When it comes to poker strategy, James “SplitSuit” Sweeney is a leading poker teacher with 20 years of experience. He co-founded the Red Chip Poker training site and hosts the podcast of the same name. He has written 13 poker books and his YouTube channel called “The Poker Bank” has over 120K followers.
Last month he published his latest book called GTO Poker Gems 2, which follows the line of his previous book GTO Poker Gems, where he provides valuable gems of analysis and information for cash and tournament players. We got in touch with James to get more details about his new book and after the interview you can read our review.
Interview with James Sweeney
How did the idea of writing this book come about? What were your goals when writing it?
The idea behind this series was to help players understand GTO concepts without getting overwhelmed by game tree setup, solver output, etc. The goal is to simplify the key concepts and applicable takeaways without the need to do complex solving and analysis on your own.
How is it different from Volume 1? Is it necessary to have read Volume 1 first?
Volume 1 takes a more broad strokes and beginner look at GTO concepts, while GTO Poker Gems 2 goes much deeper and focuses even more on application. Reading GTO Poker Gems is not a prerequisite, but if you are very new to GTO, you’d likely benefit by starting with volume 1 before volume 2.
What type of players is the book aimed at?
GTO Poker Gems 2 is written for intermediate-advanced players who are familiar with GTO concepts but struggling with applying the ideas in real-time. If balance and bet sizing are key focus areas for you, GTO Poker Gems 2 is the book you should read next.
It’s a short and dynamic book, which goes straight to the point without much analysis. Do you think that today’s readers look for that type of content and avoid long content? Is it an example of the type of society we live in, one of immediate consumption?
We could have beefed up the page count massively by including tons more charts, solver outputs, etc., but at the cost of making the book less approachable. A good author has done deep research, analyzed it well, and made all beneficial takeaways as concise and usable as possible. Why take 800 pages to say what could be more easily understood in 150 pages?
There is a big debate pitting GTO versus exploitative gameplay. What is your opinion on this?
I think this quote from GTO Poker Gems explains it well:
“Some sources appear to imply that exploitative and GTO poker are opposite ends of the spectrum, and that each represents a completely different approach to the game of poker. It is not uncommon for debates to break out online regarding whether the best poker players should use GTO or exploitative strategies. But what is exploitative poker? It is a strategy that always seeks to maximize our EV through exploitation, regardless of whether it makes us unbalanced in the process.
What happens if we try to maximize our EV against a perfect GTO opponent? We end up playing perfect GTO poker ourselves. In other words, GTO poker is a type of exploitative poker. This frees us enough to understand that the sole objective of any poker player should be to exploit their opponent as hard as possible. GTO poker is simply just one manifestation of exploitative poker. It is the scenario in which both players are so good at exploitation that neither has any incentive to deviate from their current strategy.”
Solvers are very popular when it comes to studying these days. What do you think are their advantages and disadvantages?
Solvers are powerful tools… if you understand how to use them. Most players don’t understand how to properly set up a game tree or how to parse output correctly: rendering the tool useless. But if you spend the time to learn how to use them, they are incredibly powerful for finding patterns and developing a better idea of what GTO lines look like and why the solvers make the decisions they do.
What do you enjoy most about teaching poker?
I love that many poker skills are also transferable to real life. So, time spent improving your mathematical, mental, and strategic skillsets improves your life on and off the table. I just enjoy helping people be better.
What reasons would you give our readers to read GTO Poker Gems 2?
If you play in tougher games or against tougher opponents and want to balance and bet size way better you should read GTO Poker Gems 2. You can read the entire book in a couple of weeks and quickly reap the benefits of applying the ideas.
What other books of yours would you recommend reading after this one?
I would suggest The Advanced Poker Workbook after reading GTO Poker Gems 2. The workbook guides you through solver exploration, does side-by-side analysis with exploitative ideas, and helps you find additional +EV plays through 1,300+ questions. It also has a complete answer key and video course so you know how to do each section. As a bonus, there is a code at the end of GTO Poker Gems 2 for a discount on that workbook.
Poker Book Review: GTO Poker Gems 2
This book is a continuation of GTO Poker Gems published in 2022 by the same author. In that book, the information gems were only 12 and were more developed. I don’t think it is a requirement to read that book first to understand volume 2, but if you have never read anything about GTO, it is a good idea to start with that book first and then move on to volume 2.
Something important to clarify is that it is not necessary to have and know how to use a solver to understand the topics in the book, since the simulations have already been done by the author. But I think that those who usually use solvers will be able to get more out of the book, since they will be able to calculate the problems themselves and add new analysis variables. Another point that is important to clarify is that this is not a book for beginner players. It is aimed at intermediate or advanced level cash and tournament players who have knowledge of GTO and have studied the game or read strategy books.
In the introduction the author makes clear what the objective of the book is: “Understanding GTO poker is the key objective, not necessarily playing GTO. This book will help you understand GTO poker on a deeper level and get a feel for how strong players use GTO principles to drive their decisions at the tables.”
GTO Poker Gems 2 is divided into 12 short chapters on these topics: pre-flop patterns, flop textures & sizing, turn textures & sizing, playing as the defender, river bluffs, river bluff-catches, delayed trees as the aggressor, delayed trees as the defender, vulnerability, range protection, commitment ranges and randomization.
One great thing about this book is that it doesn’t bore you with long explanations and mathematical formulas. It gets straight to the point on each topic and explains it in a simple and short way. That’s why you can read more than 100 gems in just 150 pages. Sweeney did a great job of summarizing each topic and also covering a large number of variables.
I also liked the way he explained concepts and added new words when the topic required it. In the chapter that analyzes flop textures, he presents the different flops in just 11. There are 22,100 possible flops in Hold’em, but SplitSuit boils them down to just 11 categories and that is a great help in analyzing each type of flop.
To sum it up, I enjoyed and learned a lot from reading GTO Poker Gems 2 and I did it in just one week. Learning how to play GTO poker is not an easy task, but with this book you will be one step closer to doing it. One of the best poker books I read this year without a doubt.
Book Information: By The Numbers
- Title: “GTO Poker Gems 2: 100+ Solver-Approved Insights For Balancing Your Strategy”
- Author: James Sweeney
- Year of Publication: 2024
- Pages: 150
- Amazon Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
- Goodreads Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
- Prices: $29,99 Hardcover / $9,99 Kindle
- Where to buy it? HERE
- You can read an excerpt of the book here
About The Author
