100 Poker Books that Shaped the Game
In the digital age of poker, where online tools, software, and resources abound, it might be easy to overlook the enduring value of poker books. In an era of instant access to knowledge, why consider printed pages or even e-books when you can access real-time data and expert insights at the click of a button? However, we at the World Poker Federation firmly believe that these collections of wisdom, whether in print or digital form, continue to hold an invaluable place in the hearts of every poker enthusiast.
With this in mind, we embarked on a journey to curate a list of the top 100 poker books. We didn’t undertake this endeavor lightly. Our selection criteria encompassed their significance in the annals of poker history, the quality of the knowledge they impart, and their overall impact on the game. These books are a testament to the enduring legacy of poker literature.
In the pages of these one hundred books, you’ll find not just strategies and tactics that have withstood the test of time, but also a unique window into the evolution of poker. From the dusty backrooms of underground games to the international poker arena, these books offer glimpses into the ever-changing landscape of this fascinating card game.
Though the world of poker literature is vast, we’ve distilled it down to these essential 100 titles, all presented in alphabetical order. Each book has earned its place on this list for a reason, whether due to its classic status, groundbreaking insights, or its influence on the game’s evolution.
So, whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting your poker journey, we invite you to embark on this literary adventure with us, as we delve into the rich tapestry of poker’s past, celebrate its enduring legacy, and find inspiration in the timeless wisdom found within the pages of these remarkable books.
Table of Contents
Ace on the River
By Barry Greenstein
“Ace on the River’is no ordinary poker book. This is the first truly “advanced” guide aimed at improving your game. Written in an easy-to-read, bare bones conversational style and designed to help anyone interested in increasing their understanding of the game, this book is ideal for those new to the game or winning professionals. The fundamental philosophies presented go beyond the green felt and can be applied in all competitive ventures. While most poker books focus on basic rules and strategies, the book’s advanced perspective addresses elements that effect both game play and the player. Focusing on a variety of subjects, such as the psychology of poker, money management, family issues, and sex, this book gives the reader a rare chance to look beyond the cards to see the poker world through someone who lives it. The unique you-make-the-call-play by play section will challenge the reader again and again.”
Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play
By Jeff Hwang
“With over 200 hand examples and walkthroughs to reinforce the advanced skills, concepts, and strategies presented in this book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha successfully breaks new ground and takes Omaha strategy to the next level. For those in the know, Pot-Limit Omaha will be a bonanza of riches, but you must act now if you want to get an extra jump on your opponents.
Poker is a fun game; it’s even more fun when you win. And with Jeff Hwang as your guide, you will win more than ever before.”
Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play
By Jeff Hwang
“Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play picks up where Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Vol. I: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play left off.
With nearly 300 hand walkthroughs dedicated to short-handed online play, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play takes Omaha strategy one step further, and will open up your game further than ever before.”
Applications of No-Limit Hold 'em: A Guide to Understanding Theoretically Sound Poker
By Matthew Janda
“One of the most daunting moments in a poker player s career occurs when he realizes his knowledge of how to play a specific hand well is incomplete without the additional understanding of how to play every other hand in his range well.
This task would be impossible if a player had to actually think about every other hand in his range, but by understanding theoretical sound poker, he can quickly design balanced ranges using the proper bet-sizing while playing.
Applications of No-Limit Hold em teaches theoretical sound poker, and thus the ability to create the bet-sizings and ranges which will beat the better players. The theory in this book is not designed to be complex or abstract, but rather it s intended to be applied immediately producing better overall results. “
Bluffs: How to Intelligently Apply Aggression to Increase Your Profits from Poker
By Jonathan Little and Albert Hart
“Have you ever wondered how the best poker players in the world successfully bluff on a regular basis? Many amateurs make the mistake of mindlessly attempting sporadic bluffs because they do not fully understand when and why to bluff.
In this book, world class poker professional Jonathan Little (over $6,300,000 in live tournament cashes) will explain when and why to bluff in order to maximize your chances of success.”
Caro's Book of Poker Tells: The Psychology and Body Language of Poker
By Mike Caro
“One of the ten greatest books written on poker, this must-have book should be in every player’s library. If you’re serious about winning, you’ll realize that most of the profit comes from being able to read your opponents. Caro reveals the secrets of interpreting tells – physical reactions that reveal information about a player’s cards – such as shrugs, sighs, shaky hands, eye contact, and many more. Learn when opponents are bluffing, when they aren’t and why – based solely on their mannerisms.
Over 170 photos of players in action and play-by-play examples show the actual tells. These powerful ideas will give you the decisive edge.”
Crushing Low Stakes Poker - Volume 1: Strategy
By Mike Turner
“Most poker books and training videos on tournaments and Sit ’n Gos are by professional poker players who play at the highest stakes. Whereas you can learn a lot from studying them, they won’t always be as useful to you when you’re mainly playing at the low stakes.
Playing low stakes games against beginning and recreational players requires a whole different strategy and approach than playing high stakes games against the best of the best. The Crushing Low Stakes Poker series is focused specifically on low stakes play and teaches you the proper strategy to consistently crush low stakes Sit ’n Gos.”
Crushing the Microstakes
By Nathan Williams
“Crushing the Microstakes is a comprehensive guide on how to dominate your competition at the micros. Written by DragTheBar coach Nathan Williams aka “BlackRain79,” the biggest winner ever at the smallest stakes with over 6 million hands of experience, this book has only one goal in mind, increasing your winrate.
There is a common misconception out there that everybody breezes through the micros and moves on to greener pastures. Some do. But many don’t. Why waste your time spinning your tires at these stakes for years and years on end? You should be printing money when playing them.”
Decide to Play Great Poker - A Strategy Guide to No-Limit Texas Hold ’Em
By John Vorhaus and Annie Duke
“Ask the great poker players how they’d play a hand and the answer is always, ‘it depends.’ That answer can be infuriating. But guess what? It really does depend. The key to becoming a great poker player is in knowing exactly what it depends on. At last there’s a book that gives you that answer.
Poker is a game of so many variables: table position, flop texture, the number of players in a hand, the personalities of your opponents, and so much more. Decide to Play Great Poker teaches you how to identify and analyze those variables, interchange them within basic game-situation templates, and become knowledgeable, comfortable, and confident in any poker situation. Instead of just dictating a bunch of rules that work only some of the time, this book teaches you to become a great poker thinker and strategist so that you can expertly navigate any poker challenge you encounter.”
Doyle Brunson's Super System
By Doyle Brunson
“Twice-world champion and Hall of Famer Doyle Brunson and five leading experts in their various specialties tell you when to raise, call, bet, and fold at hold ’em (limit and no-limit), 7-stud (high and low), draw poker, and lowball.
Collaborators David “Chip” Reese, Mike Caro, David Sklansky, Joey Hawthorne, and former world champion Bobby Baldwin. This treatise on professional-level poker is the result of over 10,000 hours of labor by the world’s greatest players and theorists and has never been equaled in scope or value. This is the must-have book for serious poker players.”
Doyle Brunson's Super System 2
By Doyle Brunson
“SS2 features winning strategies and professional secrets from the world’s best players including new advice from Doyle and the addition of no-limit legend Phil Helmuth, holder of the most world series championships ever.
Other superstar contributors includr Daniel Negreanu, 4-time bracelet winner, 2004 Player of the Year, and author of three books including Hold’em Wisdsom for all Players; Lyle Berman, 3-time WSOP bracelet winner and founder of the World Poker Tour; Bobby Baldwin, 1978 World Champion; Johnny Chan, 2-timeWorld Champion and 10-time WSOP bracelet winner; the great Mike Caro, ” Mad Genius of Poker”; Jennifer Harman, the world’s top female player; Todd Brunson, winnerof more than 20 tournaments; and Crandell Addington, no-limit legend
Easy Game: Making Sense of No Limit Hold'Em 3rd Edition: Adaptations
By Andrew Seidman
“Andrew “BalugaWhale” Seidman is a professional poker player, coach, and theorist from Portland, Oregon. He rode the poker boom to win hundreds of thousands of dollars playing online. He has also established his presence as an author, writing articles (including “The So-Called Baluga Theorem”) and the e-book Easy Game (Volumes I & II). Andrew produces coaching videos for DeucesCracked.com, an industry-leading instructional video website.”
