Best Poker Books to Read to Improve Game? (1 Viewer)

Mr. Cheese

Mr. Cheese

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Hey,

I have a dream of playing in the WSOP Main Event someday and actually cashing and to do that I need to that I'd like to try and improve my game. I'm a decent player but I know I could definitely improve a lot. What Poker books would you recommend for me to buy/rent/borrow?

Currently I have Super System 1 and 2 but I've been told those are pretty dated at this point.
 
Agree with Harrington, but don't discount the Super System books. Each book will have something you can apply to your playing style to make it unique, and that will be the key to success.

However, depending on how you plan on qualifying, you will need to study online strategy as well as live strategy -- from what I've heard, they're two different beasts. :)
 
On my shelf for tournaments (meaning I haven't gotten rid of them and may read again):

Harrington (how has anyone not read these???)
Theory of Poker
Every Hand Revealed
Kill Everyone
Elements of Poker
 
You can check out my book, when I finish with it. My working title is "How To Fold Your Way To A World Series Of Poker Win"

My favorite chapter thus far is "How to use your super-hot girlfriend to extract value at the table". I'll discuss in my next book how to obtain said super-hot GF. :)
 
Trihonda said:
My favorite chapter thus far is "How to use your super-hot girlfriend to extract value at the table". I'll discuss in my next book how to obtain said super-hot GF. :)
Click to expand...

I think my ex-gf read an advance copy of that book. :(
 
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Definitely Harrington, I need to read those again... I am learning cash right now though..

But definitely Kill Everyone, I ve heard that one is great
 
If you have a decent grasp of poker fundamentals, I don't think any books are going to return great value for money.

There are two far more effective ways to improve your game. Watch twitch streams and online training sites. This will give you some more modern approaches to games.

The second way is to work on your game yourself. Play some online tournaments and review your hands. This method can be more difficult and definitely more time consuming. If you look into some GTO theory they give you a really methodical approach to improving your own game. This method will teach you how to play a solid strategy that is hard to exploit and also teach you how to exploit mistakes in your opponents game.
 
I'm actually trying to keep my mouth shut about twitch streams, it's like gold for people wanting to improve, especially non hold em games. Ok, maybe not since I tell people all the time how cool I think it is. Im a big fan of Jason Somerville, being able to watch every hand played is insane to me, and he does it with no huds or other software so it's not like everything you see is only applicable to online when you have thousands of hands worth of info on your opponents.

I'm always a fan of learning, and if someone who is much better than me at something is going to sit there and show me their thought process I'm going to watch. :D
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll have to look into some of these!
 
For tourneys I recommend:
Every Hand Revealed
The Raisers Edge
Winning Poker Tournamets (one hand at a time) 1,2 and 3
Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker 1 and 2 (there is also 3 but have not read it)
 
Puggy said:
For tourneys I recommend:
Every Hand Revealed
The Raisers Edge
Winning Poker Tournamets (one hand at a time) 1,2 and 3
Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker 1 and 2 (there is also 3 but have not read it)
Click to expand...

Totally read these. Every hand revealed to improve your thought process and decision making in tourneys. Also Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker 1 & 3. 3 is the practice book and I highly recommend reading it.
 
Max D said:
Phil's book :ROFL: :ROFLMAO::ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

Say what you will about the brat at one point he was a pretty decent player (probably not anymore but back in the day). I for one am always entertained with his reactions against players like Tony G :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
 
Mr. Cheese said:
Say what you will about the brat at one point he was a pretty decent player (probably not anymore but back in the day). I for one am always entertained with his reactions against players like Tony G :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
I ( reluctantly) have to admit, he's doing something right in between his annoying, idiotic tirades, even currently ...
The guy WON the 2012 WSOP Main Event Europe, won about 3 or 4 bracelets since just 2012, and consistently goes very deep or final tables, in today's massive fields ... He's placed between 1st-20th in at least 7 events in the last 2 years alone ... & of course Hellmuth's the all time bracelet winner, and has been extremely consistent since 1989 .. I guess he can actually play poker..., & credit where credit is due I guess ...
 
detroitdad said:
@inca911 , what was the poker book you were telling me about at DCS?
Click to expand...
If we were talking Omaha, probably Jeff Hwang's Pot Limit Omaha Poker. It's a very sound starting point for new players. Dan is reading it right now, so maybe he can do a book report when he is done. ;-)

I have a small library, and gave him a couple of my favorites to take more of my money at his Saturday game (or lose less of his).
 
inca911 said:
If we were talking Omaha, probably Jeff Hwang's Pot Limit Omaha Poker. It's a very sound starting point for new players. Dan is reading it right now, so maybe he can do a book report when he is done. ;-)

I have a small library, and gave him a couple of my favorites to take more of my money at his Saturday game (or lose less of his).
Click to expand...


That is it. I'm not a "new" player. However I'm not any good :)

Thanks,

B
 
inca911 said:
If we were talking Omaha, probably Jeff Hwang's Pot Limit Omaha Poker. It's a very sound starting point for new players. Dan is reading it right now, so maybe he can do a book report when he is done. ;-)

I have a small library, and gave him a couple of my favorites to take more of my money at his Saturday game (or lose less of his).
Click to expand...

We'll see how well that goes tomorrow at my game :cool:. I'm just about done with the Poker Tells book you gave me so I haven't actually started the Omaha book yet. Once I finish the Omaha book I was thinking of grabbing Harrington 1 and 2 being those seem to be recommended pretty often. On that note does anyone have Harrington 1 and 2 that I could borrow for a modest fee?
 
Mr. Cheese said:
Say what you will about the brat at one point he was a pretty decent player (probably not anymore but back in the day). I for one am always entertained with his reactions against players like Tony G :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
This is was one of my first book and I read it from beginning to end several times.... It taught me a lot about starting hands, and type of players (remember Eagle, elephant, etc.), it was definitely a good start, especially pre-flop. I actually like the guy, and he has a lot of bracelets.

After that book I started reading the Dan Harrington books.
 
Harrington's books are better, but Hellmuth is definitely worth reading. The Hellmuth book is a quicker read. I don't think Hellmuth is a bad place to start. Yeah, he is a jackass--I mean, if he carried on in his book like he does in person, abusing the reader, who would read it? But he comes across as pretty sane in his book. Maybe he was taking his meds when he wrote it.

I understand that Sklansky's book on tournament poker is pretty good. I have not read that, but everything I have read by Sklansky has been well worth reading. My favorite Sklansky is his book on no limit, which, for all I know, Ed Miller wrote and Sklansky went over it.

I like reading Ed Miller, but I don't know if I have benefited from any of his books except that one he wrote with those other two guys.

We know that poker can be learned because Barry Greenstein taught his girlfriend and Doyle got Mike Caro to teach Todd how to play. Most all poker books have been written for the purpose of making money, not for making good poker players out of people. That said, Roy Cooke says he got Sklansky's first holdem book hot off the press in the late 70s, and he cleaned up. And Doyle did give a lot away in Super System.
 
I think if you are just starting poker and looking for fundamentals poker books have a lot to offer. Once you have a fundamental understanding of poker books loose a lot of their value.

The reason is that everyone has different leaks in their game. The fastest way to improve your game is to identify the biggest mistakes you are making and address them.

It's very difficult for a book to do this and still remain profitable. That's why I think online content is a little more productive, there is generally less content in a single video but it is an easier format to deliver content on a specific area of poker.
 

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