Best Poker Books
A Guide To The Top 10 Poker Books
Many new poker players begin playing poker after seeing it on television. Although TV poker is fun to watch, and can teach the basic rules of the game and a little bit of strategy, it doesn’t really show the ins and out of poker that you need to learn to be a winning poker player. Consequently, after watching poker on TV, and losing some money, many new poker players do one of two things, 1. Continue playing poker without studying, and continue losing money, or 2. Invest in some Poker Book and learn what professional poker players can teach you about how to win money at poker. These recommended poker books found below are good for both the beginning poker player, or the more experienced player looking to take his game to the next level. So if you are a Texas Hold’em Poker player, pick up one of these top 10 poker books to help develop your game.
One thing you should keep in mind when reading poker books, even the best poker books, is that what is right for one poker player isn’t right for every poker player. Read these top recommended poker books, incorporate their strategies into your game, but don’t get stuck playing only one style. Even the top poker book won’t magically turn you into a better player if you aren’t willing to study and adapt your game.
1. Buy – Doyle Brunson’s Super System
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Doyle Brunson’s Super System: A Course in Power poker is the original guide to poker. Doyle Brunson is one of the most well known poker players today. He has been playing since the 1950’s, and has 11 world series of poker bracelets. When this book was first published in the 1970’s, many other poker players thought that Doyle “Texas Dolly” simply gave away too many of poker’s juiciest secrets, and that it allowed amateur poker players to get too good too fast, eliminating some of the biggest fish at the table. This edition of the poker book includes many chapters by other poker players in their respective areas of expertise. Top cash game players, tournament poker players, and heads up poker players all wrote chapters in the book. Doyle Brunson’s super system is the epitome of a how to guide for poker books, and definitely one of the Best Poker Books |
2. Buy – The Theory of Poker – David Sklansky
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The Theory of Poker is one of the most detailed and in depth poker books ever written, and ranks second on our list of Top 10 Poker Books. This book does not illustrate specific hands; rather it goes into a general understanding of poker situations you will encounter. This best poker book will require a lot of study and re-reading to gain maximum value from it. However, it is worth the time and money and will help you gain a much better understanding of poker. Many top poker players swear by this book. |
3. Buy – Phil Hellmuth’s Play Poker like the Pros
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Play Poker like the Pro’s is one of the best poker books that any beginning poker player can buy. Phil goes into detail on many different poker variants, including poker tournaments, online cash games, and home poker games. Phil Hellmuth is to many, the Tiger Woods of poker. He has won the most world series of poker bracelets in Texas Holdem of any poker player, and is considered by many to have the best poker instincts. What is unique about this book is the breadth of coverage of different poker topics. Hellmuth gives a detailed discussion of dozens of different poker situations. Consider this book a poker textbook. It is essentially a training manual for the aspiring poker player. |
4. Buy – Caro’s Book of Poker Tells – Mike Caro
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Mike Caro is nick named the mad genius of poker. His poker book goes into rich detail in an area where many other poker books are lacking, poker tells. To win at poker you need to do two things, understand how your opponents are playing and develop a strategy to beat them. Other books help you develop a strategy, but this is absolutely the best book for reading your opponents and understanding how they are playing. He gives tips on what tells to look for from beginning, intermediate, and experienced poker players, and has dozens of pictures of the actual tells demonstrated. This book’s depth and usefulness lands it the fourth spot on our list of 10 Best Poker Books |
5. Buy – Internet Texas Holdem – Matthew Hilger
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Internet Texas Holdem focuses exclusively on playing online poker and winning. This book is the most popular poker book for young poker players who play almost exclusively online. This recommended poker book gives you detailed information on what starting hands to play, and some of the best ways to play them. It has over 200 different poker hands the author played on the internet, and will walk you through the though process and strategy for each one. This is a great book to use as a reference as you play poker. In fact, you may even photocopy some of the pages and hang them beside your computer to look at as you play. It is a must have for any internet cash game player. |
6. Buy – Sit ‘n Go Strategy – Collin Moshman
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Sit ‘n Go’s are a popular form of online poker. Also known as single table tournaments, they are constantly running at any poker site and launch whenever 9 or 10 players fill out the table. This is the most detailed book published about how to dominate sit and go poker tournaments. Follow it’s strategy on how to play the beginning, middle, and end of the sit and go tournament and you will be amazed at how often you can beat the table. This book gives a sit and go strategy over view, as well as detailed hand analysis. If you play a number of online sit and go’s, then this book will quickly pay for itself. Sit and go’s may be a niche poker genre, but this book’s detail and it’s ability to make you money guarantees it a spot in our list of Top 10 recommended poker books. |
7. Buy – The Poker Mindset – Matthew Hilger
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Do you want to know what separates the top poker pro’s from other players? It isn’t just their ability to read other players, or odds crunching abilities, it is a mindset and a series of habits that allow the best poker players to bring their top game to the poker table day after day. Have you ever gone on tilt and blown a whole night’s winnings in 20 minutes? This book will show you the seven core attitudes and concepts to enable you to have the best emotional and behavior attitudes for playing your best poker game. This book will show you how to avoid tilt, how to manage your bankrolls, how to study and outplay your opponents, and how to come back from downswing and bad beats. Other books will help you win more money in a given hand or in one night, learn the concepts in this book and you will have more money after the end of the year. |
8. Buy – Holdem Poker For Advanced Players – David Sklansky
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Texas Holdem is an easy game to learn, but a difficult one to master. There are hundreds of different concepts that you have to understand and balance against each other. Should you play tight, or try to push people off their hands. When do pot odds dictate a fold, but the implied odds necessitate a call. Skalansky’s Hold’em for advanced poker players is a must for any poker player looking to take their game to the next level. However, this book isn’t for the beginning poker player. Some of the concepts and tactics won’t make sense until you have a good understand of the game. |
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Dan Harrington is one of the most winning tournament poker players in history, including back to back appearances at the world series of poker final table. Dan Harrington’s book Harrington On Holdem is one of the classic Texas Holdem strategy books. It is one the required reading list for any serious tournament poker player. This book will take you through the strategies and tactics required to work your way through the hundreds or thousands of hands that you need to play to win a poker tournament. He will show you how to analyze hands, optimize your bets, and win the most money possible. |
10. Buy – Winning Low-Limit Hold’em – Lee Jones
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Most poker players start out playing low stakes. You need to build up your bankroll, and demonstrate to yourself that you can win, before you want to venture into the shark infested waters of higher stakes poker. However, many poker authors are experience pros who have only played high stakes poker for years. They don’t know the differences between the high stakes games, and the low stakes internet games you will be playing. However, Lee Jones’ book is an excellent reference for the low stakes internet player. It details all the things that you will need to know to win low stakes poker, including how to play against bad poker players, and how to take the money of players who are splashing around tons of chips. |
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