Poker Books

Drawing Dead

was looking to buy a Hold'em book. obviously there's Dolyle Brunson's one but i heard the original is out dated as the game has evolved a lot. also heard the newer one is basically just an ode to doyle and the hold'em section is just copy and pasted from the original one. so, what do you think is the best hold'em book out there? all sugestions much appreciated.

tribulus

It's been done before but I think the general consensus is playing and discussing lots of hands will get you a lot better and quicker than reading the books.

However they can give you a good grounding in the theory of it all.

Harrington on Holdem 1 and 2 are good and very popular it seems, I think he has a cash game one coming out too.

Sklansky Theory of Poker is good too although definitely tougher reading than the above.

There's loads out there, depends really on what you're looking for.

BobSloane

Holdem for homosexuals is an interesting read. You'll never think of your hole cards the same again

ozpoker

tribulus wrote: »

It's been done before but I think the general consensus is playing and discussing lots of hands will get you a lot better and quicker than reading the books.

False dichotomy. I find time in my poker study for books and discussion, as well as other ways to improve my game. I've read a lot of poker books, and I can say that I've gotten something from every single one; even if it's just how some set of bad players think about things. Staying on top of the literature keeps you focused on poker during stints when you can't be online or playing.

To the OP: There is no "best" hold'em book. The best one for you is the one that will give you the most insight for where you are right now as a player. Tell us a little about your current situation and we may come up with some suggestions.

-Oz-

jbravado

BobSloane wrote: »

Holdem for homosexuals is an interesting read.

Brilliant.Well played Sir.

CourierCollie

If you do go for Harrington, I'd recommend you get 1&2 together. Don't make the mistake I did of reading the first one only, and then getting really confused when you get to the business end of a tournament!

Drawing Dead

ozpoker wrote: »

Tell us a little about your current situation and we may come up with some suggestions.

-Oz-

current situation - been playing a year, just with friends. entered a tournament the other week and finished well in the money so i'm gaining confidence with my game. just i think my weak points are bluffing and playing heads up or with less than 4 opponents. does this help? thanks for the suggestions aswell.

Lurker1977

Drawing Dead wrote: »

current situation - been playing a year, just with friends. entered a tournament the other week and finished well in the money so i'm gaining confidence with my game. just i think my weak points are bluffing and playing heads or with less than 4 opponents. does this help? thanks for the suggestions aswell.

I suppose it also means how aware you are of some of the more technical elements about the game including hand reading, i.e. creating hand ranges for your opponents and also calculating simple pot odds. I will still recommend HoH for anyone wishing to educate themselves about the game prior to reading anything written by Sklansky et al purely as its a much easier read and the hand analysis sections allow you to really think about what you are attempting to achieve.

HoH 2 provides late game scenarios including bubble play, and shorthanded scenarios.

If you feel you have progressed beyond this level, the Tournament Poker for advanced players introduces some of the more complex ideas of the game.

As Oz said tho, there is no single piece of literature that wil be all things to all players. Be honest with yourself about what stage you feel you are at and then have a look at the comment sections of Amazon.com and see if anything takes your fancy. One warning I would give tho is, some of the more martketable players have released books which TBH deserve to be burned.

Maybe you should get a shortlist of 3 or 4 books together and post it here and get feedback from some of us who will have read them?

ozpoker

Drawing Dead wrote: »

current situation - been playing a year, just with friends. entered a tournament the other week and finished well in the money so i'm gaining confidence with my game. just i think my weak points are bluffing and playing heads up or with less than 4 opponents. does this help? thanks for the suggestions aswell.

Great. I would suggest Phil Gordon's Little Green Book as a great introduction to the multiple facets of tourney play. It's a quick read, but it provides a good grounding in the fundamentals. Many here will deride Gordon's play, but he's a very good player and a great teacher.

After you've read that and played for a month or so to integrate Gordon's ideas, tackle Harrington's 3 volume set already mentioned. These ideas should easily keep you busy for 6 months by playing and rereading the volumes.

From that point, you could go in many directions. Staying in a tourney mode, The Full Tilt Strategy Guide Tournament Edition is an excellent follow up to HOH. It goes into great detail about specific tourney skills, as well as introducing other games. IMO, this is the modern Super System for tourney players.

Every aspiring poker player should tackle Sklansky's Theory of Poker at some point. It's dry, poorly written and overall a tough slog, but still the most fundamental text on poker ideas in print.

Post back in a year when you need your next assignments.

-Oz-

elmolesto

BobSloane wrote: »

Holdem for homosexuals is an interesting read. You'll never think of your hole cards the same again

lol

mocata

If there were a degree in poker, Harringtons books would be "Poker 101". IMO virtually every poker book is worth far more than its cover price, if you get one sentence or concept that helps you. Boastful example, browsed phil hellmuths book on poker tells, was playing that wkend and picked up a read straight away that helped me in a £400 pot. I think the book cost £8.

Drawing Dead

thanks for all the suggestions, and especially to CourierCollie for donating his HoH books!

Mossie27

Can anyone tell me what laws set out the returns for poker machines, like you have in pubs. Have a complaint to make about a certain machine in a pub in Dublin? Are poker machines allowed in pubs. Any help would be much appreciated!