Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Poker Books



I thought it would be a cool idea to show a picture of my poker books in the hope it forces me to keep up reading them and to remind myself to always keep learning and thinking about the game rather then just playing. When I had money online I ran through it pretty quick and basically went back to only reading and playing freerolls. Now with my bankroll steadily growing with proper management and game choice, I am neglecting my reading.

To anyone that enjoys reading about poker, here are my favorite books that I felt helped my game the most. In no particular order:

1. Harrington on Hold'em - Dan Harrington - I am counting these as one even though there are three of them. These books are absolutely fantastic. They are well written and easy to follow. I especially liked part three with options for the reader to choose throughout hands.

2. The Making of a Poker Player - Matt Matros - This book was great to read as it was written as a story as well an instructional book. It was neat to read about his introduction into poker all the way to the final table of the WPT Championship event. Very well written. (strangely enough this is not in the picture as a friend is borrowing it)

3. The Theory of Poker - David Sklansky - This is the most important book ever written on poker. I have heard arguments for and against Sklansky, but as far as I am concerned I learned more about the game of poker (not just hold'em) from this book more then any other. (Even though it reads like the most boring book in the world, if you stay focused it is well worth it)

4. Making the Final Table - Eric Lindgren - This book was well written and had a lot of valuable facts within it. A great aspect of this book was an appendix written by Matros called Poker Math which discussed odds, percentages, and equity.

5. The Man Behind the Shades - Nolan Dalla and Peter Alson - The biography of Stu 'the Kid' Ungar. It is amazing and depressing at the same time. A poker player and a non-poker player would both enjoy this.

6. Super System - Doyle Brunson - Any book written over thirty years ago and still mentioned as a poker guide today has to be in any list about good poker books.

I also own a book on game theory. It is incredibly basic yet I lose my place frequently when reading it. However, with players like Chris Ferguson and Bill Chen I think it is an interesting avenue to read on. Anyone who enjoys reading and would like to read about something a little off topic should read a book on game theory. If you don't feel it helps, it is still really cool to read about the problems and games wihtin the game theory realm.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think your collection shows you in the same light as me, an addict, sorry, student of the game!! Some good books there, I too love the Harrington series a must own for any MTT player.

Mike Belding said...

i love what i've read of the harrington book, but find super system archaic and terribly written. i'm sure it was a great read ten years ago, but the game has past it (and super system 2) by. sklansky was also good, and i enjoyed the fairly dated though sometimes correct caro's book of poker tells.

Knightsridge said...

I addict is accurate but not user friendly lol. I much prefer student of the game.

Harrington is fantastic Mike, and if you dont have all three, get them, they are too good. Super System I agree is outdated, but at the same time, preaches sheer aggression. Something that in the poker world right now, especially online, is dominant. All the best players are super aggressive (Gigabet, Johnny Bax, sheets, strassa2, riverloser) I have wacthed multis of them and it is sick how aggressive they get as the blinds go up. Caro I liked but I dont usually use tells eg His arms are folded, he is strong. I kind of get a feeling and make up my own mind whet they are conveying. Sklansky is great but whenever I read 2+2 he is revered as a god along with malmoth so his ideas are stated rather then debated. Kind of annoying after a while.