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 10 poker books which have benefited me, Mark Gregorich, 27. Aug 2003 11:28 | ||
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| Here, in no particular order (after the first one), are ten books I would recommend to everyone looking to improve their poker game: 1. The Theory of Poker (Sklansky) - the best poker book out there, as far as I'm concerned; essential reading for all players looking to improve (I reread this book at least once a year) Book of Tells (Caro) - makes you aware of the need to be aware in a poker game, not only of your opponents but also of the image you are projecting at the table Hold'em for Advanced Players (Sklansky and Malmuth) - must reading for all hold'em players looking to move up in limits Pot Limit and No Limit Poker (Ciaffone and Reuben) - Ciaffone is a great teacher, and I have found this to be by far the best work in print on pot limit omaha The Cooke Collection/ Real Poker (Cooke) - compilations of Roy's CP articles; they largely discuss the play of specific hold'em hands, but also cover larger issues. I have found Roy's comments on the poker lifestyle particularly insightful and valuable. The Psychology of Poker (Schoonmaker) - delves into how to play against specific types of opponents, as well as analyzing why we play poker Tournament Poker for Advanced Players (Sklansky) - a great book overall, but I particularly like his comments on no limit and the quizzes section, in which he explains the correct play in a number of specific situations Poker Essays parts I, II, and III (Malmuth) - short essays on a number of poker related topics, including strategy Middle Limit Hold'em Poker (Brier and Ciaffone) - chock full of specific hands and analysis, a great read for hold'em students looking to improve their thinking on the game Inside the Poker Mind (Feeney) - discusses exactly how to apply what you know about the game to real situations; Feeney addresses some areas that other poker books do not in a well-written, intelligent manner I am leaving out a bunch of books here, but these are a few which I feel have benefited me the most. Mark Gregorich | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, Donkey X, 27. Aug 2003 11:44 | ||
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| u should consider writng a book on limit OM8 im sure mason wld be interested in pub threr r no really gd books on subject | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, Brett LeMarinel, 27. Aug 2003 12:08 | ||
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| You left out "the bible".....Super System by Doyle Brunson regarded by many with far superior talent to mine as "the best poker book ever written"... | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, Phish, 27. Aug 2003 13:08 | ||
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| My opinion: I think the various books have different value depending on where you are on the learning curve: For beginners (playing the rake games 10/20 & below), I would recommend the Psychology of Poker, Sklansky's Holdem Poker (not listed), Lee Jones' Holdem Book For intermediaries, (playing say 10/20-30/60), I'd say Theory of Poker, Holdem (or Stud, Hi/Lo) for Advanced Players For higher level players, I'd add Book of Tells & SuperSystems. I'm of course leaving out 'specialty books' for pot-limit & tournament. And of course, even the most advanced players can benefit from reading Theory of Poker, if he hasn't read it already. (What's curious to me is how many of the posts here concern holdem and so few concern stud, which is much more popular on the East Coast.) | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, Nathaniel Brous, 27. Aug 2003 13:27 | ||
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| on 27. Aug 2003 13:08 Phish wrote: <snip> > (What's curious to me is how many of the posts here concern holdem and so few concern stud, which is much more popular on the East Coast.) As a former A.C. player, I too wondered about that. I just figured that the majority of posters are not on the East Coast...that and the influx of players brought in from poker on T.V. (holdem is all that's shown). - just a fly feeding an arachnid | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, Mark Gregorich, 27. Aug 2003 14:06 | ||
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| I probably should have qualified the books on my list as to which classification of player they are most applicable for. For the most part, I think anyone who takes the game seriously and is looking to study and improve can benefit from all the books on the list (although probably not pure beginners, for whom I would recommend Lee Jones's book on hold'em, as well as Lou Krieger's introductory book - Hold'em from Beginner to Winner). I actually think Caro's Book of Tells is more applicable in lower limit games, and that beginners will benefit from it more than intermediate or advanced players. Tells are more glaringly obvious amongst the more inexperienced players who tend to populate lower limit games, and this book will definitely speed up the learning curve of recognizing them. I think the value of recognizing tells decreases as you increase in limits (not to say they don't come in handy, they just aren't as prevalent). I did omit Super System from my list. I do recommend reading it, however. I particularly like Doyle's section on no limit. Mostly I didn't include it because of its age, and the fact that the way many concepts are addressed in it are no longer totally applicable to today's style of poker. I also left it off to see how bad I'd get flamed for omitting it. However, anytime you get a chance to read about poker from the likes of the authors of the book, you should go for it. Mark | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, grant pittman, 27. Aug 2003 13:17 | ||
