Best Limit Poker Books
Two Plus Two has been the leading publisher of quality gaming and poker books since 1987 with English language sales of over 2 million copies worldwide, and foreign language sales of several hundred thousand and translations (currently) into 15 different languages.
Here you will find a complete list of our poker/gambling books. Each title is listed by category and provides a link for the synopsis and/or reviews from players on our forum. There are approximately 40 titles to choose from (and this number increases as we bring out new books), covering such topics as tournament poker, sit ’n go and go strategies, limit and no-limit hold ‘em, seven-card stud, pot-limit Omaha, general poker theory, general gambling theory, blackjack, and other topics. (We even have a small book on craps.)
We are known for our high standards and our reputation is to only publish books that are top notch. In addition, we are also known for literally revolutionizing how poker is played and how other aspects of gambling are approached by professional players regardless of their specialty.
The Theory of Poker has long been recognized as the foundational book for all of poker no matter what the game, and at the time of this writing is still the best selling book in poker. But that book, while applicable to many aspects of no limit and pot limit poker was originally written mainly with limit games in. 10 Best Poker Books 2021 Poker is an exciting game. To the inexperienced, it is a simple card game that predicates around the luck of the draw more than anything else. Collin has written strategy books on the first two game types he specialised in, 'Sit 'n' Go Strategy' and 'Heads-Up No Limit Hold'em,' both of which became instant poker bestsellers. Small Stakes Poker Tournaments. This little gem is full of useful tips & tricks and grabs the first. I have always played tournaments only but I am now getting into cash games. In your opinion, what is the best book for no limit Holdem cash games. Not for a begginner but for intermediate to advanced. Ive read Dan Harrington books for tournaments but I notice that the cash game is diferent.
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Pre-Order The Theory of Poker Applied to No-Limit by David Sklansky
The Theory of Poker has long been recognized as the foundational book for all of poker no matter what the game, and at the time of this writing is still the best selling book in poker.
But that book, while applicable to many aspects of no limit and pot limit poker was originally written mainly with limit games in mind. Now, the most popular form of poker is no-limit hold em.
As a result, David felt it was time to write a new book that would methodically address each of the chapters in the original Theory of Poker, summarize them, and then go into lengthy detail as to how the ideas and concepts in those chapters need to be altered.
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No Limit Hold 'em For Advanced Players: Emphasis on Tough Games by Matthew Janda
In 2003 poker was put on television and no-limit hold em quickly became the most popular form of poker played in casinos, public cardrooms, and on the Internet. ...
No Limit Hold 'em: Theory and Practice by David Sklansky and Ed Miller
The definitive text on this exciting game. Taking a theoretical approach, it covers critical concepts like manipulating the pot size, adjusting correctly to stack sizes, winning the battle of mistakes, reading hands, and manipulating opponents into playing badly. ...
Applications of No-Limit Hold em by Matthew Janda
One of the most daunting moments in a poker player’s career occurs when he realizes his knowledge of how to play a specific hand well is incomplete without the additional understanding of how to play every other hand in his range well ...
Analytical No-Limit Hold em - Crushing Mid-Stakes Short-Handed Games by Thomas Bakker
Poker has changed immensely in the last few years. While once played only in casinos and home-games, it’s now immensely popular on the Internet and has taken on a completely different aspect in terms of winning strategy. ...
Harrington on Online Cash Games; 6-Max No-Limit Hold’em by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
In Harrington on Online Cash Games, Dan Harrington shows you the key ideas and skills that will let you master the online poker world which differs in some significant ways from the world of casino games. Harrington lays out detailed strategies for preflop and post-flop play in both the popular micro-stakes games and the more difficult small-stakes games. ...
Harrington on Cash Games; How to Win at No-Limit Hold ’em Money Games: Volume I. by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
Dan and Bill teach you the key concepts that drive deep-stack cash game play. You'll learn how to tailor your selection of starting hands to your stack size, how to recognize the increasing deception value of supposedly weaker hands as the stack sizes increase, and how to use the concept of pot commitment to your advantage as the size of the pot grows. This book addresses basic ideas, the elements of no-limit hold ’em cash game play, tight-aggressive play before the flop, and tight-aggressive play on the flop. ...
Harrington on Cash Games; How to Win at No-Limit Hold ‘em Money Games: Volume II
continues where Harrington on Cash Games:Volume I left off. In sections on tight-aggressive turn and river play, Dan and Bill explain why these are the most important streets in no-limit hold em, and show how to decide when to bet or check, when to call or fold, and when to commit all your chips. Other topics include tells, the loose-aggressive style, beating weak games, bankroll management, plus an interview with no-limit great Bobby Hoff. ...
Heads-Up No-Limit Hold ’em; Expert Advice for Winning Heads-Up Poker Matchesby Collin Moshman.
Heads-up confrontations can occur in any game, even when every seat is occupied. Adjusting to the amount of aggression can be difficult since heads-up battles require you to bet and raise with many hands. Topics include the fundamentals, playing styles, pot size manipulation, heads-up concepts, cash games and tournaments, and much more. ...
Professional No-Limit Hold ’em: Volume I by Matt Flynn, Sunny Mehta, and Ed Miller.
This book teaches you how to play and think like a professional. It shows how to size your bets, manage the pot, manipulate your opponents, know when to go all-in, and how to avoid the big mistake. It also emphasizes fundamental play including pot size and pot control, the REM (Range, Equity, Maximize) Process, and the important concept of commitment including a detailed discussion of stack-to-pot ratios known as SPR. ...
Harrington on Modern Poker Tournamentsby Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie.
