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Poker Books
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The Theory of Poker |
| Topic: |
Poker Theory |
| Author: |
David Sklansky |
| Official Review: |
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. This is the best book ever written on poker.
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| Comments: |
This book contains the most in-depth
coverage of poker theory. It's an excellent book contaning brilliant
ideas about the very basic theories of poker. |
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Super System |
| Topic: |
General Poker Theory and Strategy |
| Author: |
Doyle Brunson |
| Official Review: |
none |
| Comments: |
This is a must-read for any serious
poker player. This book was the first ever to enumerate all the
poker statistics. It has seprate sections for all major poker
games. It was written several decades ago, making it one of the
first strategy books on poker. |
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Caro's Book
of Poker Tells |
| Topic: |
Poker Tells |
| Author: |
Mike Caro |
| Official Review: |
none |
| Comments: |
Mike Caro is known for his expertise
in poker "tell"s. I am personally not a big fan of his but I have
to admit that he is the foremost authority in the this particular
field. I would say this book is the Bible of poker tells and I
recommend it. |
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Poker
for Dummies |
| Topic: |
Basic Poker Strategy |
| Author: |
Richard Harroch and Lou Krieger |
| Official Review: |
Rake
in the chips with this savvy guide to poker basics and beyond
Whether you're looking for an edge in a friendly weekly game
or aiming for the championship in a local poker tournament,
this friendly guide shows you step-by-step how to bet, bluff,
and play your way to the top, from seven-card stud and high-low
splits to Omaha and Texas Hold 'em. |
| Comments: |
none |
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Inside
the Poker Mind |
| Topic: |
Poker Theory |
| Author: |
John Feeney and David Sklansky |
| Official Review: |
Poker is a game of many skills
and to become an expert poker player you need to master them all.
This includes concepts such as hand selection, position, proper
image projection, and reading hands. However, there are many players
who have mastered most of these skills yet they still do poorly
in the games — at best they are only small winners. And when they
step up in limit and challenge the better players, they almost
always fail. You see, knowing the concept is one thing, putting
it all together is another. As
the text will show, winning poker is a process that requires
a lot of thinking as well as a thorough and systematic approach
to the game, and that is what this book is about. Topics include
"Playing Too Many Hands," "Self-Weighting Cold Calls," "Short-Handed
Play: Don’t Miss Out," "The Strategic Moment in Hold ’em," "Countering
a Good Reader," "A Poker Player in Therapy," and "Thoughts on
the Effects of the Poker Literature." Those of you who are serious
about your game should find much of this material to be extremely
valuable. |
| Comments: |
none |
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Fundamentals
of Poker |
| Topic: |
Poker Theory |
| Author: |
Mason Malmuth |
| Official Review: |
A hard-hitting guide to the best
strategies for the most popular casino poker games -- seven-card
stud and Texas hold 'em -- plus insights into winning at Omaha,
Omaha eight-or-better, seven-card stud eight-or-better, razz,
and lowball. |
| Comments: |
I have not read this book but
I know that Mason Malmuth is an expert Mathmetician and poker
theorist. |
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The
Psychology of Poker |
| Topic: |
Poker Psychology |
| Author: |
Alan N. Schoonmaker |
| Official Review: |
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, appropriate aggression, bluffing, semi-bluffing,
understanding tells and telegraphs, choosing the right games,
and reading hands. These skills do not come easily since they
require unnatural actions. You cannot win just by "doing what
comes naturally." This book does not provide strategic advice;
you should get it from other Two Plus Two books. 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. Many people know
how to play properly, but play poorly. Simply learning strategy
does not mean that you will apply it properly.
The
author also suggests strategic adjustments that you should make
to improve your results against different kinds of players,
and he suggests personal adjustments that will help you to play
better and enjoy the game more. |
| Comments: |
none |
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Poker Essays Volume
I |
| Topic: |
various |
| Author: |
Mason Malmuth |
| Official Review: |
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 short handed,
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.
