Top Poker Books
I have listed the top 7 books that I think are definately worth reading. Whether you’re a completely new poker player or experienced NL200 shark, all of these books are interesting to read and will probably give you a few extra things to think about!
The Top 8 Poker Books:
#1 – Harrington on Hold’em Volume I: Strategic Play
Dan Harrington is the godfather of poker tournament strategy, and he has a WSOP bracelet and 3 final table finishes to his name. The Harrington on Holdem series is one of the most talked about in online poker forums and communities. This book covers a lot of pre-flop action and information on playing styles but it also covers how to play hands on the flop, turn and river in depth. It also contains helpful anecdotes and hand history examples on each page and it reads extemely well.
#2 – Tournament Poker for Advanced Players by David Slansky
Almost every solid tournament player will be aware of David Slansky and have read this book. When it came out, it was revolutionary and pioneered many core concepts in MTTs such as the M-Zone theory which are talked about all over forums today. Slansky has chapters on how to play individual hands such as AA, KK, QQ in different positions and he later details his super system and all-in/fold mentality in advanced chapters.
#2 – Super System by Doyle Brunson
When Doyle Brunson’s Super System came out it fired out a whole load of controversy because many pros at felt that it gave away too much. Super System contains a plethora of advanced strategy go games such as NLH, 7 Card Stud, Low Ball and Omaha Hi-Lo. Co-writers of the book also included high stakes pro such as Bobby Baldwin, David “Chip” Reese, David Slansky and Mike Caro. Unfortunatey I think many of the concepts are outdated but it’s still an expert guide to a range of poker versions of games.
#4 Hold’Em Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth
After the critically claimed Texas Holdem, Slansky and Malmuth released this second book designed for more advanced players and to help you move up the stakes. Written by two pros at the top of their field, this book literally covers every aspect of Texas Holdem including how to play different hands pre-flop, on the flop, turn and river. The book prepares you for virtually every possible situation and uses hand history examples and anecdotes to put you on the spot. Think of this book as an encyclopedia of Texas Holdem.
#5 – Harrington on Hold ‘em Volume 2: Endgame by Dan Harrington
The 2nd part of the Harrington on Holdem Series lays the ground work for the eng-game of multi-table tournaments. Harrington shows you how to adjust once you get past the bubble and how to adjust your play for both short-handed and heads-up action. Using a series of scenarios and pot situations (it also introduced the M-Zone) this book covers lieverything you need to know to succeed in the later stages of tournaments, where statistically most new MTT players fall short.
#6 The NL Workbook by Tri “SlowHabit” Nguyen and Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese
The NL Workbook exploits teaches you how to exploit regs at the mid-stakes cash tables and also prepares you for NL100+. Written by Nguyen and Cardrunners pro Tom Marchese, you’ll find hundreds of examples of $3/$6 short-handed games which teach you how to recognise hand ranges, assessing opponents’ play, when to overbet or limp. It also teaches the importance of agression and maxising value on the river by check-raising or bluff-raising opponents based on their holdings. Overall, this is an awesome book and for those stuck in the NL50 games wanting to move up.
#7 – Sit ‘n Go Strategy: Expert Advice For Beating One-Table Tournaments by Collin Moshman
This is one of the best books available if you want to perfect SNGs. The first book of its kind to target the SNG niche, Moshman’s record speaks for itself and he teaches you all the tricks to becoming a profitable player in SNGs. Advanced concepts such as tournament equity and expected chip value (cEV) explained, as well as ultra-agressive strategies for the end game and basic pre-flop/positional strategy.
#8 – The Poker Book of Tells by Mike Caro
This is one of the most unique poker books that you’ll ever come across (it even had a short-lived appearance in the epic 1997 poker movie Rounders). The book of tells provides extraordinary insight into reading tells at the table aka when a player has a strong or weak hand. It includes explanations of pysiological reactions, voluntary reads, eye movements and Caro backs this up with photos and illustrations.
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