How to Beat Players Who Never Fold: Succeeding in casino poker tournaments and low stakes home games

There’s a psychological aspect to beating ‘no fold’em’ games, and Fitzgerald’s book does a great job in explaining how to approach them without tilt or frustration, as well as why players in these games play the way they do. What elevates this book, however, is the way it also gives you practical, actionable advice you can use straight away. Not only does it help you understand the situations and dynamics that arise, it gives you the tools to control them. You’ll learn why people play certain ways, and also how to exploit those motivations. Chapters focus on player archetypes, multiway and heads-up pots, low-stakes cash games, casino tournaments, home games and more. If you’re regularly playing in the nosebleeds, this might not be the book for you. But for the other 99.9% of the poker-playing population, Fitzgerald’s book is one we seriously recommend. It's not just a great strategy book either; it's a compelling read. Not many poker strategy books are page-turners, but Fitzgerald's new book is precisely that.

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”!

I own and have read all Alex Fitzgerald's books. I'm a low stakes cash and tournament player and for me, this is probably his best work to date. Alex cuts through the complex poker universe of multiple hand charts and, game theory optimal strategies with a direct approach to beating low stakes cash games and tournaments. That is not to say the book is simplistic. In 272 pages Alex packs lots of quizzes, putting you in the game and challenging you to make the best play. These are not easy. He breaks down how to play multiway pots (something usually glossed over by other authors) to give you a way to navigate these tricky situations. Heads up pots and 3 bet pots also have substantial chapters. There are also sections responding to the most common questions which summarise the main takeaways. The high production values are what you would expect from D+B Poker. The visuals are clear and simple and the text easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone playing in low stakes cash games who wants to improve their results. If you play low stakes tournaments you will also benefit but may want to check out Alex's video packs that specifically deal with tournaments. Also, if you are looking for hundreds of hand charts and detailed GTO results this is not the book for you. I should also add that this is not a book that you just read once and put back on your bookshelf. It rewards and demands careful study to get the most out of it. I am going to enjoy working my way through it multiple times and putting the advice into practice. I just hope my opponents don't buy it!

This is a rarity for me - writing a review. I never do it, even when I should. I'll make an exception here - I've been following Alex for a great many years, and have seen many of the points he makes in this book in articles he has written, or training products he's produced, over that time. This is where they are all brought together, amplified, and made into a overarching strategy. This is the book you need as a everyday poker player at the low stakes casino games. Let me give you an example - a hand I played at a nearby casino in a $1/$2 NL Hold'em cash game. Ten handed I'm in seat 4 with about $350-400 in front of me. I pick up Ace King off-suit. One player limps for $2, I raise to $10, and only seats 5 and 6 on my left call. Flop is Ace, 7, 5 - three different suits. I bet $20 into the $30 pot and both opponents call quickly. The turn is another Ace. I bet $100 into the $90 pot, and only seat 6 calls me. The river is a 9. I bet another $120 and seat 6 calls and loses with Ace-8. I won a $530 pot. After putting in $250, I profited $280. That's 140 times the big blind. With one hand. This is what you will get out of this book - the ability to make the huge plays you need to make in order to profit from Poker. What is in Alex's book didn't make me win the hand - anyone playing it would have won. But without Alex's teachings, there is no way I would have made $280. That's what you'll get out of this book - how to make the most out of playing vs players... Who. Just. Won't. Fold.