Elements of Poker
By Tommy Angelo
“Beyond statistics, beyond whether to raise, call, or fold, Elements of Poker reveals a new world of profitability for your bankroll and your life. You know tilt costs you money, but do you know how to make it go away? You know position is important, but do you really know how to profit from that knowledge? Elements of Poker is the distilled wisdom of a master. Published in 2007, this book is praised by poker pros worldwide as a timeless classic.”
Essential Poker Math, Expanded Edition
By Alton Hardin
“Suitable for both beginner and experienced poker players alike, you’ll learn fundamental poker mathematics that’ll help you drastically improve your poker game. After reading this book, you’ll have mastered fundamental No Limit Hold’em mathematics. You’ll have gained a considerable skill advantage over your opponents and will be able to effectively use math at the poker table to make +EV moves. Most importantly, you’ll become a much better poker player!
First, you’ll be introduced to several fundamental overarching poker concepts that apply to poker mathematics. Then we’ll begin our journey into poker mathematics. You’ll learn about probabilities and odds, pot equity, pot odds, implied odds, the Rule of 2 and 4, expected value, and much more. We’ll then learn about important pre-flop and post-flop poker mathematical concepts, such as all-in situations, set-mining, steal attempts, 3-bet bluffing, betting with the best hand, semi-bluffing all-in, bluffs, and hero calls. Lastly, you’ll learn how to perform basic and intermediate expected value calculations and utilize card combinations, better known as combinatorics.”
Every Hand Revealed
By Gus Hansen
“One of professional poker’s most intriguing and fascinating players, Gus Hansen has often been called “The Madman” for his crazy, fearless, aggressive style. But you can’t dispute the fact that this poker superstar knows how to win–and win big.
The holder of the inaugural Poker Superstars Invitational title as well as the only player to win three World Poker Tour tournaments, Gus won his fifth major international title when he became the 2007 Aussie Millions Champion, outlasting 747 players and nabbing $1.2 million. Now, for the first time ever, Gus analyzes the hands that he played during the tournament and reveals his secrets for winning in Every Hand Revealed.”
Expert Heads Up No Limit Hold'em: Optimal And Exploitative Strategies
By Will Tipton
“A lot of poker books promise instant success, screaming “Crush the online games” or “How I won a million dollars playing poker”. They suggest that poker is actually rather easy and that anyone with five minutes to spare can quickly gain expertise in the game. But you know that these claims simply aren’t true.
To achieve mastery of poker is not easy – it requires a great deal of deep thinking. Expert Heads Up No Limit Hold ‘em is a unique and remarkable book, providing a clear framework with which to analyse the game.”
Exploitative Play in Live Poker: How to Manipulate your Opponents into Making Mistakes
By Alexander Fitzgerald
“Many poker players can make good decisions at the table with a reasonable frequency. Nevertheless, there are numerous situations where even very experienced players behave in predictable ways. These deeply-ingrained habits lead them to make mistakes. The problem is that these situations won’t often arise at the table by chance – you have to make them happen.
Exploitative Play in Live Poker is a ground-breaking work that teaches you how to create the circumstances where your opponents will be likely to blunder and how to exploit them when they do.
To achieve this you will need to put to one side starting hand charts, balance and GTO (Game Theory Optimal) play. Instead you will incorporate new concepts that may well place you outside your comfort zone. However, your style will now be forcing the other players at the table outside of their comfort zone and, unlike you, they won’t know how to adapt.”
Getting Started in Hold 'em
By Ed Miller
“In Getting Started in Hold ’em, noted poker authority Ed Miller guides you onto the winning path. As someone who made the leap from beginner to professional in less than a year and a half, Ed is uniquely qualified to show new players the quickest route to hold ’em success.
This book presents the critical principles that expert players use: preflop hand valuation, domination, betting for value, protecting your hand, semi-bluffing, pot equity, pot odds, implied odds, free card plays, the importance of stack size, why chips change value in tournaments, and much more.”
GTO Poker Gems: 12 Insights From The Solver That Every Player Should Use
James Sweeney and Adam Jones
“GTO concepts. So we took our years of GTO solver exploration and distilled the major takeaways that you can actually use. We call these the gems.
Instead of writing multiple volumes of books, each hundreds of pages long, we made each concept as concise as possible. Learn exactly what thousands of hours of intense solver analysis has produced in actionable chapters that will deepen your entire poker strategy.
Stop avoiding GTO poker because it seems too scary. Stop justifying bad plays “because the solver said so.” Start understanding exactly what the solver is suggesting, why it’s making these suggestions, and how you can implement decisions around bet sizing, range construction, equity, blockers, and more in your sessions.”
Harrington on Cash Games - Volume 1: How to Win at No-Limit Hold'em Money Games
By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
“The first years of the poker boom were fueled by the interest in no-limit hold em tournaments. Recently, however, players have been gravitating to another, even more complex form of hold em no-limit cash games.
In Harrington on Cash Games: Volume I, Dan Harrington teaches you the key concepts that drive deep-stack cash game play. You ll learn how to tailor your selection of starting hands to your stack size, how to recognize the increasing deception value of supposedly weaker hands as the stack sizes increase, and how to use the concept of pot commitment to your advantage as the size of the pot grows. After laying out the general concepts behind deep-stack cash game play, Harrington shows you a complete strategy for post-flop play, and then teaches you the difference between post-flop play against a single opponent and post-flop play against multiple opponents.”
Harrington on Cash Games - Volume 2: How to Play No-Limit Hold 'em Cash Games
By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
“Harrington on Cash Games: Volume II, continues where Volume I left off. In sections on turn and river play, Harrington explains why these are the most important streets in no-limit hold’em, and shows how to decide when to bet or check, when to call or fold, and when to commit all your chips. In later sections, Harrington shows how to play a looser and more aggressive style, how to make the transition from online to live games, and how to extract the maximum profit from very low-stakes games. Volume II concludes with an interview with Bobby Hoff, considered by many the best no-limit cash game player of all times, who shares some of his secrets and insight.”
Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments - Vol. 1: Strategic Play
By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
“Harrington on Hold Em takes you to the part of the game the cameras ignore the tactics required to get through the hundreds and sometimes thousands of hands you must win to make it to the final table. Harrington s sophisticated and time-tested winning strategies, focusing on what it takes to survive the early and middle stages of a No-Limit Hold Em tournament, are appearing here for the first time in print. These are techniques that top players use again and again to get to make it to final tables around the globe.
Now, learn from one of the world s most successful No-Limit Hold Em players how to vary your style, optimize your betting patterns, analyze hands, respond to a re-raise, play to win the most money possible, react when a bad card hits and much, much more.”
Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments - Vol. 2: Endgame
By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
“In the first volume of this series, Harrington on Hold ’em: Volume I: Strategic Play, Dan Harrington explained how to play in the early phases of tournaments, when most players at the table had plenty of chips, and the blinds and antes were small.
This book, Harrington on Hold ’em: Volume II: The Endgame shows you how to play in the later phases of a tournament, when the field has been cut down, the blinds and antes are growing, and the big prize money is within sight. Harrington shows you how to make moves, handle tricky inflection point plays, and maneuver when the tournament is down to its last few players and the end is in sight. Hes also included a whole chapter on heads-up play, whose strategies up to now have been a closely-guarded secret of the game’s top masters.”
Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments - Vol. 3: The Workbook
By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
“In the first volume of this series, Dan Harrington explained the basics of the game, and how to play in the early stages of tournaments, where the players have deep stacks and the blinds and antes are small. In the second volume, he explained how to play the later stages of tournaments, when the prize money was within sight.
In this book, Dan gives you problems to test how well you grasped the principles of the first two volumes. In addition, many of the problems focus on the key area that causes difficulties for so many aspiring players: how to play after the flop.”
