allaboutpoker

If you are going to be a serious poker player, you’re probably going to need to read some poker books.  There are literally hundreds of poker books available today, some of which are good, some of which are terrible.  But how to know which ones are best for you?

The first thing you should realize is that just because someone is famous and on TV does not mean they are qualified to write a poker book!  Although certain professional poker players have in fact written good books, some of them have also written quite lousy ones.

Most poker books are not very fun and exciting to read.  They’re mostly boring, because poker strategy just isn’t that easy to make fun and exciting when you’re reading a book that’s 200+ pages long.  However, you need to get through certain key books, and comprehend their content in order to become a good player.

I’m going to recommend a few here that I know are good books.

Winning Low Limit Hold’em, 2nd Edition by Lee Jones - an excellent starter Texas Hold’em book for beginners.  Covers all the basics for limit Texas hold’em.  I highly recommend this book if you have never played in a casino before and want to learn Texas Hold’em.

Theory of Poker by David Sklansky -  Excellent book that covers the fundamentals of every type of poker, every basic poker play.  A difficult book to read, but an essential one.  You’ll probably need to re-read it several times, one or two chapters at a time.  Don’t try to digest this one quickly, it’s tough reading.

Hold’em Poker for Advanced Players, 21st Century Edition by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth - definitely a great book, but will be hard to digest if you haven’t read a beginning book like the Lee Jones book.

Psychology of Poker by Alan Schoonmaker -  An excellent book that helps you learn playing styles and player tendencies, excellent for beginning players, but not a substitute for strategy books like the Jones book.

Small Stakes Hold’em: Winning Big With Expert Play  by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth - a book with exceptionally good strategic advice, but very difficult for a beginner to grasp.  Not for beginners.

Getting Started in Hold’em by Ed Miller - An excellent primer for no limit hold’em, and generally an all-around great book for beginners.

No Limit Hold’em: Theory and Practice by Ed Miller and David Sklansky - an absolutely essential book if you want to play no limit hold’em.  Difficult to digest, complex, along the lines of Theory of Poker.

Tournament Poker for Advanced Players, Expanded Edition by David Sklansky -  terrific book if you want to play tournaments.  This book expects that you have read several of the preceding books and fully understand the concepts.

Gambling Theory and Other Topics by Mason Malmuth -  Essential to understanding the basics of gambling and developing sound fundamental skills and practices.  Considerable information on poker is presented here, along with some tournament information and some general gambling information.

It should be noted that these books are all published by TwoPlusTwo publishing, except for the Lee Jones book.  The bottom line is that these books are IMO the best, and the ones I recommend.  This does not mean there are no other good books out there, just that these are the ones I am recommending to my readers.  If someone wants an opinion on a specific book they have or are considering purchasing, feel free to contact me and I’ll give you my opinion (or perhaps blog it)

PokerGuru

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