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| I like all your choices on this list Mark but are you sure about Roy Cooke's book? GRANT PITTMAN | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, noiseboy, 27. Aug 2003 15:20 | ||
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| I would add Gary Carson's book, mostly because it explains the strategy changes required for loose and very loose games in an easily understood format. | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, Angel, 27. Aug 2003 16:20 | ||
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| Top 3 in no particular order, in my opinion, if your goal is to take poker as anything more than a recreational diversion: Super/System, Theory of Poker, Book of Tells. Rounding out my top 10: Hold'em Excellence, Hold em Poker for Advanced Players, Hi-lo Split Poker for Advanced Players, Killer Poker, The Psychology of Poker, Pot Limit and No Limit Poker and Middle Limit Hold 'em. SuperSystem is a bit outdated of course (ie: how much draw do you find these days, or 9 qualifiers for low), but it is the foundation upon which all serious poker has been written and is a must read imo. Lou Kriegers Hold em Excellence prepared me for Sklansky and Malmuth's, 'Hold em for Advanced Players' which no hold 'em player should be without. A bonus book...I couldn't include in the list but was my 1st book and which I found immensely entertaining was 'Bobby Baldwin's Winning Poker Secrets' Angel | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, Phish, 28. Aug 2003 09:23 | ||
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| Even though SuperSystems is a bit out of date, it is the only book I've seen that addresses an issue very crucial to advanced players: how to play in a style that increases your expectation for future hands. This includes advertising, but I'm thinking of more general concepts that of intimidation and unpredictibility which, in my opinion, has significant implications for future profits and which has not been adequately addressed in poker literature. Let me offer a simple illustration of what I'm talking about: Let's say there are two players, X and Y. X never check-raises the turn without a strong hand, whereas Y semi-bluff checkraises with the appropriate frequency (appropriate frequency being defined by Sklansky's Theory). Now in any given hand, their play on the turn with a flush draw should have the same expectation (X will simply call, and Y will mostly call but will sometimes checkraise). But though their expectation for the should be the same (given that Y checkraises with the appropriate frequency), I would argue that long-term, Y's results will be much better than X's. The reason is, let's say in a later hand, Z raises in late position with pocket 6's. X or Y are in the big blind with 98s and call. Flop comes AQ9. Z bets, X or Y calls. Turn comes a 2, which puts up a 2 card flush draw also. X or Y checks. But Z may very well act differently depending on whether he's against X or Y. Against X, he would be more likely to bet his hand hoping that X will fold, and if he gets checked-raised he can fold his hand safely knowing that he's beat. But against Y, he knows Y is more likely to checkraise, and sometimes with just a draw. But since he can't really call a checkraise, even if there a significantly chance it may be a semi-bluff, he is much more likely to check the turn. Now this check will save the pot for Y (assuming they both check the river) or, if Y is behind, give Y a free card to win. X on the other hand, will have to fold to a bet on the turn even tho he had the best hand. At the very least, X will not get his free card. Hence, being unpredictible can cause your opponents to act in such a way that benefits you tremendously. And I think situations of this nature happen a lot more frequently than many people realize. Now this concept isn't really that important at 3/6. But I think it is crucial at 80/160. Doyle addresses it in his book, though not quite the way I did. I would go to add that it's hard to really beat the bigger games unless you play in a way that makes others perceive you as being aggressive and unpredictible. On another point: the reason I think Book of Tells is more important for advanced players than for beginners is because beginners have so much more important to think about and learn. Their profit potential can be so much better improved by improving their hand-reading and basic strategy. Mastering tells may add 2% to your profit while improving your basic game may add 10%. | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, Mark Gregorich, 28. Aug 2003 10:32 | ||
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| After thinking about it some more, I think I made a mistake not including Super System on my list. It does include info the other literature does not, and it helped pave the way for everything that came after. However, since it was a top ten list of sorts, I guess one will have to go. Bye Bye Roy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mark:) | ||
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| Re: 10 poker books which have benefited me, Al Schoonmaker, 28. Aug 2003 12:20 | ||
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| Mark, Thanks for your kind words and for agreeing to do a Q&A at the September 10 meeting of our poker discussion group. We were all delighted yesterday when Linda Johnson told us you would come. EVERYONE is welcome to attend this or any other meeting of our group. If you would like to know more about us, go to cardplayer.com, click on my name, then click on "The Wednesday Poker Discussion Group's 100th Meeting." You will see that we have had talks and Q&A from some of the best poker minds, Because we expect a larger turnout than usual for Mark's Q&A, we are looking around for a new location. You can get the location by emailing me alannschoonmaker@hotmail.com or Howard Burroughs at topset@webtv.net. If you come, you'll be most welcome. Regards, Al | ||
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