Looking for Theory of Poker by David Sklansky

T-b0n3

Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this but thought it would be the best...

Started playing poker recently and looking to get my hands on this book. Haven't read anything yet but seems to be a good starting place. If anyone has a copy they'd like to sell that would be great..I'm in south Dublin but can collect(within reason). Thanks..

Adam

sendic

Theory of poker is a bit heavy if you're just getting into the game

I like this book, very beginner friendly

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Winning-Poker-Essential-Hints-Tips/dp/0572029764/sr=8-1/qid=1172081099/ref=sr_1_1/203-5462488-8798304?ie=UTF8&s=books

hodges figgis on dawson st used to have a few copies of it

Tar.Aldarion

Try adverts.ie->Wanted books as well.

edit: In my time moderating there I have seen it sold twice.

The Ace Face

i have it, sell it to you if you want, not a bad read, based in town, near barge, p.m. me, i'll get it to you

breadmonkey

I'm also looking for a copy if anyone here has another one. Ace Face, I don't suppose you've been hoarding them?

mewso

sendic wrote:

Theory of poker is a bit heavy if you're just getting into the game

I have to disagree. I think all beginners should read this first. Heavy or not it contains most of the basic concepts that I would consider essential in starting to play poker. I loaned my copy to someone, forgot who, and have never seen it since so can't help unfortunately.

robinlacey

i think people should read theory of poker after they've been playing a few months and have read a more basic book to get the mechanics of starting hands and so on,i think starting into it before playing many hands or reading anything else would be too difficult.

i also have to admit that i've never finished it,although i've probably read almost all of it in bits and pieces here and there.

i found it very valuable for giving you an idea of how you should think about the game,and i found that it explained the theory behind a lot of plays very well,but not being particularly mathematical i found it a bit dry and often skipped over parts of it.

i also think that playing some hands,,reading a basic book,and posting hands/reading the FAQ in the microstakes forums on twoplustwo would all be far more important than reading theory of poker for a beginner.

Hitman Actual

I'm with Robin on this one; I think starting out by reading TOP will only make you think that there's no enjoyment whatsoever in poker, and you'll probably never play!

The problem is I'm not sure what good beginner books are out there. Something like Phil Gordons Little Green Book is concise and easy to read, and covers a lot of ground. That's probably a good place to start. It is aimed at tournaments mainly, but a lot of the info will be useful for starting out in low-limit/live cash games as well.

T-b0n3

Well I've been playing a bit mainly home games and planning on putting money into my paddypowerpoker account very soon. I have read a fair bit on the net and what not and I think I should be mathsy enough to understand most of that end of things. Sure I reckon I'll give it a go. I can always put it down for a while and pick up something easier for a bit.

Thanks for the help.

pm on the way The Ace Face.

Adam

sendic

musician wrote:

I have to disagree. I think all beginners should read this first.

I agree TOP is essential reading, but Sklanskys writing style is not very accessible. The first poker book I read was Sklanskys Hold Em Poker and that was hard enough to get through as a beginner. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poker-Texas-Complete-Guide-Playing/dp/1880685086/sr=8-5/qid=1172144799/ref=pd_ka_5/203-5462488-8798304?ie=UTF8&s=books)

Like Robin, I've never sat down and read TOP cover to cover, I've skimmed and picked it up and read parts that were of interest at the time. I wouldn't consider it a beginner book at all.

NeVeR

musician wrote:

I have to disagree. I think all beginners should read this first. Heavy or not it contains most of the basic concepts that I would consider essential in starting to play poker. I loaned my copy to someone, forgot who, and have never seen it since so can't help unfortunately.

have to agree with musician. New player should always read this. makes the it easier to understand the game and help you play better

mewso

Different strokes as they say. I'm avoiding the obvious here by the way. My route was:-

- gambling/lucky 5 card draw experience (lifelong)
- discovering and trying online poker with no clue (2-3 months)
- wanting to learn more and reading TOP (4 months)

So when someone asks me what book they should read I say TOP. I'm not going to say go play some because I expect the answer to be "I have played now I want to learn more". I don't know any people who would want to read a book on poker because they might take it up. When I read it it was an eye-opener for me which meant I did read it from cover to cover and didn't find it boring or heavy but nowadays I suppose people know alot of the concepts to a certain degree before they get to it. I knew absolutely zip. This forum didn't exist.

JoeB-

Not much on adverts.ie as regards poker at the moment...

I checked Amazon.co.uk and Theory of Poker is about €20. Also Harrington on Hold 'em for about €17. Harrington's book is very easy to read... I have only read it and Brunson's Super System, Brunsons book isn't that good in my opinion whereas Harrington's (Vol 1) is very good.

I'd love to get a second hand copy of Theory of Poker if anyone has one.

breadmonkey

JoeBallantine wrote:

I'd love to get a second hand copy of Theory of Poker if anyone has one.

Oy! Get in the queue!

hotspur

Not reading TOP at the beginning is straight up dumb. Reading any strategy book is pointless if you don't understand the fundamental principles of the game of poker as a game of probability. All you will do is paper over the cracks which will mask a fundamental lack of understanding. It's like learning how to use various statistcial tests without bothering to understand probability and statistics in the first place. Listen to Muso.

Oh and at the risk of this turning into aanother book thread which gets locked - this book is easily downloadable in a pdf if you don't mind reading it on your computer.

Flipper

The Theory of Poker is tough going but is a must read for anyone taking the game seriously. I just did a post on my blog today about some of my favourite books. link is in my signature

5starpool

My cousin has loads of books.

Killme00

5starpool wrote:

My cousin has loads of books.

Can you ask your cousin to drop me a line..pls