Poker books?

andrew8 · Group 3 Class Joined: 19 Dec 2008 Posts: 58

Hey, ive been playin for about 9 mths or so and im gonna start reading books to improve my game.

Im playin a variety of NLH online.

Just wondering what books have worked for any of you?

jwoody · Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 1:59 am Post subject:

Here's a list of some books that are worth reading:

http://poker.olbg.com/Poker+Books.htm

That list is quite old now, I'd add a few books like the Harrington on cash games trilogy, Sit & Go Strategy by Collin Moshman, I'm sure the rest of the OLBG Poker crew will have a few favourites of their own Win

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Chapman25 · Classic Winner Joined: 02 Sep 2007 Posts: 547

Many people consider Doyle Brunson's super system as "The Bible" of poker book's, I personally have not read many myself but understand that The Harrington series are very popular and widely acclaimed.

Thanks for list Woody, I'm certainly going to be investing in more books myself in the near future as the opinions of the pro's can only help improve your game.

I'd also suggest subscribing to the the monthly "Poker Player" & "Inside Poker" magazine's as they are always and interesting read and always offer some excellent added value tourney's, one of which OLBG member Murph recently took down and won a lovely package for the price of $1, check out the "shameless brag" thread on the front page of this forum for details of Murph's success. Win

andrew8 · Group 3 Class Joined: 19 Dec 2008 Posts: 58

Thanks for the list and suggestions lads Win

Think im gonna pick up this Harrington, highly recommended everywhere.
read an extract from it and its looks the ticket.
Start me off anyway Wink

Caladan · Listed Class Joined: 25 Mar 2009 Posts: 27

One addition for you that I can really recommend that doesn't suit everybody is 'Zen and the art of Poker'. It is very good for keeping you calm and keeps your ego in check and reminds you that poker is about patience and waiting most of the time.

Good luck.

scarlet · 2yo Joined: 18 Apr 2009 Posts: 4

Think I'm going to buy Zen and the art of Poker (loose my head sometimes!) and some others mentioned. Thanks for all your suggestions

burrfoot · Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:08 pm Post subject:

Thought this was an interesting and useful thread. So if you've read a poker book recently, let us know what is was like. Or if you can recommend a 'must read' all the better. Or just leave feedback on books mentioned. At the minute Im reading Decide to play Great Poker by Annie Duke and so far so good, Ive found it to be quite helpful in understanding game theory and how to make the right decisions for the right reasons, not necessarily relying on maths...

First book I'll throw out there is

Phil Hellmuth Jnr – Play Poker Like the Pros

Like him or loathe him, he came up with a quality instructional book that is well written and easy to follow. Hellmuth starts with beginner's strategies and works forward. Each new strategy or play is backed up with hand examples to demonstrate the benefits of the play or the downfalls of not employing his techniques.
There are sections on several poker variants, the most indepth is Limit Hold'em. I have read and reread this and it is compelling stuff, starting off with his basic 'supertight' strategy and moves on from there, incorporating new moves to have in your arsenal.

The No Limit and Pot Limit section is perhaps a little sparse, but follows on from the Limit and his style of teaching shows how to think about the hands and modify the Limit style.
The Omaha sections are cracking reads with excellent tips and guidance to stay out of trouble, especially for the Hi/Lo game.
Seven-Card Stud, Razz and Seven-Card Stud 8 or better are again excellent and written in a manner that does not patronise and is easy to absorb. Plenty of tips and advice for everyone, no matter what level
you think you are.
Highly recommended reading and rereading.
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BadPlayer · Group 3 Class Joined: 15 Aug 2010 Posts: 63

Backing burrfoot here.
Started reading it yesterday, so not much into it, but seems to be an acessible, easy reading and very good so far.
Got it cheap so it seems a good buy.

Burgeo · Triple Crown Winner Joined: 10 Feb 2009 Posts: 1167

The Harrington Volumes are the best iv read. After them i'd have to go with The Poker Mindset.

I enjoyed Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen, but certainly not for learning purposes, the guys a maniac Shocked

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burrfoot · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 11:50 am Post subject:

Gus Hansen – Every hand revealed

One of my favourite poker books there Burgeo, lost count on how many reads Ive went through, either from start to finish or just bits here and there - particularly enjoy his battle with Fricke!

Pretty unique in its style and (at time of publishing) content - ie charting his play through (nearly) every hand on route to winning the 2007 Aussie Millions. Seeing what he folded was as important as reading why he made certain plays and his whole line of reasoning with the hands he choose to play. Was a real eye opener for me. Win

A definite recommendation from me loikes.

Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo excerpts are featured in this months PokerPlayer - looks to be a good read for the meta game and understanding tilt... on my list Yes

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burrfoot · Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:14 pm Post subject:

KILLER POKER ONLINE V.2 – John Vorhaus

The latest in the series by Vorhaus is well written, humorous, engaging and accessible. It is also an honest and realistic look at online No LimitHold'em.

It goes beyond the conventional poker book, providing a slightly unique method of understanding and improving your game. As a result it offers more if you already have a basic grasp of the rules and concepts of NLHE.

Part 1 deals with how to approach the game, your mindset and getting to grips with the mindset of your opponents. It asks you to take an honest look at the reasons why you play and the preparations you take entering a session. Advice is given on how to give yourself the best chance of winning by making sure you have the optimum environment for your style and 'mindset'. He suggests methods to help identify and label opponents and yourself in order to assign them attributes and hand ranges and from there devise winning strategies to best combat them.

Part 2 concerns the Sit n Go and offers several useful ideas and techniques without having to think too much about the maths. The best section (arguably in the book) examines the Heads Up game. Its a real eye opener and has been the reason for my new found bias towards this variation.

Part 3 is for Tournament play and gives sound advice for all stages of large field MTTs.

Part 4 is all about Cash Games and is slim pickings, so heres the best advice in the section:
'IF YOU'RE IN A GAME WHERE BLUFFING WORKS… YOU'RE IN THE WRONG GAME.'

The book tails off after this, a section follows consisting of a lazy journal of a 24 hour online session that he attempted for the book. It is pointless and adds nothing to the book, it is just a page filler. The few chapters that conclude the book are similarly worthy, including a guest spot on the sniffer software available which confuses and in largely incoherent.

The book is worth a look if only for the first 2 chapters and will improve your game without the need for any maths know-how. It doesn't take Poker too seriously and is entertaining for the most part. The end section misses the mark and are fairly redundant.

Despite this I would say it is still worth a look.
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burrfoot · Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:45 pm Post subject:

Here's a few poker related autobiographies I've read:

Victoria Coren – For richer for poorer
Full of witty anecdotes through Coren's Poker journey - from small girl in awe of her brother's home game to her nervous first attempts to sit down at The Vic - to her win at the 2006 EPT in the Vic itself and everything inbetween…

She nicely uses the odd EPT hand to conclude each chapter, building up to the win itself. She is the everyman/woman lost at first among the sharks but steadily finding her feet and loving it.

Her writing skills convey the emotions poker brings. The characters and situations come to life on the page, (Hendon Mob; Devilfish; Erik Bristow, loads more…) well described and portrayed in a loving manner.

She accurately parallels poker and life in a way Ive never read before and no matter what level you're at there will be a connection to her story.