Harrington on Modern Tournament Poker
By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
“In Harrington on Modern Tournament Poker, Dan Harrington takes a fresh look at the world of no-limit hold em tournaments. He explains how the game is currently played, and what you ll have to do to be a successful tournament player in 2013 and beyond.
The topics examined include how to play different hand types preflop, when to 3-bet and 4-bet, how to analyze the flop, turn, and river, and how to size your bets. Dan also explains how to adjust your strategy as your stack size grows and shrinks, and how to handle the new breed of super-aggressive players that you ll meet at the table (and, if you want, how to play that way yourself).”
Harrington on Online Cash Games: 6-Max No-Limit Hold 'em
By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
“No-limit hold em was once a game played almost exclusively in casinos. But during the last decade, the game s growth has been fueled in part by the easy availability of online playing sites where participants can play cash games and tournaments 24 hours a day, every day.
In Harrington on Online Cash Games, Dan Harrington shows you the key ideas and skills that will let you master the online poker world which differs in some significant ways from the world of casino games. You ll learn how to handle different stack sizes, how to play at 6-max tables, how to deal with increased levels of aggression, and how to use the poker databases and heads-up displays that give you unprecedented information on your opponent s tendencies.
Harrington lays out detailed strategies for preflop and post-flop play in both the popular micro-stakes games and the more difficult small-stakes games. If you play online poker or you re looking to get started, you ll need to read this book.”
Heads-Up No-Limit Hold 'em: Expert Advice for Winning Heads-Up Poker Matche
By Collin Moshman
“Heads-up confrontations can occur in any game, even when every seat is occupied. Yet, most hold em players who transition to the heads-up form, especially if they are from full ring no-limit games, do not succeed.
Adjusting to the amount of aggression can be difficult since heads-up battles require you to bet and raise with many more hands than what would be considered standard at a full table. Despite this, no-limit heads-up hold em is growing rapidly, especially on the Internet. So mastering this form of poker can be invaluable for those seeking to add a winning loose-aggressive component to their game. In addition, with the increasing number of heads-up matches now available, becoming proficient in them can be highly profitable.
This text, written by expert heads-up player Collin Moshman, is the first poker strategy book devoted exclusively to no-limit heads-up play.”
High-Low-Split Poker, Seven-Card Stud and Omaha Eight-or-better for Advanced Players
By Ray Zee
“The third book in the “For Advanced Players” series. It is really books 3 and 4 for two reasons. First, many of the concepts are similar for both games. Second, players mastering one game can easily make the transition to the other.
Some of the ideas discussed in the seven-card stud eight-or-better section include starting hands, when an ace raises, disguising your hand on third street, play on fourth street, fifth street, sixth street, seventh street, position, bluffing, staying to the end, and scare cards. Some of the ideas discussed in the Omaha eight-or-better section include general concepts, position, low hands, high hands, your starting hand, how to play your hand, play on the flop, multiway versus short handed play, scare cards, getting counterfeited, and your playing style. A great deal of this material has never appeared in print before.”
Hold'em Poker
By David Sklansky
“Is must reading for anyone planning to play hold ’em. It was the first definitive work on hold ’em poker and was originally published in 1976. Yet it is still one of the best-selling poker books available, and in 1997 it was expanded and updated to account for today’s modern double blind structure.
The text is designed for someone relatively new to the game, but it still contains much sophisticated material which all players should find beneficial. It is probably best known for the Sklansky Hand Rankings, which made the game much simpler to quantify and understand. Some of the topics include how Texas hold ’em is played, the importance of position, the first two cards, the key flops, strategy before the flop, semibluffing, the free card, slowplaying, check raising, heads-up on fifth street, and how to read hands.
Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players (2023 Edition)
By David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth
“Limit 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.
In 1999, this book went through a major expansion, called the 21st Century Edition, where an additional 100 pages were added which addressed many concepts and ideas which were not in the original edition including extensive sections on “loose” games and “short-handed” games. Topics included 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.
Now, 23 years later, another edition is released that adds significant material to what was already written as well as some completely new chapters including “Identifying Highly Beatable Games,” “Playing Fast,” “Balancing Your Strategy,” Some Thoughts on Loose-Aggressive Games,” and “Playing in High Rake Games.”
Hold'em Wisdom for All Players
By Daniel Negreanu
“Superstar poker player Daniel Negreanu provides 50 easy-to-read and right-to-the-point hold’em strategy nuggets that will immediately make you a better player at cash games and tournaments. His wit and wisdom makes for great reading; even better, it makes for killer winning advice.
Conversational, straightforward, and educational, Daniel covers topics as diverse as the top 10 rookie mistakes and five reasons why you’re losing at poker, to bullying bullies, exploiting your table image, and strategies to equalize professional players. This insightful book shows you how to improve your game and make money at Texas hold’em.”
How to Be a Poker Player: The Philosophy of Poker
By Haseeb Qureshi
“What does it take to be a great poker player? It’s no secret that masters of poker think differently than ordinary people. In this truly groundbreaking book, Haseeb Qureshi, retired world-class high stakes poker pro and instructor, takes you on a journey of rediscovering the game of poker from the inside out.
He explores the depths of strategy, psychology, and philosophy within poker, and teaches you his uniquely scientific perspective on approaching the game. Whether you’ve read all the books and want to take your game to the next level, or whether you’re an amateur wanting to learn what it’s all about, this game-changing book is a must-read. In the words of WPT World Champion David Williams, “Haseeb has written an amazing and ground-breaking book. There’s truly nothing else like it. An absolute requirement for anyone serious about poker.”
How to Read Hands at No-Limit Hold'em
By Ed Miller
“Hand reading is the single most important no-limit hold’em skill. If you can figure out what hands your opponents are likely to have, you will make consistently good decisions. You’ll find bluffs other players miss. You’ll find value bets other players miss. And you’ll also be able to anticipate and avoid trouble before you’re knee-deep in it.
Some people say hand reading is a feel skill. That you can only learn it through experience. They’re wrong. Not that experience isn’t vital. It is. But if you think that you’re just going to figure it all out by playing hours and hours of hold’em, you’re likely mistaken.
The learning curve is very steep. That’s the bad news. The good news is that How To Read Hands At No-Limit Hold’em can leapfrog you up the learning curve. Not only will you be reading hands better from the moment you finish your first read-through, but you will also learn how to develop your skills”
How to Study Poker - Volume 2
By Sky Matsuhashi
“Struggling to improve your skills? Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of poker information out there? Do you wish you could master one strategy at a time instead of scratching the surface of 3bets, Cbets, Final Table Play or whatever else hits your inbox that day?
Learn how simplifying your studies and cutting out the “poker overwhelm” can put you on the road to mastery!
Poker coach, author and podcaster Sky Matsuhashi will show you exactly how to plan your daily studies around one central theme to take your skill development to new heights.”
Jonathan Little's Excelling at No-Limit Hold'em
By Jonathan Little, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Sexton, Olivier Busquet, Chris Moneymaker, Ed Miller, Jared Tendler, Will Tipton
“Excelling at No-Limit Hold’em is a sensation in poker publishing. Renowned poker professional and author Jonathan Little brings together 17 of the greatest no-limit experts in the world to discuss all aspects of the game. These experts include superstars such as Phil Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker, Mike Sexton and Jared Tendler.
In Part 1 strategies are analysed for topics such as understanding the fundamentals, satellite play, lower-buy in events, analysing tells and moving up in stakes
Part 2 sees a thorough technical breakdown of the game including sections on range analysis, game theory optimal play, short stack strategies, value betting and final table play.
As any serious poker will confirm, the technical side is only half the battle and so Part 3 deals with mental toughness, psychology and understanding tilt.”
Kill Everyone: Advanced Strategies for No-Limit Hold 'Em Poker Tournaments and Sit-n-Gos
By Lee Nelson, Tysen Streib, Steven Heston
“Kill Everyone is one of the most widely acclaimed poker books ever published. While dozens of new titles are released each year, few have garnered the praise of Kill Everyone. With the expanded new edition, poker players have an even more useful resource for improving their game. The second edition of Kill Everyone has added hand illustrations, full-color charts, and commentary throughout the book by renowned European online player Elky.”
