's no surprise to anyone who has played poker for any period of time that the cards are only partially responsible for the hands you win--and in the long term, they have little or nothing to do with your overall success in the game. But the way Snyder discusses the combination of chips, cards, and position (yes, rock, paper, scissors, a little hokey, perhaps) is a very useful way to consider the importance of these three factors and their direct involvement in your game strategy, especially in the fast tournaments that Snyder is talking about.

As far as the limited use of the specific formula that Synder outlines, there is some merit to this criticism. This strategy for playing is not meant for every single tournament you enter, and definitely not directly applicable to cash games. But Snyder acknowledges the specific application of this strategy, and the overall way of thinking about poker is useful, no matter the game.

I don't have any stories about how this book helped me win a tournament or cash in big. That doesn't mean it won't for others who buy it--but it did provide another perspective and was a really useful concept for play. In the saturated world of poker books, that's saying something. If you still have money in this economy, it's worth buying.

Ive bought and read many different poker stratagy guides, but this is the first one to pay off.. I was entering one $25.00 tourny a week, and never placing. After reading this, the first tourny i got 24th out of 223. Unfortunatly they only paid the top 20. Next i got 13th out of 67. Again just short as they paid top 9.

The third tourny hit. Not only did i cash, i actually won. I took home $600 for first place after a final table split. Then 2 tournys later, 3rd for another $200. Dont even think, just get this book. His stratagies for Chip, Placement and Card play are invaluable.

Often people buy a poker book and feel that they must play in that style. My views are a little different. Read this book to understand your opponent as well. You may choose to not play in this style but understand that there will be people who will. Understand the ideas behind the book and you will be better prepared against someone who plays this style. I have used this style in low buy tmts and if you notice the style of your opponents you can amass alot of chips. Like Snyder says, I used to find myself quickly getting short stacked. I would wait for a premium hand and when I got one my chip stack wouldn't be large enough to scare anyone away and subsequently lose my stack to a much larger one (who could afford to play an inferior hand and suck out). But with a larger stack (from getting more chips in positional plays) players were less likely to play against me and therefore making my stack larger. It also allowed me to withstand a bad beat. One bad beat doesn't knock you out. This is a poker book that makes you think about your game and the game of poker in general and that is always a good thing. If you like reading about poker I highly recomend this book.

this author teaches some very interesting concepts that defy most the other advice you'll run across. My game has vastly improved due to his stratagies. Big Stuff... and a must read for all NL Holdem Tournament players, new or experienced!!!

Mr. Snyder presents some ideas which I think are good, if you use them the way they are intended. This is not going to get you into the World Series of Poker, nor is it intended to. It's usefulness is in small "fast" tournaments, where the blinds go up quickly. Some of the position strategies will work anywhere, but it also depends on how your opponents are playing, too. Not definitive, but useful.

This book was definitely worth buying. This isnt another play premium hands book. The ideas in this are a brand new way to play tournaments. I have implemented some of the ideas in this book to my game. Ive final tabled a few tournaments with hundreds of people since reading this book.

I have read all the major holdem strategy books. This book rounds out my reading very well because it offers some keys to getting in the action in a fast tournament. As a generally tight player, it has given me the confidence to take some chances when I don't have a solid hand. The author's "paper-rock-scissors" (cards, chips, position) relationships offer a nice framework to adjust your play. This is a very well thought out book with some math explanations to support his theories. I would recommend this to somebody who already has a solid basis for playing no-limit holdem tournaments and for those who need some more tools for the toolbox.

I have grown up on Harrington On Hold 'em and Skalansky/Miller's Hold 'Em books. Those theoretical books are a solid foundation for solid tournament play. This book advocates a little less than solid approach when your chip stack is deep. Following the author's "Position Play" is a really good habit to get in to. This book doesn't tell any experienced poker player anything they don't already know. What it does do is boil down the essence of the "moves" required to win tournaments. I found after reading the book that there were very good opportunities I was folding pre-flop simply because my cards were not good enough (based on the tried and true pre-flop hand selection guidelines we have all come to know and love).

