Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em

Mod: Feel free to move this to a new/suitable thread. Didn't know where best to put it.

Hi All

After receiving and flipping through my own printed copy of the book, I figured I'd make an attempt to review both the experience as a whole and the quality of the print work/binding itself. Hoping for others to follow my example and by doing so giving people a chance to compare options.

First let me say that I see much of myself in Monkey's description of himself as far as reading habits go. Sure, an e-book provides all the information but a printed copy lets me use that information to a greater extent. And I for one need all the advantages I can get. So being able to get my hand on a properly printed printed copy was almost mandatory in my case. Below are the details of my experience. Disclaimer: I'm a layman when it comes to judging the quality of printed material so don't take my word for truth. I’m also Scandinavian and may have messed up the language here and there…

Due to poor Googling skills I had problems finding anyone that would print this title in a fashion that suited the amount of effort I was willing to put in. I've later learned that there may actually exist a few (FedEx, Lulu and maybe others…) but in my case it was an article in a local paper about an "Espresso Book Machine" (which is basically some sort of small machine for printing and binding stuff on demand) that caught my attention and made me contact Blackwell Publishing (UK based, if I'm not mistaken), blackwellebm@googlemail.com. Their initial response was that they did not have permission to print e-books that are still available from the publisher. But by great help from the publishers (Ed) I was able to quickly and with little effort sort the permission issue out and a few days ago I received my printed copy of "Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em". 

Among the information I got from the print shop prior to ordering was: "The Size is 'standard paper' which is 6x9 inches and the paper is 90GSM white." As I said, I'm no expert on the subject but as far as I can tell my copy fits that description fine.
 
This being an e-book, I expected a few issues with the layout but was actually surprised by how well it fit the format supplied by the print shop. Things fit fine in the pages, new pages/sections seem to appear where they are supposed to and footnotes et. c. are also in the right places as far as I can tell. My only concern is that the margins feel a little on the thinner side, especially towards the center. But we're talking details here and this may also be a question of taste…
 
I don't really know what to look for when it comes to the quality of the actual print work but ocular inspection revealed that the printing seems to be crisp and centered and in other aspects of sufficient quality as far as I'm concerned. I made a cautious attempt to smear the ink out but wasn't able to.
 
If this was an out-of-the-box printed title I'd have a few things to say about the paper in general and the cover in particular. I would have liked both the pages and the cover somewhat thicker (but not necessarily stiffer) and the latter also with a somewhat "glossier" surface. Thicker for the sake of durability and glossier so that it wouldn't get stained as easily (and in my case also because it would have been easier to cover with adhesive plastic film, which now was a little tricky). But both the pages and the cover are still better than on some of the ootb printed poker books I've come across before (and I haven’t read more than a dozen or so). Mostly because I just cant stand the yellowish, soft (and presumably cheap) excuse for paper some publishers chose to print their titles on. Maybe some of you don't share my personal taste in that department…
 
I was told by the print shop that the price for a copy is £ 6.08 (and I'm pretty sure that did not cover any shipping fees since I had to pay for that in addition). Of course, that price may have changed since then so please contact Blackwell Publishing for a current figure. For me the total price was £ 15 since I had to pay for setup and proofing (which only applies for the initial copy of a given title). If you should happen to order your own printed copy from Blackwell and experience a heavy conscience for letting me pay the whole initial fee on my own, please donate a dollar to cancer research and you have my absolution.
 
I received my copy about one week after I ordered it. Paid by credit card over the phone which might be an issue for some. Didn't ask for other options though. Delivered by DHL to my front door.

That about sums it up but before I'm finished I'd also like to thank the publishers in general and Ed in particular for making my business with Blackwell as simple as humanly possible.