Kill Phil: The Fast Track to Success in No-Limit Hold Em Poker Tournaments
By Blair Rodman, Lee Nelson, Steven Heston
“Thanks to television, the Internet, and the incredible popularity of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, when Kill Phil was first published in 2006, tournament poker had become the richest sport in the world.
The problem was that no-limit hold ’em was dominated by a handful of experienced and skilled professional players. Kill Phil turned the tables on the pros by introducing a strategy that allowed even a novice to compete against the best players in the world.
The Kill Phil strategy remains highly effective when used in confrontations with even the world’s best players, but tournament play is evolving. This revised edition reflects the new trends in tournament poker by refining the use of the all-in move and providing adaptations that take into account the new style of hyper-aggressive play.
At its core, though, Kill Phil remains what it’s been from the start–the best method possible for entering the exciting and potentially lucrative poker-tournament arena.”
Let There Be Range!
By Cole South and Tri Nguyen
“Small and midstakes NL makes up the fat majority of online poker cash games, so it’s no surprise that a variety of training aides are focused on that market. LTBR is a focused course on how to beat a limit range that roughly spans 1/2 to 5/10.”
Master Micro Stakes Poker
By Alton Hardin
“Are you new to poker or a struggling poker player? Do you want to be a solid poker player? Do you want to learn how to master the micro stakes? If so, this book is for you. This book was written for you if you’re a beginner, losing or break-even micro stakes cash game player. This book will teach you everything you need to know to master 6-Max No Limit Hold’em micro stakes cash games.
In this book, you’ll learn everything you need to know to crush online micro stakes poker. I’ll teach you time-tested strategies for beating the micro stakes through a tight-aggressive approach to beating these games. This book aims to teach you everything I’ve learned throughout the years to help turn you into a feared micro stakes poker player.”
Mastering Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em
By Jonathan Little
“There is a lot of money to be made at small stakes no-limit hold’em because… surprise, surprise… most of the players aren’t very good.
However, few players understand exactly how to exploit these games. Competent players who generally play larger stakes will, of course, beat them. But they won’t beat them for nearly as much as they ought to. Why? Because they don’t understand how to adjust correctly.
Playing a solid, competent, decently aggressive style is a strategy that will be profitable. That said, you should not be content with just beating these games – you should be absolutely crushing them. The trick to doing this is to disregard a lot of “correct” poker and get way out of line at the right times. The methods required are far from obvious or intuitive but in Mastering Small Stakes No-Limit Hold’em Jonathan Little explains them in great detail.
Jonathan constructs a basic strategy to crush small stakes games and also identifies the adjustments that need to be made when facing more competent opposition.”
Middle Limit Holdem Poker
By Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier
“The book adresses both money play and tournament play. The first part of the book has 63 chapters on the general principles recommended for sucess. The second part of the book looks at specific hands played by the author’s students, friends, and fellow professionals. This is Ciaffone’s sixth book on poker.”
Modern Poker Theory: Building an unbeatable strategy based on GTO principles
By Michael Acevedo
“Modern Poker Theory is a comprehensive, rigorous guide to the most important aspects of No-Limit Hold’em. It is based around an in-depth examination of what is meant by game theory optimal play (GTO) and how it can be applied at the table.Understanding GTO is fundamental to being able to make accurate poker decisions and being able to exploit players who don’t.
Modern Poker Theory uses modern poker tools to develop a systematic approach to the analysis of GTO. It organizes the ideas and concepts in an intuitive manner that is totally focused to practical applications.
Next time you are at a table some of the players will have studied Modern Poker Theory and some won’t. The players who have studied Modern Poker Theory will, without doubt, have a better theoretical and practical understanding of No-Limit Hold’em. They will be the favourites in the game. Make sure you are one of them.”
Moorman's Book of Poker
By Chris Moorman and Byron Jacobs
“Many strong poker players have written books explaining their thought processes. However, players at the low- to mid-stakes who want to advance to the highest levels find the leap a daunting one. Chris, through years of hard work, has achieved this advance and now wants to help you do the same.
Moorman’s Book of Poker has a unique approach. Chris analyzes 80 tournament hand histories played by co-author Byron Jacobs – a typical mid-stakes player. The adoption of a coaching format allows Chris to explain in clear detail exactly what is needed to progress to the next level of expertise.”
No Limit Hold 'em - Theory and Practice
By David Sklansky and Ed Miller
“The world s foremost poker theorist, David Sklansky, and noted poker authority, Ed Miller, will wise you up quickly.
No Limit Hold em: Theory and Practice is the definitive work on this complex game. It provides you a window into the heads of experts, teaching you in straightforward and enjoyable terms the how s and why s of winning play.
It covers critical concepts like manipulating the pot size, adjusting correctly to stack sizes, winning the battle of mistakes, reading hands, and manipulating opponents into playing badly. It teaches you about implied odds and how to size your bets and raises effectively. It even covers many principles of short stacked play that will give you a big edge in no limit hold em tournaments. Never before have so many people played no limit hold em, and never before has there been so much opportunity to win big. If you want your share of the spoils, read this book!”
No-Limit Hold 'em For Advanced Players: Emphasis on Tough Games
By Matthew Janda
“In 2003 poker was put on television and no-limit hold em quickly became the most popular form of poker played in casinos, public cardrooms, and on the Internet. At first, because of the newness of the game to most participants, they could be easily be beaten by players with only a moderate knowledge of sophisticated strategy.
But today, this is no longer the case. Even though no-limit hold em is not, from a Game Theory perspective, a solved game, many ideas and concepts which come from this branch of mathematics now play an important role in a strong, winning no-limit hold em strategy. But it s also important for the expert player to know when to leave what is known about optimal play and switch to exploitative strategies to maximize his profit.
And this brings us to No-Limit Hold em for Advanced Players, Emphasis on Tough Games by Matthew Janda. In this text, Janda spends much time discussing sophisticated strategies that should be employed against tough opposition, some of which has never been published before.”
Optimizing Ace King
By James Sweeney and Adam Jones
“Ace King is a massively profitable hand. In fact, AK is in the top-5% of winning hands and accounts for a good chunk of your winrate. But despite that fact, many players are confused about how to approach this hand. Should you 3bet it preflop, or just call it? Should you play the suited and offsuit versions the same, or differently? Should you c-bet with air, or check instead? And how many streets of value is top pair really worth?
Most players struggle with AK due to small leaks in their strategy. So Optimizing Ace King (OAK) doesn’t look to give you a bunch of memorized plays and tactics. Instead, OAK shows you how AK fits within your strategy and ranges. This prepares you for playing AK, among other hands, in a variety of spots and under a variety of conditions.
James “SplitSuit” Sweeney and Adam “W34Z3L” Jones co-wrote this book to take an in-depth look at poker strategy through the lens of a single hand. Concepts include 3betting, 4betting, cbetting, barreling, GTO vs. exploitative play, and deducing lines from GTO solver output.”
Phil Gordon's Little Blue Book
By Phil Gordon and Chris Ferguson
“Gordon walks readers through hands that he’s encountered in cash games; early, middle, and late tournament play; Sit & Gos; satellites and supersatellites; and the final table of the World Series of Poker, revealing not only what plays he made but also why he made them. He relates what goes through a pro’s mind in every situation, whether it’s a timely bluff or a questionable call, and helps players calculate their own best moves in the most pressure-fueled of situations.
In analyzing specific hands, Gordon also imparts important lessons in key poker skills such as calculating odds, shorthanded play, and discovering tells. And he discusses memorable plays — the good and the oh-so-bad — explaining why certain moves were made and, in many cases, how the hands should have been played differently.
Insightful, witty, and filled with real-life pro secrets, Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book is required reading for every player looking to make a profit and raise his game to the next level.”
Phil Gordon's Little Green Book
By Phil Gordon
“Poker is hotter than ever, with tens of millions of fans dealing in, logging on, and tuning in to global tournaments. And the most popular version of poker is no limit hold’em, long considered the purest form of the game, with appearances in the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour, and on Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown.
