Poker Book Recommendations!
I think I can give some decent advice on Poker Books that are good since I own over 50 of them and have read all of the ones I am recommending, some multiple times.
Lets be straight here, most are average to bad with a small minority that are worth going back to over and over again. Also, some are good as a beginner even though they contain questionable advice that you will have to dismiss as you get better.
Now, I am coming at this from an "Internet Multi Table(4 or more) No Limit Holdem" background so my opinions will be naturally skewed. However, I have decent experience at most of the games even though they aren't my main source of income. I'm not doing full reviews of the books, you will just have to trust my judgment and visit the links to read up on them. I need to point out one thing though, no book as of yet exists that adequately covers No Limit Hold 'em Cash Games in my opinion!
The must haves :-
The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth - Not for the beginner! However, once you get to intermediate and beyond this is a book you will reference again and again. Lots of important concepts not explained anywhere else.
Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth - Primarily useful to the Limit Hold 'em player covering every important concept. You will still gain useful information from this if you play No Limit but it is written for the Limit player and you must keep that in mind at all times.
Super System 2 by Doyle Brunson - Covers every popular game apart from Seven Card Stud (The original Super System has a Seven Card Stud chapter by Chip Reese). Doyle Brunsons chapter on No Limit Hold 'em is pretty much unchanged from the original Super System. It contains many important nuggets of information but unfortunately it is by no means an exhaustive analysis of No Limit Hold 'em.
Harrington on Hold 'em, Volumes 1 and 2 by Dan Harrington - Especially Volume 2 which explains important No Limit Hold 'em tournament concepts unexplained before.
Other books you should own :-
Pot-Limit & No-Limit Poker by Stewart Reuben and Bob Ciaffone - As the title says, lot's of information on Big Bet poker covering Omaha, Hold 'em, Lowball and Seven Card Stud.
How Good Is Your Pot-Limit Omaha by Stewart Reuben - A book with 50 hand examples from Stewart's Omaha career with very thorough hand analysis, very interesting. He also has another book in exactly the same style on Pot Limit Hold 'em which has too much analysis I disagree with to wholeheartedly recommend.
Middle Limit Holdem Poker by Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier - For the Limit Hold 'em player. Contains over 400 hand examples with thorough hand analysis throughout.
High-Low-Split Poker, Seven-Card Stud and Omaha Eight-or-better for Advanced players by Ray Zee - Not many books on the subject but this and the new chapter in Super System 2 will get you up to speed.
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky - Was the most important book on Tournament play until Harringtons two volumes. Still worth having though!
Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players by David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth and Ray Zee - The definitive book on Seven Card Stud.
Poker Essays, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 by Mason Malmuth - Lot's of really interesting information that gets you thinking if nothing else on a whole horde of poker concepts and ideas.
Omaha Holdem Poker: The Action Game by Bob Ciaffone - Very short but still contains some good info.
Caro's Book of Poker Tells by Mike Caro - A must have if you plan on playing live poker.
Not necessary purchases but still interesting :-
Getting the Best of It by David Sklansky - Some of this stuff is out of date but I still found it interesting and informative.
Poker, Gaming, and Life by David Sklansky - A collection of articles that again I found very interesting.
Sklansky on Poker by David Sklansky - More essays on Poker with a chapter on Razz.
One of a Kind : The Rise and Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar, The World's Greatest Poker Player by Nolan Dalla, Peter Alson - A biography of Stu Ungar with some very interesting stories and anecdotes.
Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King, The : Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time by Michael Craig - A great insight into the Big Game at the Bellagio.
For the beginner :-
Winning Low-Limit Hold'em by Lee Jones - A beginners guide to Limit Hold 'em.
Internet Texas Hold'em: Winning Strategies from an Internet Pro by Matthew Hilger - Someone in comments recommended this book as a great start for the beginner in low limit hold 'em games. Even though I own this book I wasn't able to recommend it from my own point of view as I got it after I had already been playing for over a year. It was never read. However based on the users comments and comments in the review section of Amazon it does look like a good purchase for beginners!
Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play by Ed Miller - Again recommended in comments as a good beginners book on Limit poker! This is only book on the list I have never read or owned. Very good reviews on Amazon also.
Championship No Limit & Pot Limit Hold 'Em by Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier - I remember buying this book right when I started and it was really useful for the first couple of months. It advocates a super tight approach with emphasis on tournament play however once you are experienced most of the information becomes superseded.
Play Poker Like the Pros by Phil Hellmuth - Came out after I was a beginner but I read it anyway, it's a very good book for the beginner as it advocates a super tight style of play. I started like this and I can assure you that a very slow evolution to looser play is the best way to go.
Lets be straight here, most are average to bad with a small minority that are worth going back to over and over again. Also, some are good as a beginner even though they contain questionable advice that you will have to dismiss as you get better.
Now, I am coming at this from an "Internet Multi Table(4 or more) No Limit Holdem" background so my opinions will be naturally skewed. However, I have decent experience at most of the games even though they aren't my main source of income. I'm not doing full reviews of the books, you will just have to trust my judgment and visit the links to read up on them. I need to point out one thing though, no book as of yet exists that adequately covers No Limit Hold 'em Cash Games in my opinion!
The must haves :-
The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth - Not for the beginner! However, once you get to intermediate and beyond this is a book you will reference again and again. Lots of important concepts not explained anywhere else.
Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth - Primarily useful to the Limit Hold 'em player covering every important concept. You will still gain useful information from this if you play No Limit but it is written for the Limit player and you must keep that in mind at all times.
Super System 2 by Doyle Brunson - Covers every popular game apart from Seven Card Stud (The original Super System has a Seven Card Stud chapter by Chip Reese). Doyle Brunsons chapter on No Limit Hold 'em is pretty much unchanged from the original Super System. It contains many important nuggets of information but unfortunately it is by no means an exhaustive analysis of No Limit Hold 'em.
Harrington on Hold 'em, Volumes 1 and 2 by Dan Harrington - Especially Volume 2 which explains important No Limit Hold 'em tournament concepts unexplained before.
Other books you should own :-
Pot-Limit & No-Limit Poker by Stewart Reuben and Bob Ciaffone - As the title says, lot's of information on Big Bet poker covering Omaha, Hold 'em, Lowball and Seven Card Stud.
How Good Is Your Pot-Limit Omaha by Stewart Reuben - A book with 50 hand examples from Stewart's Omaha career with very thorough hand analysis, very interesting. He also has another book in exactly the same style on Pot Limit Hold 'em which has too much analysis I disagree with to wholeheartedly recommend.
Middle Limit Holdem Poker by Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier - For the Limit Hold 'em player. Contains over 400 hand examples with thorough hand analysis throughout.
High-Low-Split Poker, Seven-Card Stud and Omaha Eight-or-better for Advanced players by Ray Zee - Not many books on the subject but this and the new chapter in Super System 2 will get you up to speed.
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky - Was the most important book on Tournament play until Harringtons two volumes. Still worth having though!
Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players by David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth and Ray Zee - The definitive book on Seven Card Stud.
Poker Essays, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 by Mason Malmuth - Lot's of really interesting information that gets you thinking if nothing else on a whole horde of poker concepts and ideas.
Omaha Holdem Poker: The Action Game by Bob Ciaffone - Very short but still contains some good info.
Caro's Book of Poker Tells by Mike Caro - A must have if you plan on playing live poker.
Not necessary purchases but still interesting :-
Getting the Best of It by David Sklansky - Some of this stuff is out of date but I still found it interesting and informative.
Poker, Gaming, and Life by David Sklansky - A collection of articles that again I found very interesting.
Sklansky on Poker by David Sklansky - More essays on Poker with a chapter on Razz.
One of a Kind : The Rise and Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar, The World's Greatest Poker Player by Nolan Dalla, Peter Alson - A biography of Stu Ungar with some very interesting stories and anecdotes.
Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King, The : Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time by Michael Craig - A great insight into the Big Game at the Bellagio.
For the beginner :-
Winning Low-Limit Hold'em by Lee Jones - A beginners guide to Limit Hold 'em.
Internet Texas Hold'em: Winning Strategies from an Internet Pro by Matthew Hilger - Someone in comments recommended this book as a great start for the beginner in low limit hold 'em games. Even though I own this book I wasn't able to recommend it from my own point of view as I got it after I had already been playing for over a year. It was never read. However based on the users comments and comments in the review section of Amazon it does look like a good purchase for beginners!
Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play by Ed Miller - Again recommended in comments as a good beginners book on Limit poker! This is only book on the list I have never read or owned. Very good reviews on Amazon also.
Championship No Limit & Pot Limit Hold 'Em by Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier - I remember buying this book right when I started and it was really useful for the first couple of months. It advocates a super tight approach with emphasis on tournament play however once you are experienced most of the information becomes superseded.
Play Poker Like the Pros by Phil Hellmuth - Came out after I was a beginner but I read it anyway, it's a very good book for the beginner as it advocates a super tight style of play. I started like this and I can assure you that a very slow evolution to looser play is the best way to go.
posted by TillerMaN | 9:01 AM
8 Comments:
Nice to see someone actually being constructive about Play Poker Like the Pros. So many let their hate of the author get in the way of realizing that his book is a good one for beginners.
omg, what's a good work :D
Thanks for the reviews.
I have some experience in playing no-limit hold'em (as far as knowing the rules, and some basic tips from TV coverage)
Is it still worth getting the beginners books? or would i be better looking at the intermediate stuff?
As a low limit player, I can recommend two other books. Internet Texas Hold'em by Matt Hilger is a fine introduction to the game, even if you only play live, much better than Jones ' WLLHe. The next step up is Small Stakes Hold'em by Miller et al, the best book on loose games (most casinogames and some lower limit online ones). SSH is a really good boom that introduces some intermediate plays. Both are FL books.
I was going to ask you sometime Tiller, I have yet to get into any Poker books but id been seriously considering picking up a few lately. Thanks.
-Kain
i can recommand small stakes hold 'em as a very good book for players who play the - as the title says - small stakes. you learn to play very agressive and you always expect that your opponents play very loose. mittle limit hold 'em and small stakes hold 'em are a must have for beginners in my opinion.
- Sleyde
What advice do you not agree with in Stewart's book "How Good is your Pot Limit Holdem"?
I have been learning quite a bit from the book and it has stood me quite well so far. I would be interested in hearing a far better NL players thoughts.
nice collection you got, just wondering which you reckon are the best the no limit and tournament play??? dan harrington??
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