Poker Book Reviews
Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise."
- Cato the Elder
Beginner Books :: Intermediate Books :: Advanced Books
Play Poker Like The Pros by Phil Hellmuth Jr.
This is a great starter book that will introduce Texas Hold’em, and many other games, to the novice player. It will teach you a complete basic strategy, very tight and very aggressive, that will allow you to learn the game with little or no risk and maybe even make a small profit while you do so. It also teaches a great system of “labeling” your opponents based on how they play, and shows you how to adapt your on style to maximize your profit from them.
In Play Poker Like the Pros, poker master Phil Hellmuth, Jr., demonstrates exactly how to play and win — even if you have never picked up a deck of cards — the modern games of poker, including: Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, and Razz.
Play Poker Like the Pros begins by laying out the rules and set-up of each game and then moves on to easy-to-follow basic and advanced strategies. Hellmuth teaches exactly which hands to play, when to bluff, when to raise, and when to fold. In addition Hellmuth provides techniques for reading other players and staying cool under pressure. There are also special chapters on how to beat online poker games and an inside look at tournament play.
Lowest Price at:
Small Stakes Hold’em by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth
Excellent starting book. Introduces player to essential poker concepts like mathematics of poker, position, and pot odds. This book is so chalked full of information it may take a few reads to absorb the entirety of the content.
For today's poker players, Texas hold 'em is the game. Every day, tens of thousands of small stakes hold 'em games are played all over the world in homes, card rooms, and on the Internet. These games can be very profitable -- if you play well. But most people don't play well and end up leaving their money on the table.
Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big with Expert Play explains everything you need to be a big winner. Unlike many other books about small stakes games, it teaches the aggressive and attacking style used by all professional players. However, it does not simply tell you to play aggressively; it shows you exactly how to make expert decisions through numerous clear and detailed examples.
Small Stakes Hold 'em teaches you to think like a professional player. Topics include implied odds, pot equity, speculative hands, position, the importance of being suited, hand categories, counting outs, evaluating the flop, large pots versus small pots, protecting your hand, betting for value on the river, and playing overcards. In addition, after you learn the winning concepts, test your skills with over fifty hand quizzes that present you with common and critical hold 'em decisions. Choose your action, then compare it to the authors' play and reasoning. This text presents cutting-edge ideas in straightforward language. It is the most thorough and accurate discussion of small stakes hold 'em available. Your opponents will read this book; make sure you do, too!
Lowest Price at:
Killer Poker Online: Crushing the Internet Game by John Vorhaus
Internet poker. Five years ago, it didn't exist. In another five years it could make live poker seem passe. Right now, it's a wild frontier of nonstop action, as players from every corner of the globe fight for their share of the loot. In this revolutionary guide to winning on the Web, John Vorhaus, author of Killer Poker: Strategy and Tactics for Winning Poker Play, shows you everything you need to know about crushing the online game.
Filled with expert advice and insider techniques that could only come from a poker industry pro, this comprehensive guide is like The Art of War for online gamblers, with specific strategies for understanding and mastering the virtual game. So sign in, log on, and play real poker for real money against real foes right now. But before you do, read this book. It will pay for itself in your first hour of play.
Lowest Price at:
Winning Low-Limit Hold'em by Lee Jones
Reviewed By: Simon Mayweather
This was the very first poker book I picked up when I decided I wanted to improve my game, and it was probably the best decision I could have made. While not without its drawbacks, the book is very clearly written and provides an outstanding introduction to many poker concepts. The book does have its critics though, who argue that the recommended playing style is too passive; and while I agree with this characterization, I think it’s important to keep in mind the author’s target audience. The seasoned poker player probably won’t find much of value here, but as an only recreational player, I found that it improved my game immensely. After a few months of mastering the techniques, though, you’ll be ready to move on to more advanced books such as Sklansky and Malmuth’s. Nonetheless, the material here helped turn me into a winning player at the lower limit Atlantic City games, and against the terrible players that can be found playing online these days.
Lowest Price at:
Movie: Rounders by MIRAMAX Films
Won’t help your poker game much, but it sure does get me psyched to play poker every time I watch it.
John Dahl directed this exploration of New York private clubs devoted to high-stakes poker, with first-person narration from the film's central figure, law student Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), who loses his entire savings to Russian club owner Teddy KGB (John Malkovich). Mike then turns away from cards, devoting his attentions to his law studies and his live-in girlfriend Jo (Gretchen Mol), who's concerned when Mike's former gambling buddy Worm (Edward Norton) is released from prison. She has good reason to worry, since it takes Worm only a matter of minutes to draw Mike back into poker action. When she learns Mike has returned to the poker clubs, she moves out, and Mike begins to lose interest in his studies. Worm has a pre-prison debt, and the threatening Grama (Michael Rispoli) wants the money. Mike not only indulges the irresponsible Worm, he gets involved in Worm's debts. When Grama demands $15,000 on a five-day deadline, the two buddies go into high gear with a non-stop, no-sleep gambling binge that spirals downward toward an ultimate confrontation with Teddy KGB.
Lowest Price at:
Internet Texas Hold'em: Winning Strategies from an Internet Pro by Matthew Hilger
A must read. This is geared specifically for online play, and touches any many key subjects. Emphasizes pot odds and position, includes one of the most complete starting hand strategies using those two key concepts.
