Todo mundo sabe que é difícil que consistentemente marcam bons resultados em torneios de poker.Uma coisa é ter sorte e ganhar um grande evento, mas permanecer lucrativo em mais de milhares de MTTs exige muita habilidade.Um aspecto -chave para alcançar esse tipo de resultado é entender completamente o ICM.o modelo de chip independente.
Embora quase todos os jogadores tenham ouvido falar sobre o ICM e sabe pelo menos um pouco sobre isso, o número de pessoas com profundo entendimento do conceito e todos os seus diferentes conceitos e nuances é relativamente pequeno.
É por isso Dara O'Kearney, junto com seu co-autor Barry Carter, sentiu que havia uma necessidade do recurso que explica tudo o que existe sobre o ICM.
Endgame Poker Strategy – The ICM Book consiste em quase 180 páginas de texto, gráficos e exemplos, começando com as fundações independentes do modelo de chip e com base nele, adicionando novos conceitos e idéias.
Enquanto o livro não se destina a iniciantes completos de poker, como se espera que você entenda algumas noções básicas, como patrimônio de poker, bolha de torneios, fazer negócios, etc., ele explica o ICM de tal maneira que, mesmo que você nunca tivesse ouvido ouvirSobre isso antes, você poderá entender e usá -lo completamente nas tabelas quando terminar de ler.
Eu mesmo estou na categoria daqueles que "sabem um pouco sobre ICM", mas nunca adotei a abordagem séria para estudar o conceito.Assim, eu estava realmente interessado em ver o que este livro tinha a oferecer, especialmente porque os autores já publicaram alguns trabalhos altamente conceituados sobre o torneio de pôquer (especificamente satélites e PKOs), e eu tinha grandes expectativas.E, fico feliz em dizer que não fiquei desapontado.
ICM from the Ground Up
The first few chapters of O’Kearney’s Endgame Poker Strategy – The ICM Book explain fundamentals of ICM. If you’ve been in the poker streets for a while, you’ll probably have a solid understanding of these already, but I still suggest not skipping them.
Instead of just explaining the common ideas of why thinking in terms of ChipEV doesn’t work in tournaments, O’Kearney goes several levels deeper, approaching the subject from a number of different angles.
He dispels the myth of how ICM is designed just for “poker nits” and takes the time to explain how varying stack sizes have different values in a tournament, introducing some (mathematically backed) concepts that seem counter-intuitive at first.
One idea that I found particularly interesting is the discussion on the diminishing value of chips and the importance of short-stack play in MTTs. Leaning on this idea, O’Kearney explains how registering late for tournaments is, in most situations, a profitable proposition and the one that many players don’t take enough advantage of.
The great thing is that author doesn’t just present his argument and move on. Instead, there are numerous examples and calculations to back these claims, and it all just makes sense.
Of course, this is just one small part of the entire book. There is a lot of discussion covering the “bubble factor” and how to adjust your ranges in terms of ICM. When talking about the latter, the author doesn’t just present a bunch of charts (although there are plenty of those, don’t worry), but tries to help players develop an understanding of underlying principles so that they could intuitively structure their ranges on the spot.
READ MORE: Here’s our exclusive excerpt of Endgame Poker Strategy – The ICM Book
Wheeling and Dealing
As anyone who’s ever played more than a couple of tournaments in their life knows, not all tournaments are played down to the winner. Making a deal at the final table is quite common and deal-making skills are important for any serious MTT grinder.
The author explains different types of deals you’ll come across and emphasizes the importance of understanding ICM in these situations. He also touches upon the idea of the skill gap and how to adjust numbers based on that factor.
What I particularly liked about this part is that O’Kearney doesn’t just stick to math and numbers in this section. Being an experienced player himself, he understands that players will often find themselves in uncomfortable situations when playing live tournaments.
He offers some great advice on how to deal with pressure situations and avoid being strong-armed into making a bad deal, but also presents the case for giving up on some equity in certain situations to build a good image that could easily translate into higher equity later down the line.
I’d say that this is where Dara’s experience really comes through as he understands that, as much as poker is the game of numbers, it’s also a people’s game. Sometimes, you have to consider both factors and compromise a bit.
Game Selection, ICM Mistakes, and Ranges
The second part of the book is more “technical,” as authors go into more serious analysis of charts and numbers. First, there is the discussion on the importance of game selection and how it ties in with ICM. Good understanding of ICM concepts will probably be more important for players playing smaller-field tournaments, as they’ll constantly find themselves in important ICM spots.
On the other hand, in massive fields, these spots don’t come nearly as often, but mistakes made can be very costly in terms of money on the line.
In the light of game selection, the book also talks about tournament overlays and how you can accurately factor these in to calculate the value of your stack at any given point in the tournament.
The final few chapters of Endgame Poker Strategy – The ICM Book cover actual ICM ranges at different stack depths. Using a number of relatable examples, the book brings many interesting charts and explanations on why certain moves work or don’t work in different spots.
The last chapter actually addresses the postflop play and provides some PIOSolver examples, but O’Kearney admits that this is a very complicated area that probably requires a book of its own. He also puts forth the argument that the higher the impact of the ICM, the less postflop play there is, which is true for most tournaments.
So, How Good Is Endgame Poker Strategy – The ICM Book?
Understanding ICM is essential for any serious tournament player who wants to stay around for a long haul. There is simply no way around it. And, as far as resources go, I dare say this book is the best one out there.
Of course, using various tools available, you could come up with many ideas and solutions on your own, but even so, you’d still lack an understanding of why. Endgame Poker Strategy – The ICM Book looks into every aspect of ICM and explains it in a way that every poker player can understand. After reading through examples and explanations, there will be no doubt in your mind that you understanding ICM will give you a leg up towards being a winning tournament player.
Even better, credit to Carter and O’Kearney for managing to keep the writing interesting and engaging. You’ll find yourself actually wanting to get to the next page and keep on reading, which, given the somewhat dry topic, is really a compliment to the authors’ writing abilities!