So, from that perspective, this book was a really nice reminder of the early and mid tournament aggression required to win at tournament poker. There was a really nice debate on twoplustwo regarding the theory that playing one way in a "fast" tournament is better than playing the theoretical best way. If you get a chance, search the forums for this discussion. The author of this book goes toe to toe with Malmuth to debate the merits of the argument that playing fast in fast tournaments is a winning strategy. I will say, after loosing up my play according to the "formula" this book offers, I have seen favorable results in my cashes.

Being a veteran student of the game, I've collected and read dozens of poker books and videos. This book opened my eyes to a few realities of the structure of tournaments that I had not even considered. Doing a bit more math, I realize that yes, the tactics are sound.

Presented in a very easy to understand manner, it seems all too simple. I understand why a lot of online forums are dismissing the book. I hope they continue.
I also hope not too many of these books are sold - I don't want many players adopting the approach that Snyder espouses. It will make my games harder to beat, as I am a fan of the fast tournament structure. If this book catches on, I may have to go back to slow tournaments - or cash games!

You have to be a math genius to understand this book. I have found other books that give you the basic knowledge without having to try and impress you with unnecessary math.

This book is deffinetly a book that everybody should read if they want to win money in the small fast tournaments. We all now what cards we should be playing, but cards alone will not win you money often enough to make a profit, because you dont get those good cards often enough. This book talks about how to win by playing your position and chip stack along with a great hand once in a while. This is something that the other books dont tell you.

I don't know if there is anything else on Fast Tournament poker. Very good examples of why you are shorter stacked than you think and need to make a "move". Better to go out swinging than with a whimper. I like the way he makes observations of today's top poker pros that understand this as well. Highly recommend.

I have purchased this book in order to improve my tournament skills. I'm mainly an online player and due to my lack of bankroll I play only small stakes tournaments, from 3USD to 5USD MTT buy-in. I found this to be a great book not just to fast live tournaments but also to regular live tournaments on the level I play. Why? becasue the people who play this type of tournaments are often very loose (they usually call with Ace-rag regardless of they position) and you can usually take the pot on the flop is no ace came. The Rock-Paper-Scissors analogy is just great and it will help you improve your poker skills. A definitely must read for small stakes online tournament players as well as for those who play turbo live tournaments.

Excellent book for learning the ins/outs of holdem fast tournament play. The author is very frank and clear in his explanation of poker strategies. A very thorough and in depth author, that goes beyond just strategies.

I actually found this book on Amazon after reading the good reviews. I know it is a cliche but this book IS different from most poker books out there. This book is written to help you succeed in the typical online MTT or small stakes Vegas MTT that has like 40 players and a fast structure.

He gives you some techniques for accumulating chips fast and encourages you to be more aggressive in late position. I found his patience factor and skill factor concepts invaluable. If you go to the companion website for the book there is a patience factor spreadsheet that I use for all new tourneys I enter. I used it in Vegas to pick out the best tourneys for me to play (Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock, and Orleans have small stakes tourneys with great structures). I also use it to compare structures between online poker sites. All in all a good book that I highly recommend.

The Poker Tournament Formula teaches how to win using only position or chips when you don't have good cards. Its a great book on how to bluff your way to the final table and is excellent reading for the player who wants to improve his game.

In this book Snyder gives you a formula for playing poker tournaments based only on position and your opponent's actions. Your cards don't matter. One part of the book tells you to tape over the spot on your computer monitor where your cards appear so you can concentrate on playing using his system, not based on your cards. Every poker book I ever read says you have to live with bad beats as part of poker. Snyder says; since bad beats can happen with the best hands you may as well play using his formula. No thanks.

