Poker books worth reading
A lot of poker players will tell you the best way to learn to play the game is to play the game as much as possible. They’re right, too. The only way to become a great poker player is to play a lot of poker. However, that doesn’t mean that reading some good books won’t help speed up the process and give you new perspectives on the game.
The first book I read opened my eyes - it provided me with a basis for starting hands that was easy to remember, it taught me to read the board, and it taught basic strategies of slow playing and check raising. I will not mention the title, because it’s not worth buying - you can find all of that information online.
The first book I’ll mention is the book that really opened my eyes to aggressive poker and taught me to get away from check-calling people with the worst hand. I’m sure you’ve all heard of it. Super System by Doyle Brunson was, is, and always will be one of the best poker books available. It’s not necessarily a sound strategy for tournaments, but the concepts it teaches are priceless. If you can learn to apply the lessons that Doyle Brunson teaches in his book you’ll be well on your way to becoming a good poker player.
If you’re interested in learning to play great limit hold ‘em, I would suggest two books. Winning Low Limit Hold ‘Em by Lee Jones. The book is amazing and teaches the fundamentals of a sound limit strategy in the low limit games that most people start out in. It focuses on capitalizing on the mistakes that most low limit players make on a regular basis. The second book is by David Sklansky - and really, any book my Sklansky is a good read. It’s called Hold ‘Em For Advanced Players. It’s well written and provides situational advice as well as a lot of information regarding math - implied odds, pot odds, drawing odds - and a lot of information about sound, mathematical strategies - picking good starting hands, maximizing value, value betting, and so on.
If you’re interested in poker tournmanets, specifically no limit hold ‘em tournaments - read Dan Harrington’s books. Harrington on Hold ‘Em volumes I and II are both excellent reads. The first focuses on getting deep into tournaments, the second focuses on “end game” strategy - gathering up chips to make a run at the 1st place prize money. Harrington focuses on the strategies that work best in tournaments such as continuation bets and situational bluffing. If you can remember all the information he presents and apply it to your opponents properly, you’ll be making the money in tournaments immediately and you should win a few after some practice.
If you know of any other great books that will help, leave a comment, I’d love to read them.
Related Posts
- WPT By The Book - Texas Hold'Em
- Learning to play poker
- It's Just Play Money - Learning the Ropes of Texas Hold 'em
- Implied odds
- Can Card-Counting Be Applied To Poker? - The Odds-On Favourite - Part 3
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