Poker Books discussion
What's worth reading?
date
newest »
newest »
I started in a Sklansky's "The Theory of Poker" today. About halfway into it now, I can see why it's a classic. I've played in a couple of regular hold em games for a few years, and have tried to improve my skills by reading Harrington, Warren, Gordon and others, but I for some reason I never got around to Sklansky. Big mistake.
He does what a good basic book is supposed to do, cover the waterfront. You'll find all of the require chapters on effective pot odds, implied pot odds, playing with big antes and the importance of playing in position. For anyone with a more than passing knowledge the game, that's the basics, to be files under stuff you should already know. Yet, even in the book's early chapters, I've come across something I should have know but never picked up, like how position at the table affects pot odds.
Like anyone who at least breaks even playing the game, I know that position is everything. But I guess I didn't realize that the reason it's so hard to play out of position is because it's so hard to judge the pot odds.
Gotta run but I'll post more on this later.
And the last of it ...There is a reason every other poker book eventually says, read "The Theory of Poker." If you are just learning the game and are going to read one book on poker, this isn't the one. It's too complicated for beginners, who would only benefit by reading the book over and over again. They would be better served picking up one of the For Dummies books or "The Illustrated Book of Texas Hold'em."
That said, if you ever want to progress past the beginner stage, you must read this book. He has all of required chapters on pot odds, slowplaying, giving free cards, etc., but his work on optimal bluff strategies based on game theory is what separates this book from everything else on the shelves. Even if you just read his notes the power of semi-bluffing, you are guaranteed to become a better player.
Like most classic books, this is reference book that needs to be read periodically if you are serious about becoming a better poker player, because as one reviewer put it, all of your competition has read it and will use that knowledge against you.
Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen was a very enjoyable book on poker. It reads like a novel... I guess only a poker geek could think that :-)
How about The Poker Blueprint? Has anyone read that? I saw a few rave reviews...
i haven't read the poker blueprint, but i just got thru the mental game of poker very good book..
I feel that a poker book really is not as good as getting out there and playing as much as possible. You need to observe and find a game and way of playing that makes sense and is comfortable to you. I tried to take a snap shot of Hold Em in my book and helped readers find an easy way to get them to think differently about the game.
Hi guys,I've recently read a bunch of poker books as I have just finished up writing the story of Daniel Tzvetkoff, the Australian whiz kid who was blamed for Black Friday (http://www.smh.com.au/technology/tech...).
My book is called 'Alligator Blood' and will be released this summer by Simon and Schuster.
Anyway, if you're looking for entertaining, easy going poker books then two that really stick out for me are 'One of a Kind - The Rise and Fall of Stuey 'The Kid' Ungar' and 'Positively Fifth Street' by James McManus. The Stu Ungar book in particular is great and reads like a movie.
If however you are interested in learning more about the history of poker, as well as hearing some great anecdotes, then I can't praise 'Cowboys Full' by James McManus enough. This is the bible for poker history! In the wrong hands it could have been a very boring, stale read but McManus turns what could have been a history lesson into a rollicking read with lots of funny and amazing stories.
Hi all,Just joined Goodreads and this is the 1st group. Seems a bit quiet in the discussion areas and not many groups interested in poker.
Any thoughts...
A few weeks ago I posted about my forthcoming book 'Alligator Blood' which tells the incredible true story of the rise and fall of Daniel Tzvetkoff and online poker. Anyway, a trailer has been commissioned to help publicize the book and I have included the link below. I hope you like it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoQ6tB...
I'm not sure if anyone will read this given the amount of time since someone has posted, but if anyone knows of any good poker books recently released, please let me know. To date, I have enjoyed the following:One of a Kind -- Great book that doesn't get enough exposure.
Every Hand Revealed -- Interesting, but tough to take advice from someone who's down over $10 million.
The Dark Side of the Felt -- Very entertaining.
Deal Me In -- How poker players got their starts. Pretty good.
The Lion, Banker, etc. (forgot title) -- This one was just okay. Too repetitive.
Any other good ideas, please let me know!
On a side note, though not poker, definitely read Super Casino. Awesome!
Thanks.
Dan
I knocked off Hold Em for Dummies in a couple of hours the other day. Didn't learn much but reviewed some stuff I already new and found a Web site or two I didn't know of.