Strategy Books (1 Viewer)

CaptainR93

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Hey all! I love playing poker but I would definitely say that I am a novice when it comes to the game. I watch some vloggers on YT and have learned some but it can be a bit daunting. That being said, sometimes a you just need a good book to study. I wanted to reach out and ask for your opinions on which books would be best to start out on for learning poker strategy. Thanks!
 
First book I ever read was Miller, Sklansky & Malmuth’s Small Stakes Hold-Em.
Although it’s focus on limit, it has all the introduction to the game and an everything needed to think about while playing.
It’s a big book, take your time....
 
Thank you all for your suggestions, I can’t wait to check these books out.

For those who may have read a book on Limit first, did you find it more helpful to go reading a limit book first to NL, or do you wish you read a NL first, or does it really not matter?
 
Getting started in hold em by ed miller. Teaches all the basics, as well as give you a solid foundation no matter what game you gravitate too.
 
To those new to poker, I always suggest "The Theory of Poker" by Sklansky.

Have you read "The Theory of Poker Applied to No-Limit" by any chance? Been wondering how good that one is since it seems like an update of the classic with NL in mind rather than limit.
 
I have that book @splice42 its good but honestly the original explains the concepts in much greater detail, i would get that between the 2.
 
Have you read "The Theory of Poker Applied to No-Limit" by any chance? Been wondering how good that one is since it seems like an update of the classic with NL in mind rather than limit.
No I have not read that one. Though, I have a huge resource of I think 50 pdfs of various poker books. Can't remember who I got them from, but I still haven't read them all yet.
 
No one new to poker should be reading "The Theory of Poker". That is easily one of the most complex / deep poker books I have read. Even now the words are hard to translate into practical execution in my poker game.

Your poker study needs to match your poker experience. "The Theory of Poker" is for experienced players. It is a fine study guide for such people but not so much for newer players.
 
No one new to poker should be reading "The Theory of Poker". That is easily one of the most complex / deep poker books I have read. Even now the words are hard to translate into practical execution in my poker game.

Your poker study needs to match your poker experience. "The Theory of Poker" is for experienced players. It is a fine study guide for such people but not so much for newer players.
Sorry - I was actually thinking “Hold’em Poker” by Sklansky and Malmuth. I read the theory of poker several books later. It’s been yeaaars, I should probably reread them all- lol.

I still believe Sklanski’s Hold’ Em and Tournament Poker to both be excellent books.
 

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No one new to poker should be reading "The Theory of Poker". That is easily one of the most complex / deep poker books I have read. Even now the words are hard to translate into practical execution in my poker game.

Your poker study needs to match your poker experience. "The Theory of Poker" is for experienced players. It is a fine study guide for such people but not so much for newer players.
Really? It's literally the basics of poker. I guess the language could be difficult. I don't think experienced players are taking much from it that they already didn't know (unless by experienced we mean someone who has played a lot of poker but has never actually "thought" about poker before).

EDIT: I had to look at it again after your comment. I guess since the first chapter is called "Beyond Beginning Poker" you must be right lol.

Honestly though, looking through the chapters and various sections (for example: Chapter 13: Raising: "Raising to Get More Money in the Pot" and "Raising to Drive Out Opponents"; or Chapter 17: Position: "Advantages of Last Position" and "How Position Affects Play"; etc. just to name a few) there definitely seems to be a lot of beginner stuff to read in there.
 
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BTW, the first chapter's title is basically a joke. All he is stating is that beginner poker players rely on luck, where expert players go beyond that and rely on skill.
 
I remember reading ToP and HEPFAP pretty early on... this was in the early 2000's. I later ready Ed Miller stuff (small stakes hold'em and small stakes NLHE and others). I preferred the Ed Miller stuff. I also read Harrington around that time... as well as super system.

These books gave me a reasonable foundation... but it really wasn't until I started listening to Bart Hanson podcasts that things started to click. Things like the rule of 2 and 4... and the 10/20 rule were ah-ha moments that gave me a decent set of guidelines to making decisions that frequently come up.
 
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I 'd kindly ask for a mini course by @DrStrange on how to deal with maniacs (VPIP 50 and above, reaching to 100) on a heater.
You call them with second-nuts only to find out they have the nuts this time, after having shown trash like J-5 off-suit.
You move-in on them with top pair top kicker and a flush draw (A-10 suited) on a flop like 5-8-10 two suits (yours).
They have QQ which they slow-played pre-, and they hold.
 
I remember reading ToP and HEPFAP pretty early on... this was in the early 2000's. I later ready Ed Miller stuff (small stakes hold'em and small stakes NLHE and others). I preferred the Ed Miller stuff. I also read Harrington around that time... as well as super system.

These books gave me a reasonable foundation... but it really wasn't until I started listening to Bart Hanson podcasts that things started to click. Things like the rule of 2 and 4... and the 10/20 rule were ah-ha moments that gave me a decent set of guidelines to making decisions that frequently come up.
Is this the crush live poker podcast? I’m always on the lookout for good podcasts.
 
You lose your chips to a LAGtard on a heater. If the player is not skilled enough to justify the wide opening range all you need is patience.

But, very high VPIP is no sure sign of low skill levels. There are skilled LAGs that can play a huge range of preflop hands because they know they can out play the field post flop. Or maybe the player is quite skilled but bored / playing below his/her stakes.

It is up to Hero to figure the difference between lucky LAGtard and Skilled LAG eating your lunch. Not so easy to do in an on-line game.

You can always find another table on-line if desired -=- DrStrange
 
For cash games I would suggest:
  • Sklansky and Miller - 'No Limit Holdem Theory and Practice' (solid grounding in fundamentals of poker, not as dense as 'The Theory of Poker')
  • Jonathan Little - 'Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Cash Games' (self-explanatory)
For tournaments:
  • Lee Nelson - 'Kill Everyone' (bit dated but still mostly relevant)
  • Jon Van Fleet - 'Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time' (Apestyles explains every major hand on the way to winning a tournament)
 
Poker mindset: essential attitudes for poker success - this book is not quite about strategy but I would definitely recommend reading it at least once.
 
I would recommend any books by tri nguyen, for no limit hildem, also, the easy game 3rd edition by bulgawhale. Hope this helps
 

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