The Theory Of Poker

[MaZiYi]

By David Sklansky...

LOVE IT>
I think it is the most useful book once you know how to play texas hold em to really advance your game. DO NOT READ any of phil hellmuths books.

Harrington on holdem is good, but as with the other books, I don't get AA enough to read a book on how to play them :shock:

[Matt]

Greatest book on poker ever written. Most people would probably be turned off by its difficulty and the fact that it draws on older games such as razz and lowball draw. Too bad for them. I love the chapters on semi-bluffing, check-raising, hand reading, and poker psychology. As far as I know, Theory of Poker is the only book that applies to all forms of the game.

Phil Hellmuth's books are indeed terrible, but Ken Warren is by far the worst poker author I've ever read. I made the mistake of reading Winner's Guide to Texas Hold'em as my first poker book. That cost me a lot of money. Avoid his books at all costs!

[Matt]

Brent,

A book you might want to look into is Sklansky on Poker which combines two of his earlier works, Essays on Poker and Sklansky on Razz. In many ways, this book is similar to Theory of Poker; its advice is highly theoretical and much of it applies to all forms of poker. It covers topics like game selection, hand reading, the protected pots, overcalls, tournament play, and "the three levels of expert poker playing." There is also a lot game-specific advice, mostly about hold'em, seven-card stud, and draw lowball.

I haven't read the section on Razz yet. Even though that section is game-specific, Sklansky claims that Razz helps demonstrate a number of fundamental poker concepts. If I remember correctly, he uses a lot of examples from Razz in Theory of Poker.

My only complaint is that Sklansky isn't a very good writer. Thankfully, Ed Miller has helped clean up some of his newer work, specifically No-Limit Hold'em: Theory and Practice. You would probably enjoy that book too.

Mason Malmuth's Poker Essays books also cover a lot of theoretical ground. His stuff isn't as good as Sklansky's, but they are definitely worth reading.

-Matt

[notcalebsheridan]

Mike Caro's Site: http://www.poker1.com/

Very entertaining articles and lots of useful strategy. The site isn't set up really well, but there is some pretty good info

[Nima]

I agree. I had looked at his website before.

There are some more lessons from Mike Caro and Doyle Brunson on DoylesrRoom.com: http://doylesroom.com/education/


Cheers,
Nima

[James]

Me too, There is no doubt that any one can obtain a great skills on poker by reading these books. I think “Theory of Poker" and "Sklansky on Poker" is the most helpful book for any new poker player. I have already read these books and get benefit from it. Only six months ago I was a rooky in this field, but now I am much mature after reading these books.


My Sites (http://www.5thage.com/tlbdir/index.php)

[rosesh]

When I started reading poker books I realised that its a great practice to learn the game through some good books , like matt has suggested Sklansky on Poker book here which I think really very help full for people who wanna to know about poker and its stretagies. I dont know how many of you have ever visited to http://www.myholdemtips.com where I saw a lot of video related to poker game.Videos are also a good source of learning the game .
what do you say?
________
Maine Dispensary (http://maine.dispensaries.org/)

[MJPerry]

I'm posting up a review of this book on the blog in a few hours when I get back to my laptop.

I rate it.