This book is great, it really gets you examining your thoughts and gets you thinking about the way you think about things. What you think you know and all of the books that the pros design for slow structures is not as relevent for quicker structures.
Basically the premise of the book is that Harrington's "M" is based on how many rotations you have left at current levels. The "true M" or patience factor figures out how many minutes you REALLY have remaining based on the structure. That will dramatically change the way you play.
The author advocates a much more loose aggressive style. In order to win the faster structures, you have to accept that you will probably have to take significantly more risk than you might think. So not only do you have to go all in more, but you should be trying to double up.
However, while I agree that you should take this strategy to win the tournament, I just think that the skillfull players don't need to take quite as much risk as he advocates. In addition, I think that Harrington is actually more correct simply because if you play the MTTs to win, you are taking on 100% of the risk, but you only end up winning usually 15-30% of the prizepool. Still, if you are a conservative player, but never seem to win, you can use Snyder's position strategy to really open up your game.

In my opinion, this is a good poker book. It helped me to open up my game and play a more aggressive style. For me, it kind of confirmed some things that I had thought but didn't have the confidence to try. Now I play a much less predictable, and much more profitable, style. There are some things that he says in the book that I find to not work as well as others, but I think it is a good read and will at least give anyone some new ideas to think about.

Phil Hellmuth Presents Read 'Em and Reap: A Career FBI Agent's Guide to Decoding Poker Tells

I found the book worth buying. It gives you a way to analyze a tournament BEFORE you play, and adjust your strategy accordingly. It helped me make better decisions on what tournaments to enter and what ones to avoid, based on my own playing style. His chapter on when to make your mid-tournament adjustments was very useful. I recommend the book.

I play in a home tournament poker league. I've played in tournaments in AC...all of these have been small buy-in events. I've also played in FREE bar tournaments. When I started playing...I didn't know much. Since then...I've bought over 20 poker books including all in the HOH series and lots of Sklansky stuff.

I bought this book out of curiousity...more than anything else. A poker buddy of mine said it was pretty good. I agree.

I'd be very suprised if this book doesn't add anything to your poker game. The author introduces a method to determine if a tournament is fast or slow...and how to determine what's best for YOUR game. He also does a good job presenting player profiles...and recommending an aggressive approach to FAST PLAY tournaments.

I love how he approaches the monsters under the bed syndrome that any poker player is familiar with.

There are plenty of examples...that I feel give you a good idea of how the author approaches playing fast, small buy-in tournaments.

I recommend this book to anybody who wants to give these type of tournaments a shot. I intend to give his suggestions a legitimate shot.

good luck!


standtall

Halfway through this book I won $350 in a tournament I had been playing regularly and never even placed in the cash in. You have to use some common sense along with the theory in the book, but the method does work if applied correctly.

Going to Vegas in May, will see how much I can rake in while I am there. I love how he shows you how to determine which events to play in.

You should read it. This book contains some content that is different from most other "how to" books. This book will teach you (somewhat, although feeling and intuition come into play also) how to make aggressive bluff attempts to take down pots. Snyder doesn't always play his cards the "standard" way, and other recognized (Mason Malmuth) poker authorities have taken issue with his book's content, or at least some of the ideas presented within. Snyder has always replied to criticism, and posts his rebuttals in poker discussion forums or on his own website.

If you've read Sklansky and Harrington, then you are ready for Snyder.

A must have in your poker book library. It addresses a critical point that is often overlooked or briefly discussed by the hundreds of books out there. The primary focus is on the structure of tournaments and how to adjust. A crucial part that is often overlooked by many players.

I have been playing for only a short period of time and have purchased just about every book and video out on the market. I am taking a very academic approach to learning the game and looking for substance and material in books that will make the differnece in making $$$$. Majority of the books out there cover the same stuff and advocate the "tight is right" concept which is great for the "slower" tournaments.



This book makes a strong case about the importance of tournament structures and discusses the adjustments needed to made to win them especially the "fast" ones. It has helped me to improve my game and has contributed to my success in making the final table $$$$.

This book is a must read and the material should be given some serious consideration and incorporation to your poker strategy.