Now, Phil Gordon, acclaimed professional player and cohost of Celebrity Poker Showdown, shares his seasoned expertise and valuable insight in Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book. Featuring a conversational approach and easy-to-digest explanations and diagrams, this is the must-have guide for anyone who wants to go all-in on becoming a better no limit hold’em player.”
Phil Hellmuth Presents Read 'Em and Reap
By Joe Navarro, Marvin Karlins, Phil Hellmuth Jr.
“While the math of poker has been refined over the past 20 years, the ability to read other players and keep your own “tells” in check has mostly been learned by trial and error.
But now, Joe Navarro, a former FBI counterintelligence officer specializing in nonverbal communication and behavior analysis—or, to put it simply, a man who can tell when someone’s lying—offers foolproof techniques, illustrated with amazing examples from poker pro Phil Hellmuth, that will help you decode and interpret your opponents’ body language and other silent tip-offs while concealing your own. You’ll become a human lie detector, ready to call every bluff—and the most feared player in the room.
Play Optimal Poker: Practical Game Theory for Every Poker Player
By Andrew Brokos
“Play Optimal Poker shatters the myth that game theory is only for elite poker players. Renowned poker pro and coach Andrew Brokos takes you step-by-step through the fundamentals, explaining core game theory principles and how to apply them in real poker situations.
Whether you play small stakes or high stakes, cash games or tournaments, Play Optimal Poker provides powerful new tools to help you navigate tricky situations, hold your own against the toughest competition, and exploit common mistakes. Once you understand the fundamentals of game theory, you’ll approach the poker table with the confidence to handle anything the game can throw at you.”
Play Poker Like the Pros
By Phil Hellmuth
I”n 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.
Phil Hellmuth, Jr., a seven-time World Champion of Poker, presents his tournament-tested strategies to beat any type of player, including:
The Jackal (crazy and unpredictable), The Elephant (plays too many hands),The Mouse (plays very conservatively) andThe Lion (skilled and tough to beat).
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.”
Playing The Player: Moving Beyond ABC Poker To Dominate Your Opponents
By Ed Miller
“Ask any poker player with a little bit of experience, and they’ll tell you poker is a game of people, not of cards.They’re absolutely right.But nine times out of ten, these same players get the people part all wrong. They look for the wrong things. They make the wrong adjustments. And they end up paying for it.
In Playing the Player, best-selling author Ed Miller shows you how to make the right reads and the devastating adjustments that top pros use to crush their opponents, including:
How to get the nits and rocks to let you win pot after pot after pot, How to gain the upper hand against tight-aggressive regulars, How to use loose players’ aggression against them and How to systematically profile opponents, spot their weaknesses, and attack
Playing The Player will have you thinking about and playing poker in a whole new way. You always knew poker was a people game. Now learn exactly how to play it.”
Poker Essays
By Mason Malmuth
“Poker is an extremely complicated game. This is especially true if your form of poker is either Texas Hold ’em or Seven-Card Stud. In addition, the typical opponent that you will face has gotten tougher as the years have gone by. As a result, those of you who just play tight (also known as playing ABC) are unable to win more than just a small amount at the lower limits.As a result, to win at poker in today’s modern game requires not only numerous skills, but also a lot of thinking about the game.
This text contains many of the author’s current ideas on poker and related subjects. Topics covered include “General Concepts,” “Technical Ideas,” “Structure,” “Strategic Ideas,” Image, “Tournament Notes,” “In the Cardrooms,” and “Poker Quizzes.” In addition, advice is offered on jackpot games, handling pressure, why you lose, fluctuations, bankroll requirements, differences between stud and hold ’em, too many bad players, limit versus no-limit, thinking fast, weak tight opponents, the best hold ’em seat, playing shorthanded, playing loose or tight, appropriate image, being an alternate in tournaments, taking advantage of tight play in tournaments, behaving professionally, the future of poker, and much more.”
Poker For Dummies
By Richard D. Harroch and Lou Krieger
“Maybe you’ve never played poker before and you don’t even know what a full house is. Poker For Dummies covers the basics. Or perhaps you’ve played for years, but you just don’t know how to win. This handy guide will help you walk away from the poker table with winnings, not lint, in your pockets. If you’re a poker expert, you still can benefit – some of the suggestions may surprise you, and you can certainly learn from the anecdotes from professional players like T.J. Cloutier and Stu Unger.
Know what it takes to start winning hand after hand by exploring strategy; getting to know antes and betting structure; knowing your opponents, and understanding the odds.”
Poker Workbook: Math & Preflop
By James “Splitsuit” Sweeney
“This poker workbook has one goal: to help you actually improve between sessions. By learning powerful concepts and drilling through exercises, your ability to calculate accurately and quickly at the tables improves. Your time at the tables shouldn’t be spent trying to calculate pot odds of a call or the breakeven-% of your bluffs. Calculations like these should be automatic, giving you extra time and brainpower to find ways to optimize your edge during a hand.
Now you can practice the math that underlies all aspects of your poker strategy. Drill through the technical side of your preflop playbook. And start putting a bigger gap between your winrate and the regs in your game.”
Poker Math That Matters: Simplifying the Secrets of No-Limit Hold'em
By Owen Gaines
“Learning the math behind good poker has never been easier. Owen’s methods and shortcuts will have you applying math at the poker table overnight. This book goes over the math involved in mastering decisions in no-limit hold’em cash games.
There are over 100 quiz questions and answers to help you gauge your understand and practice sharpening your skills. “
Poker Wisdom of a Champion
By Doyle Brunson
“Learn what it takes to be a great poker player by climbing inside the mind of poker’s most famous champion. Fascinating anecdotes and adventures from Doyle’s early career playing poker in roadhouses are interspersed with lessons from the champion who has made more money at poker than anyone else in history. Learn what makes a great player tick, how he approaches the game, and receive candid, powerful advice from the legend himself. 208 pages.”
Poker's 1%: The One Big Secret That Keeps Elite Players On Top
By Ed Miller
“Elite poker players aren’t like the rest of us. Sure, they play in huge games where tens of thousands of dollars can move in the blink of an eye. But that’s not the only difference.
Elite players play and think about the game in a completely different way from everyone else. If you want to raise your game to their level, it’s not just a matter of getting a little better at what you already do. The honest truth is that the way 99% of poker players approach the game is fundamentally flawed. You will never be able to crack the top 1% until you know what they know.
Poker’s 1% gives you a unique window into the secrets of the world’s best players. It shows you what you’ve been doing wrong and how to fix it. And, most importantly, it guides you in a straightforward way along the path from average player to elite.”
Pot-Limit Omaha Poker
By Jeff Hwang
“If you’ve never tried Pot-Limit Omaha, you’re missing out on the most exciting, most lucrative cash game around. Omaha has long been the most popular form of poker in Europe, and now it’s spreading like wildfire throughout North America. The reason is simple: Omaha offers more action and bigger pots than Texas Hold’em. Isn’t it time you got in on it?
Whether you’re a cash-game professional or poker hobbyist-and whether you play live or online-this book will arm you with a winning big-play strategy that’s easy to master even if you’ve never played Omaha before. You’ll discover the subtle distinctions that set Omaha above other games.”
Power Hold'em Strategy
By Daniel Negreanu
“Negreanu gathers together the greatest young players, theorists, and world champions of hold’em, to present insider professional secrets and winning strategies for the only poker game that counts nowadays-hold’em.
Ten powerful chapters cover every aspect of the major hold’em games-limit, no-limit, and pot-limit for cash games and tournaments — with in-depth coverage on all aspects of play. This weighty volume will be an instant classic-poker players cannot ignore the professional advice from the greatest stars of the game.”
Professional No-Limit Hold'Em Volume 1
By Ed Flynn, Matt Metha, Sunny Miller
“No-limit hold em was once only a tournament game. Cash games were rarely spread in conventional poker rooms, let alone the Internet. All of that changed when the game exploded on television.