The
book is designed to make the reader do a great deal of thinking
about the game. In fact, very few readers will agree with everything
the text offers, but the information provided should help most
people become better players. |
| Comments: |
must read for any serious player |
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| Poker Essays Volume
II |
| Topic: |
various |
| Author: |
Mason Malmuth |
| Official Review: |
Success at poker does not come
easy. However, poker can be extremely rewarding since it will
allow you a degree of freedom that virtually no other profession
can offer. Yet, very few people ever achieve this level of competence
even though many try. The reason for this is that very few players
are able to master all the skills that a top poker professional
needs. Some are unwilling to make the effort — "these players
usually come to gamble" — and others who try are not quite able
to grasp the depth of sophistication that is required.
This
text contains those essays that this author wrote from 1991
through early 1996. Topics covered include: General Concepts,
Technical Ideas, Structure, Strategic Ideas, In the Cardrooms,
Quizzes, Erroneous Concepts, and Something Silly. In addition,
advice is offered on handling rushes, moving up, poker skills,
simulations, maximizing your expectation, betting when first
to act on the river, whether limit hold’em should have two or
three betting levels, playing the overs, adjusting to the big
ante, how to play well, low-limit hold’em, how many hands you
should play early in a tournament, chopping the blinds, cardroom
theory, and much more.
As
with the original Poker Essays, this book is designed to make
the reader do a great deal of thinking about the game. In fact,
very few readers will agree with everything this text offers,
but the information provided should help most people become
better poker players. |
| Comments: |
none |
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Poker Essays Volume
III |
| Topic: |
various |
| Author: |
Mason Malmuth |
| Official Review: |
Poker is a game which many people
play, but in which few excel. To be successful requires a great
deal of work and study, and a deep understanding of those concepts
that govern winning play. Yet it is fairly easy to win at poker.
All you need to do is learn to play tight, and stick to easy games
— usually those prevalent at the low limits. But there is a problem
with this. While this is a winning formula, it won’t allow you
to do much better than "minimum wage." But there are a small number
of players who do much better than this. These are the experts
who have mastered the proper skills and have done their share
of thinking.
This text contains those essays the author wrote from 1996 through
early 2001. Topics include: General Concepts, Technical Ideas,
Strategic Ideas, In the Cardrooms, Hands to Talk About, The Ciaffone
Quiz, and Two More Quizzes. In addition, advice is offered on
which game to play, controlling steaming, marginal hands, selecting
the best game, bluffing, unusual strategies, raising with suited
connectors, keeping poker honest, reading hands, checking aces,
and much more. As
with the first two books in this series, Poker Essays, Volume
III is designed to make the reader do a great deal of thinking.
In fact, very few readers will agree with everything this text
offers, but the information provided should help most people
become better poker players. |
| Comments: |
none |
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Poker Wisdom
of A champion |
| Topic: |
Poker Theory |
| Author: |
Doyle Brunson |
| Official Review: |
Originally published in 1984 under
the title According to Doyle, this collection by a World Series
Poker champion is longer on anecdotes than it is on advice. Doyle
won the World Series of Poker twice in the 1970s and his first
book, Doyle Brunson's Super System, has become one of the classic
strategy books in the game. This volume, however, is made up of
short, moralizing stories culled from the experiences of his long
playing career. Each story ends with a bit of advice, such as
"don't play your cards, play your people" and "when a man's got
something heavy on his mind besides poker, he's got no business
playing." Beginning players will certainly find such tips useful,
but serious poker players interested in concrete suggestions would
be better of with the author's first volume.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier
Inc. All rights reserved. |
| Comments: |
none |
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Big Deal: One
Year as a Pro Poker Player |
| Topic: |
Poker Narrative |
| Author: |
Anthgony Holden |
| Official Review: |
The story of a year spent by biographer
Anthony Holden in the tough world of the professional poker player.