On any given night, thousands of players are playing poker for real money on the Internet. This book is an excellent tool for players at all levels to be successful at limit Texas Hold'em with specific topics focused on Internet play.
A comprehensive overview of Texas Hold'em is presented including general poker concepts such as probability and odds, bluffing, raising and check-raising. Various deceptive tactics are also discussed such as free cards, slowplaying, and inducing bluffs and calls. You'll learn the correct strategies for starting hand play as well as playing on the flop, turn, and river. You'll learn the intricacies of playing on the Internet and the differences in strategies between Internet and live play. Finally, you'll be able to practice all of these strategies on over 200 actual Internet hands.
Poker is a fun game, but it is even more fun when you win. This is a book for players who want to improve their game to win more money. If you only play a few hours a week or strive to take your game to an advanced level, this book should serve as a reference for many years to come and help you become a consistent winner!
Lowest Price at:
Ken Warren Teaches Hold 'Em by Ken Warren
If you want to learn Texas hold 'EM and play it for profit, Ken Warren is your guru. Jam-packed with 33 powerful chapters, a detailed glossary, and 28 lessons on every aspect of the game, this book contains absolutely everything you need to know to be a consistent winner at hold 'em poker. Easy-to-read and thorough, this book shows you step-by-step how to be a winning player.
Mixing practical advice and general concepts with specific examples of game situations, Warren teaches you to play winning poker from every position at every stage of a hand. You'll get expert advice on raising, playing position, special flops, overcards, seat selection, overcalling, reading hands, pot odds, tournament play, stealing blinds, short-handed games and so much more.
Lowest Price at:
Doyle Brunson's Super System by Doyle Brunson, Allan Goldberg
This is a classic book on every major no-limit game played today and is considered by many pros to be the best book ever written on poker! Jam-packed with advanced strategies, theories, tactics and money-making techniques - no serious poker player can afford to be without this essential book!
Now, for the first time, a paperback edition packed with 608 pages of hard-hitting information, this is truly a must-buy for aspiring pros. Includes 50 pages of the most precise poker statistics ever published!
Lowest Price at:
Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth
Texas Hold 'em is not an easy game to play well. To become an expert you need to be able to balance many concepts, some of which occasionally contradict each other.
In 1988, the first edition of this text appeared. Many ideas, which were only known to a small select group of players were now made available to anyone who was striving to achieve expert status, and the hold 'em explosion had begun.
It is now a new century, and the authors have again moved the state of the art forward by adding over 100 pages of new material, including an extensive section on "loose games," and an extensive section on "short-handed games." Anyone who studies this text, is well disciplined, and gets the proper experience should become a significant winner. Some of the other ideas discussed in this 21st century edition include play on the first two cards, semi-bluffing, the free card, inducing bluffs, staying with a draw, playing when a pair flops, playing trash hands, desperation bets, playing in wild games, reading hands, psychology, and much more.
Lowest Price at:
Caro's Book of Poker Tells by Mike Caro
Reviewed by Viewer This book has helped me to put some of the finishing touches onto my game. Before I read this book I was making some money but I was losing money to people because I couldn't read their bluffs. Now since I haved read this book in a less then a day I have only played twice since then but my game has deff. improved. Now I have the confidence to make that call or know when I should lay down a good hand. I suggest this book to anyone trying to improve their game. Im happy the people I play with haven't read this book because it gives me a huge edge on them.
Lowest Price at:
The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky
Reviewed by Chris, A I found this book to be an excellent addition to any serious poker player's library. I WOULD NOT recommend reading this as your first poker book b/c it is VERY analytical. Sklansky brings a mathematical element into decision-making which is vital to raise your game to the next level. However, there is so much more to cards than mathematics.
I found the book incredibly valuable, but only when coupled with the knowledge that one can take away from Caro's Book of Tells, Brunson's Super System, and the other great books of our time. The lessons are universal and important. Worth the money and the headaches to get through it.
Lowest Price at:
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky
This text is the first book ever written that explains tournament tactics which only a small number of players have mastered. It assumes you already know how to play poker well, but aren't knowledgeable of tournament concepts and when and where to use them.
Some of the ideas discussed include the effect of going broke, The Gap Concept, how chips change value, adjusting tactics because the stakes rise, all-in strategy, the last table, making deals, The "system," and much more.
Lowest Price at:
Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel
This book is not about poker exactly, but it does show how you can take a zen like approach to it. This book helped me immensely with my concentration and focus.
Since its original publication in 1953, Zen in the Art of Archery has become one of the classic works on Eastern philosophy, the first book to delve deeply into the role of Zen in philosophy, development, and practice of Eastern martial arts. Wise, deeply personal, and frequently charming, it is the story of one man's penetration of the theory and practice of Zen Buddhism.
Eugen Herrigel, a German professor who taught philosophy in Tokyo, took up the study of archery as a step toward the understanding of Zen. Zen in the Art of Archery is the account of the six years he spent as the student of one of Japan's great Zen masters, and the process by which he overcame his initial inhibitions and began to look toward new ways of seeing and understanding. As one of the first Westerners to delve deeply into Zen Buddhism, Herrigel was a key figure in the popularization of Eastern thought in the West, as well as being a captivating and illuminating writer.
Lowest Price at:
Beginner Books :: Intermediate Books :: Advanced Books