No-limit cash games started sprouting up at casinos of all types. No-limit hold em is now the most popular form of poker. Tournaments pushed it to the forefront, and a great deal of money can also be won here despite that fact, many players feel frustrated with their results. They win some money, only to lose it all on one botched hand.
This book teaches you how to play and think like a professional. It shows how to size your bets, manage the pot, manipulate your opponents, know when to go all-in, and avoid the big mistake. Do you understand critical no-limit concepts like The REM Process, The Commitment Threshold, and Stack-To-Pot Ratios? If not, this is the book for you.”
Purposeful Practice for Poker: The Modern Approach to Studying Poker
By Dr. Patricia Cardner abd Gareth James
“So, you want to get better at poker? You are committed to this and you are prepared to spend time on it. You ask advice and what do people tell you? Probably something along the lines of “just keep working on it and you’ll get there.”
This is wrong. “Just working on it” will not help you. Randomly analysing hands, watching poker on TV or vaguely looking at equity equations won’t cut it. The only approach that will work is the right sort of practice based on a relatively new area of psychological investigation – the science of expertise.
This book identifies precisely what this “right sort of practice” entails. It is based around what has become known as purposeful practice. Purposeful practice is the gold standard for anyone who wishes to take full advantage of the remarkable adaptability of the human brain and is the fast track route to improving your poker skills.”
Reading Poker Tells
By Zachary Elwood
“Reading Poker Tells has been called the best book on poker tells by many players, both amateur and professional.
The book catalogues many of the most common poker-related behavioral patterns and gives psychological explanations for why these patterns exist. More importantly, the book gives a mental framework for analyzing and remembering poker tells. It also contains tips for deceiving and manipulating opponents, and methods for staying unreadable.”
Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker - Volume 1
By Jonathan Little
“Tournament poker is a tough game to play but the rewards for success can be huge. Even regular online tournaments offer substantial prizes running to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Jonathan Little, a highly successful poker professional who has won over $4 million in tournament play in just four years, explains exactly how to succeed in this highly competitive field.
Playing technically sound poker is crucial but this is far from the only skill necessary.”
Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Volume 2: Stages of the Tournament
By Jonathan Little
“Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Volume 1” dealt with the fundamentals of play. Volume 2 builds on this base and examines the highly complex issue of how to handle the different stages of a tournament.
At times the best strategy is to play loose, create problems for your opponent and thus keep accumulating chips. At other times an ultra-tight strategy will be the most profitable. Understanding when to “change gears” is a highly developed skill that requires a great deal of study and experience. Jonathan Little has that experience.”
Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Volume 3: The Complete Workout
By Jonathan Little
“His first two books, Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volumes 1 and 2, outlined how the modern professional plays the game and changed the face of the poker landscape. Now Jonathan has produced a third volume, allowing players to test their understanding of the nuances of tournament play.
The question and answer format allows the reader to examine each individual hand, consider the relevant factors and formulate their thinking about the best line to take. In this way the reader can compare their thought processes with those of a top flight professional who has amassed more than $5 million in career earnings.”
Sit 'n Go Strategy: Expert Advice for Beating One-Table Poker Tournaments
By Collin Moshman
“Collin Moshman graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2003 with an honors degree in theoretical mathematics. After depositing $50 onto an online poker site, he studied the game extensively, soon turning professional through his math background.
Collin wrote strategy books on the first two game types he specialized in, “Sit ‘n Go Strategy” and “Heads-Up No-Limit Hold ‘Em,” both of which became instant poker bestsellers. He recently co-authored “The Math of Hold ‘Em” with Douglas Zare. His latest project is the poker thriller “The Superuser” which he co-authored with his wife, professional poker player Katie Dozier.”
Sklansky on Poker
By David Sklansky
“A combination of Sklansky on Razz and Essays on Poker, with new material added, including a special section on tournament play.
The essays section contains chapters discussing such concepts as having a plan, choosing your game, playing according to your bankroll, the three levels of expert poker, middle-round strategy, what your opponent reads you for, the protected pot, saving the last bet, extra outs, how to play a tournament, and many others.
The razz section will show you how the experts play this form of poker. Not only are the rules and structure of the game discussed, but advice is also given on how to play the first three cards, as well as all the other streets. In addition, a chapter of razz problems is provided, plus questions and answers to help keep your game sharp.”
Sklansky on PokerSmall Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big with Expert Play
By David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth, Ed Miller
“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.”
Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em
By Ed Miller, Matt Flynn and Sunny Mehta
“Small stakes no-limit hold’em cash games offer remarkable opportunities…if you come armed with the right skills. To win in today’s game you need to draw on a complete arsenal of the latest theories, strategies, and tactics.
Now, available for the first time in print, this ultimate handbook outlines a powerful path to success, as three of the world’s top experts noted poker authority Ed Miller, top pro Sunny Mehta, and renowned practical theorist Matt Flynn put their expertise to work for you.
Using hand examples from actual play to illustrate key concepts, Small Stakes No-Limit Hold’em translates high-level poker theory into an easy-to-learn format that will give you the edge needed to win in today’s games. You’ll learn solid money-winning tactics and be able to craft winning strategies just like the top cash-game pros.”
Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Cash Games
By Jonathan Little
“Are you tired of losing at small stakes poker cash games? Improve your skills and learn how to win big. Are you stuck playing in lousy cash games versus lousy opponents? Despite your best efforts, do you manage to lose even at the smallest stakes? It’s time to master small stakes cash games with a world-class poker champion as your guide.
Through his revolutionary approach, you can finally master the skills it takes to win in cash games. By learning how to crush your small stakes opponents, you’ll be prepared to handle bigger challenges — and bigger cash outs — that come with larger buy-in cash games.”
Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Tournaments
By Jonathan Little
“In Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Tournaments, you’ll discover: – Skills that will instantly improve your poker game – How to stop blaming bad luck and learn the real secret to mastering poker – The pitfalls to avoid that will allow you to crush your mistake-prone peers – The reasons pros make the plays they make and how you can adopt their methods – How to win more money from poker, and much, much more!
When you learn to think for yourself and adjust your strategy based on specific opponents, you’ll start to turn your game around. As the author of 11 best-selling poker books, Little can show you exactly how to learn these skills and win much more money in the long term. If you like concise, actionable information you can start using right away, then you’ll love Little’s game-changing poker guide. Buy the book to start cashing out today!”
The 100 Biggest Mistakes That Poker Players Make
By Alexander Fitzgerald
“Poker players make mistakes. All the time. And the mistakes they make are predictable and exploitable. The problem is, most people don’t know what these mistakes are!
No longer. In this book, the highly experienced professional player and leading poker coach, Alexander “Assassinato” Fitzgerald identifies and analyzes the 100 BIGGEST mistakes that poker players make.
Your opponents are certainly perpetuating these errors but you may be making some of them too. This book shows you how to identify and fix these leaks in your own game and also how to exploit the other players who are making them.”
The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win
By Maria Konnikova
A New York Times bestseller
“The tale of how Konnikova followed a story about poker players and wound up becoming a story herself will have you riveted, first as you learn about her big winnings, and then as she conveys the lessons she learned both about human nature and herself.” – The Washington Post
The Book of Bluffs: How to Bluff and Win at Poker
By Matt Lessinger
“An expert poker player and columnist for “Card Player” magazine shows how players at every level of the game can master the art of the bluff.”
The Course: Serious Hold 'Em Strategy For Smart Players
By Ed Miller
“The Course is different from other poker books you may have read. It’s written for players who are smart and who know that to succeed, you have to be different. Because in poker, if you play and think like everyone else, you’ll also get results just like everyone else.
There’s a saying in the golf world that you don’t worry about the other players. You just play the course. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing in a big tournament against a hundred other players or against just one. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing against Tiger Woods or against Woody the Woodpecker. You can’t control what they do, so they can only be a distraction.
All that matters is the course. And the only thing you can control is how you play it.”
The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition
“The professionals of Full Tilt Poker include the best and most famous poker players in the world. Their accomplishments are unparalleled, with countless World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour championships to their names and well in excess of $100 million in winnings in private games.