He spent days and nights in the poker paradise of Las Vegas, in
Malta and Morocco, even shipboard, mingling with the legendary
greats, sharpening his game, perfecting his repartee, and learning
a great deal about himself in the process. Poker, Holden would
insist, is not gambling. Like chess it is a paradigm of life at
its most intense, a gladiatorial contest that brings out the best
as... read more at amazon.com |
| Comments: |
none |
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Internet Poker: How
to Play and Beat Online Poker Games |
| Topic: |
Internet Poker Strategy |
| Author: |
Lou Krieger and Kathleen Keller
Watterson |
| Official Review: |
Playing Internet poker in real
time against real opponents might just represent poker's brave
new world. Whether for play-money or real money, it's an environment
consisting of virtual tables, player icons representing you and
your opponents, and specialized computer algorithms that randomly
shuffle the "cards." It's a world where you can find a game day
or night. Though it may be the wee hours of the morning in California,
it's prime time in Europe, and someone, somewhere, is looking
to play a little poker. But it's poker with a difference. The
game is the same, to be sure, but technology does kick in -- sometimes
in strange and unexpected ways. A reference as well as a tutorial,
this book includes a CD with free poker software, and a special
bonus chapter with 125 interactive hands to help you prepare to
play the Internet games for fun or for profit. |
| Comments: |
"internet" poker books are relatively
new to the scene. I haven't read them but there is certainly a
great deal of adjustment a good player must make when plating
online. |
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The Tao of Poker: 285
Rules to Transform Your Game and Your Life |
| Topic: |
Poker Strategy |
| Author: |
Larry W. Phillips |
| Official Review: |
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!
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| Comments: |
none |
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Caro's Fundamental
Secrets of Winning Poker |
| Topic: |
Poker Strategy |
| Author: |
Mike Caro |
| Official Review: |
The world's foremost poker theoretician
presents the essential strategies and secret winning plays of
poker. Players learn how to adjust their play to win more from
weak players, how to equalize stronger players, and how one should
bluff a bluffer. With selected tips on all forms of poker, this
all-around poker book also illustrates seldom-analyzed strategies.
Line drawings. Charts. |
| Comments: |
none |
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Poker: Bet's
Bluffs and Bad Beats |
| Topic: |
General |
| Author: |
A. Alvarez and Kelly Duane |
| Official Review: |
A smoke-filled room. The clink
of chips breaking the silence of furious concentration. The occasional
muttering of "check," "raise," and "fold," as staggering amounts
are wagered on a simple hand of five cards. In this fascinating
book, acclaimed writer A. Alvarez narrates the history of poker--its
most amazing stories, unforgettable players, and incredible hands.
From the first great Las Vegas poker marathon, in which Nick the
Greek played Johnny Moss for five months straight, to the more
recent World Series of Poker, Alvarez captures a subculture rich
with legend. His lively text is combined with a colorful array
of poker-inspired art, advertisements, movie stills, and photos
to create an entertaining ode to the pastime that is not so much
a game of cards as a way of life. |
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Comments: |
none |
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Gambling
Theory and Other Topics |
| Topic: |
Theory |
| Author: |
Mason Malmuth and David Sklansky |
| Official Review: |
Most people who gamble are attracted
by the action and excitement this form of entertainment offers.
But only a small number of people are actually quite successful
at gambling. How is this so? Why is it that these few can constantly
make decisions that devastate their opponents? And what do you
need to do to also become successful at this extremely challenging
occupation? Gambling Theory And Other Topics was written in an
attempt to answer these questions. In Gambling Theory and Other
Topics, Mason Malmuth answers these questions. He introduces the
dynamic concept of non-self-weighting strategies and shows how
these strategies apply not only at the gaming tables by in ordinary
daily life as well. Risk and fluctuations are discussed in terms
of the statistical standard deviation, and how these relate to
each other as well as to your bankroll. Other topics addressed
include bankroll requirements, win-rate accuracy, free bets, which
blackjack count is best, lottery fallacies, dangerous ideas, poker
tournament strategies (including when it is correct to rebuy),
settling up in tournaments, pai gow poker, super pan nine, the
world's greatest gamblers, building pyramids, and much more. Gambling
Theory And Other Topics is essential reading for all serious gamblers
in order to ensure survival and success in an extremely challenging
and highly rewarding profession. |
| Comments: |
This book is highly recommended |
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