Now, this group of poker legends has banded together to create The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide, which will stand as an instant classic of the genre and is sure to become the industry standard.”
The Grinder's Manual: A Complete Course in Online No Limit Holdem 6-Max Cash Games
By Peter Clarke
“The Grinder’s Manual is a 540 page highly theoretical textbook in Online No Limit Holdem Cash Games. It contains 80 colourfully illustrated instructive figures and 152 carefully chosen example hands that are analysed in great detail. This Manual is designed to teach all levels from near beginner to seasoned player. The book is very progressive with a steep incline in complexity throughout its 14 chapters.
Peter (Carroters) Clarke, who is a very well respected instructor on various poker training sites, has been teaching online poker for the last six years and has finally compiled his knowledge into one huge, but highly structured poker syllabus. The reader will learn the essential skills necessary to succeed in the modern game in 2016 and beyond. From pre-flop opening ranges to game theory based post-flop balanced strategies, The Grinder’s Manual covers it all.”
The Mathematics of Poker
By Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman
“In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the bond an option markets were dominated by traders who had learned their craft by experience. They believed that there experience and intuition for trading were a renewable edge; this is, that they could make money just as they always had by continuing to trade as they always had.
By the mid-1990s, a revolution in trading had occurred; the old school grizzled traders had been replaced by a new breed of quantitative analysts, applying mathematics to the “art” of trading and making of it a science.
Similarly in poker, for decades, the highest level of pokers have been dominated by players who have learned the game by playing it, “road gamblers” who have cultivated intuition for the game and are adept at reading other players’ hands from betting patterns and physical tells.
Over the last five to ten years, a whole new breed has risen to prominence within the poker community. Applying the tools of computer science and mathematics to poker and sharing the information across the Internet, these players have challenged many of the assumptions that underlie traditional approaches to the game.”
The Mental Game of Poker
By Jared Tendler and Barry Carter
“The mental game may be more important in poker than in any other form of competition. It’s one of the only games in the world where you can play perfectly and lose – again and again.
Hundreds of poker players have turned to mental game coach Jared Tendler’s revolutionary approach to help them play their best, no matter how badly they’re running. In this book you’ll find simple, step-by-step instructions and proven techniques to permanently fix problems such as tilt, handling variance, emotional control, confidence, fear, and motivation. With the games getting tougher, now is the time to take these problems head on.”
The Mental Game of Poker 2
By Jared Tendler and Barry Carter
“Imagine the edge you would have if you could consistently play poker in the zone. In the zone you make all the right decisions, instinctively when to bluff, and are unfazed by a losing hand. You’re locked in and feel unbeatable.
It’s shocking how many poker players stumble into this elusive state of mind. As quickly as that euphoric feeling of invincibility arrives, it’s gone. And no matter how hard they try, they can’t get back there. Until now.”
The Myth of Poker Talent: why anyone can be a great poker player
By Alexander Fitzgerald
“The Myth of Poker Talent is a unique book and is the culmination of renowned poker trainer Alex Fitzgerald’s work with over 1000 students over a 10 year period.
Alex has discovered what makes a winning poker player and here’s the good news…
It has nothing to do with poker talent. If you want to excel at the game you’ll need to buy this book, study Alex’s method and work hard – but you don’t need talent.
Alex’s method focuses on understanding generic poker situations and not specific hands. As a highly experienced teacher, he expresses his ideas in simple, easy-to-understand language.”
The Poker Blueprint: Advanced Strategies for Crushing Micro & Small Stakes NL
By Tri Nguyen and Aaron Davis
“From the man who literally created the poker e-book market and its poster child, Let There Be Range (a two-thousand dollar poker manual for high-stakes poker professionals), the Poker Blueprint provides the infrastructure for micro- and small-stakes players to build their game. It also offers advanced strategies that are vital to crushing today’s online short-handed games up to 100NL.
You don’t need advanced math skills or a high IQ to crush poker. You need the right strategies and that’s exactly what The Poker Blueprint delivers.”
The Poker Mindset: Essential Attitudes for Poker Success
By Matthew Hilger and Ian Taylor
“What “secret” separates top poker players from poker wannabes?
Is it zen-like mind-reading skills, a computer-like brain or thousands of hours of play? No. It is a series of established approaches and behaviors that enables these experts to bring their “A” game to the table session after session, regardless of short-term results.
In this groundbreaking book, Taylor and Hilger lay bare the secrets of the Poker Mindset: seven core attitudes and concepts that ensure you have the optimal emotional, psychological, and behavioral framework for playing superior poker.”
The Poker Tournament Formula
By Arnold Snyder
“This is the first book to provide winning strategies for the small buy-in ($100 or less) no-limit hold’em tournaments that have exploded in poker rooms all over the country-and on the Internet.
The strategies for small buy-in no-limit hold’em tournaments are similar to the big-money games, but the important factors-hand value, position, aggression and others, and speed of play-cause a radical change of strategy. Snyder recounts his own experience with these methods at a win rate of almost 300% and gives readers specific strategies for winning the big money available in prizes at the hundreds of small buy-in no-limit hold’em tournaments taking place weekly around the country and on the Internet.”
The Poker Tournament Formula 2
By Arnold Snyder
“Snyder adapts the loose aggressive fast tournament strategies of his groundbreaking first book to the big buy-in events where the real money is made. Players learn never-before-revealed concepts and secrets that shows players why cards don’t matter as much as the dynamics of a tournament. Readers learn how to alter their strategy for any tournament structure and opponent, why hands must be played differently from cash games, and why players can’t figure out what winners are doing just from watching them play. The book also covers optimal satellite strategy, sit’n’go strategy, methods for estimating tournament win rate and edge, plus:
Why many of the most skillful poker players fail in poker tournaments
Why it’s often correct to play a hand “wrong” in a tournament
How to develop the optimal strategy for any tournament based on its blind structure
How to consistently build a big stack and use it to terrorize your opponents”
The Postflop Poker Workbook
By James Sweeney
“Poker is a game of math, and technical skills are the crux of a timeless strategic foundation. By developing a technical understanding of this card game, you can accelerate your poker skills to intermediate and advanced levels.
Some players avoid learning the technical aspects of the game because they feel as though they are out of their depth, while others see it as being too time-consuming. Some think this all seems too theoretical and is not applicable to how they play the game. But whatever their reason, these players are missing a massive opportunity for growth.
With the help of this full-color workbook, poker players can learn, practice, retain, and use their newfound knowledge at the tables.”
The Psychology of Poker
By Alan Schoonmaker
“Poker demands many skills and strategies. To be successful, you must be able to master all of them and then apply them at the appropriate times. They include proper hand selection, bluffing, semi-bluffing, understanding tells and telegraphs, and reading hands.
These skills do not come easily since they require unnatural actions. You cannot win just by “doing what comes naturally,” Dr. Schoonmaker is concerned “only with the way that psychological factors affect your own and your opponents’ ability to play properly.
For example, have you ever wondered why some players seem extremely aggressive while others are passive? Why some are tight and others loose? Furthermore, have you ever wondered why some tactics seem to come naturally to you while others don’t?
This text will answer many of these questions. It will explain why you and your opponents play the way you do. The author also suggests strategic adjustments that you should make to improve your results against different types of players, and he suggests personal adjustments that will help you to play better and enjoy the game more.”
The Raiser's Edge: Tournament-Poker Strategies for Today's Aggressive Game
By Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Lee Nelson, Tyson Streib, Tony Dunst
“In the highly fluid and fast-changing tournament-poker universe, the dominant trend is toward looser and more aggressive (LAG) play, in which players move chips around at dizzying speeds. The Raiser’s Edge shows you how to adapt to the current state of all stages of tournament play, analyzing how and why the LAG and hyper-LAG styles work, and instructing on how to apply – and defend against – them.
The Raiser’s Edge closely examines the many techniques used by the world’s most successful players, including 3- and 4-betting, floating and squeezing, smooth-calling and min-raising, thin value betting, and the evolution of the metagame, along with equilibrium strategies based on starting hands and heads-up play. Even the ages and nationalities of your opponents are considered. There’s also an extensive bonus chapter on reading tells, contributed by body-language expert Steve Van Aperen.”
The Tao Of Poker - 285 Rules to Transform Your Game and Your Life
By Larry W Phillips
“Poker is more than just a card game – it can also help you become a winner away from the gaming tables! By blending the life lessons of a time-honored spiritual practice with the strategy of this popular card game, you can create a powerful approach to successful play – and successful living. In The Tao of Poker, prize-winning poker player Larry Phillips offers more than 280 rules to bring you to new levels of personal achievement, just when and where you need them most.
Here are some of The Tao of Poker’s rules for success:
– Take the long view
– Once you commit to a hand, play it strong
– Don’t throw in good money after bad
– If you think you’re beat, get out
Try out these rules and watch your game, and your life, improve. Now you can be a winner at home, at work, and at the casino – wherever the stakes for success are high!”
The Theory of Poker
By David Sklansky
“Discusses theories and concepts applicable to nearly every variation of the game, including five-card draw (high), seven-card stud, hold ’em, lowball draw, and razz (seven-card lowball stud).
This book introduces you to the Fundamental Theorem of Poker, its implications, and how it should affect your play. Other chapters discuss the value of deception, bluffing, raising, the slow-play, the value of position, psychology, heads-up play, game theory, implied odds, the free card, and semibluffing. Many of today’s top poker players will tell you that this is the book that really made a difference in their play.
That is, these are the ideas that separate the experts from the typical players. Those who read and study this book will literally leave behind those who don’t, and most serious players wear the covers off their copies.”
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players: Expanded Edition
By David Sklansky
“Tournament poker is very different from standard ring game poker. While they might appear the same from a distance, there are many differences in proper strategy that are often unknown to many experienced cash game players.
Some players excel at tournament poker. This is not luck – these are players who have a very strong understanding of what the proper strategy adjustments are, and when they come into play. It is no coincidence that the same players make it to final tables far more than their fair share.
This book explains tournament strategies that only a small number of players have mastered. It assumes you already know how to play poker well, but aren’t knowledgeable of tournament-specific 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 strategy to rising stakes, all-in strategy, final table play, making deals, the “System,” focusing on weaker opponents, unusual plays with aces and kings, moving in against the blind, and much more.
This newly expanded version contains over 100 new pages of updated material dedicated almost entirely to today;s most popular form of tournament poker: no-limit hold ’em.”
Treat Your Poker Like a Business
By Dusty Schmid
“In this specialized book for poker players who want to monetize their leisure or pro career into a dependable source of income, online poker legend Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt teaches players how to manage their bankroll, rationalize variance, play more tables, move up in stakes, avoid tilt, create new sources of revenue, and most importantly, become more profitable.
The strategy section contains some of the most important tips in print, focusing on the situations that come around every few minutes rather than how to play specific hands. This underground seller, never available to the general public, has already been translated into eight languages.”
Verbal Poker Tells
By Zachary Elwood
“Verbal Poker Tells is the follow-up to Zachary Elwood’s acclaimed book Reading Poker Tells.
When poker players talk, they sometimes reveal information about their hands. Verbal Poker Tells describes the most common and reliable verbal patterns poker players have. More importantly, it gives you a framework for thinking about and analyzing verbal behavior at the poker table.
The author analyzes many real poker hands: some from televised poker shows such as The World Series of Poker, Poker After Dark, and High Stakes Poker, some played by the author, and some submitted by other players.”
Winning Low Limit Hold'em
By Lee Jones
“For the last ten years, Winning Low Limit Hold’em has been the reference standard introduction to Texas Hold’em. Experienced hold’em players give this book to their friends who want to learn the game.
Recently updated and expanded to include coverage of online poker and no-limit hold’em single-table tournaments, this is the one book that you need to start your hold’em career.
“I always thought poker was a game of luck. After reading Lee’s book and applying the techniques recommended, it was as if I were in The Matrix. It all came clear to me. I simply saw the truth at the poker table.” – Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari
“I wish this book had been out when I started playing hold’em, because it is a great way to learn the game. If you want to put yourself on the path to becoming a top hold’em player, Lee’s book is the place to start.” – Greg Raymer, Champion, 2004 World Series of Poker.
Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time - Volume 1
By Eric ‘Rizen’ Lynch, Jon ‘Pearljammer’ Turner, Jon ‘Apestyles’ Van Fleet
“Want to win poker tournaments? Now you can learn exactly how consistent winners really do it!
Meet PearlJammer, Rizen, and Apestyles. These top guns of tournament poker are frequent winners in today’s highly competitive online scene, as well as in live tourneys. Their collective experience and track record is staggering: more than 35,000 tournaments played, more than 1,000 final tables made, over 200 major wins, and more than $6,000,000 in cashes. They regularly outplay fields consisting of other top professionals victories that are documented by detailed online hand histories.
The authors are not only consistent winners, but powerful teachers as well. Step-by-step, they reveal their decision-making processes, using hands drawn from actual play not examples contrived to fit a particular poker theory.“
Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time - Volume 2
By Eric ‘Rizen’ Lynch, Jon ‘Pearljammer’ Turner, Jon ‘Apestyles’ Van Fleet
“Volume 1 of this series shed new light on the fundamentals, and now in, Volume 2, Pearljammer, Apestyles and Rizen—players whose collective stats include, more than 1,800 final tables made, over 300 major wins, and more than $10,000,000 in cashes—return to show you how to crush the final table.
When deep in a tournament, the ability to analyze opponents’ play is more than an advantage—it’s a necessity. In this exciting follow-up, you get to sweat the best as they walk you through the key hands of actual tournaments: what they did right, what they did wrong, and what you need to do to win.”
Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time - Volume 3
By Eric ‘Rizen’ Lynch, Jon ‘Pearljammer’ Turner, Jon ‘Apestyles’ Van Fleet
“Volume 1 of this series shed new light on the fundamentals of early tournament play.
Volume 2 showed you how to get from the money down to the final table.
Now, Pearljammer, Apestyles and Rizen – players whose collective stats include more than 2,000 final tables made, over 300 major wins, and more than $10,000,000 in cashes – return in Volume III to analyze 50 new hands from major online tournaments.
Reading this book is like attending a master class in tournament poker. The authors are not only consistent winners, but powerful teachers as well. Step by step, they reveal their decision-making processes, and you learn from their different perspectives and playing style.”
Your Worst Poker Enemy
By Alan N. Schoonmaker
“Do you play hands you should fold? Do you sometimes go too far with hands, hoping to get lucky while knowing that the pot odds don’t justify calling? Ever kept playing even when you knew you were off your game because you were losing and wanted to get even? Have you let anger or destructive urges affect the way you play even though you know better?
Don’t despair! Now, in Your Worst Poker Enemy, psychologist Dr. Alan Schoonmaker shows you how to reap the full benefits of the poker knowledge you already have by helping you to identify and stop psychologically based mistakes. This must-have book also features detailed sections that examine crucial points far beyond the scope of most other poker strategy guides.”
Zen and the Art of Poker: Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Game
By Larry Phillips
“Zen and the Art of Poker is the first book to apply Zen theories to America’s most popular card game, presenting tips that readers can use to enhance their game. Among the more than one hundred rules that comprise this book, readers will learn to:
Make peace with folding
Use inaction as a weapon
Make patience a central pillar of their strategy
Pick their times of confrontation
Using a concise and spare style, in the tradition of Zen practices and rituals, Zen and the Art of Poker traces a parallel track connecting the two disciplines by giving comments and inspirational examples from the ancient Zen masters to the poker masters of today.”
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Rules and Gameplay
Poker is a straightforward, fun, and easy-to-learn game. This guide explains the basic rules and gameplay so you can start playing today.
Hand Rankings
Almost all variations of poker use the same ranking system for poker hands. It ranks the strengths of all poker hands so players can determine which is the best.
Betting Structures
Almost all poker games are played at three different betting structures (or limits), they dictate how bets are made and the game is played. Let’s examine them.
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