Over the last ten years, the enormous growth of interest in poker and poker tournaments has led to an intense focus on the theory of tournament poker. The result was a re-examination of old ideas and the introduction of many new ones. The fundamentals of no-limit hold em did not change, but the game was revealed to have more depth than many older players could have anticipated. ...
Harrington on Hold ’em, Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments; Volume I: Strategic Playby Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie.
Dan Harrington has been one of the most successful tournament players for a long time. This includes his 1995 win in the main event of the World Series of Poker, his four final table appearances, and his first and second place finishes in World Poker Tour events. In Volume I, he and co-author Bill Robertie address play in the early and middle stages of a tournament. Topics include playing styles, starting hand requirements, betting both before and after the flop, and betting on fourth and fifth streets. ...
Harrington on Hold ’em, Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments; Volume II: The Endgame by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie.
In this text, Dan and Bill pick up right where Volume I finishes and address play in the later stages of a tournament. Topics include making moves, inflection point theory including a thorough discussion of the ‘Zone System’ and how your ‘M’ and the ‘M’ of your opponents impacts your strategy, playing at short tables, and playing heads-up. ...
Harrington on Hold ’em, Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments; Volume III: The Workbook by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie.
Now that you have read and studied the first two Harrington tournament books, it’s time to test your knowledge. In this book, Dan and Bill present problems to test how well you grasped the principles of the first two volumes. In addition, many of the problems focus on the key area that causes difficulties for so many aspiring players: how to play after the flop.
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players: Expanded Edition by David Sklansky.
This newly-expanded version of Tournament Poker for Advanced Players contains over 100 new pages of updated material dedicated almost entirely to today’s most popular form of tournament poker: no-limit hold ’em. Topics include the Gap Concept, prize structure implications, how chips change value, keeping the pot small, play just out of the money and just in the money, ‘The System,’ folding aces, and much more.
Sit ’n Go Strategy; Expert Advice for Beating One-Table Poker Tournaments by Collin Moshman.
Sit ’n go tournaments are one table tournaments which usually pay the first three places. Relative to standard poker tournaments, they require a different strategy to be successful, and this text explains exactly how this is done. Topics include hands to play during low blinds, hands to play during mid-blinds, steals and resteals, attacking passivity, high-blind strategy, short-handed play, stack-dependent strategy on the bubble, and much more. ...
Poker Tournament Strategies by Sylvester Suzuki.
This is a beginners book that emphasizes small buy-in tournaments where you can rebuy and add-on as well as tournaments that don’t allow rebuys. It also addresses other topics such as negotiating a settlement, stepping up to major tournaments, and even some advice for tournament managers.
Further Limit Hold'em by Phillip Newal.
Limit hold 'em, while currently not as popular as no-limit hold 'em, is an extremely interesting game from a theoretical standpoint: The rules are complex enough to allow constant intrigue, yet simple enough to allow computer bots to play the game on an extremely high level....
Hold ’em Poker by David Sklansky.
The text is probably best known for the Sklansky Hand Rankings, which made the game much simpler to quantify and understand. Some of the topics include the importance of position, the first two cards, the key 'flops,' strategy before the flop, semi-bluffing, slowplaying, check raising, head-up on fifth street, and how to read hands. Not only was this text, which is Sklansky's first work, a major contribution to the explosive growth of this game, it is also a book that should still be read by all serious players. ...
Hold ’em Poker for Advanced Players: 21st Century Edition by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth.
In 1988 the first edition of this text appeared. Many ideas, which were only known to a select group of players were now made available to anyone who was striving to achieve expert status, and the hold ’em explosion had begun. In 1999, an additional 100 pages were added including chapters on loose games and playing short-handed. Other topics include playing the first two cards, semi-bluffing, folding when the pot is big, playing when there is no raise before the flop, playing when a pair flops, playing against a maniac, important fourth street concepts, and desperation bets. Anyone who studies this text, is well disciplined, and gets the proper experience should be well on their way to becoming a significant winner at this game. ...
Small Stakes Hold ’em: Winning Big with Expert Play by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth.
In 2003 David and Mason noticed a new poster on the forums who seemed to have a very good and clear understanding of limit hold ’em. Then in a meeting hosted by Dr. Alan Schoonmaker, Mason gave this poster a chance to produce a book for Two Plus Two. The initial work appeared so strong that both David and Mason joined the project and this book was produced. It targets limit hold ’em ring games that feature several players who play too many hands and go too far with their hands. Topics include domination, avoiding costly errors, evaluating the flop, large pots versus small pots, and betting for value on the river. ...
Winning in Tough Hold ’em Games; Short-Handed and High-Stakes Concepts and Theory for Limit Hold ’em by Nick 'Stoxtrader' Grudzien and Geoff 'Zobags' Herzog
As time went on, the games on the Internet have gotten tougher, plus six-max tables became popular. This requires adjustments in strategy to account for many opponents whose level of aggression had increased. This text addresses these games and it’s the first to tackle many of the complex issues presented when playing short-handed and high-stakes limit hold ’em. Topics include playing in a steal position, isolating a loose player, defending from the big blind, the turn value check, playing when way ahead or way behind, and semi-bluffing heads-up post flop. The book also includes many sample hands that Stox participated in. ...
Getting Started in Hold ’em by Ed Miller.
This is a beginners book that addresses both limit and no-limit. It’s not designed to make you into an expert player but to give you the foundation to become successful at either of these two games. It also includes a section on no-limit tournaments. ...
Pot-Limit Omaha: Understanding Winning Play by William Jockusch.
Pot-limit Omaha to the untrained eye looks similar to Texas hold ’em except that you start with four cards instead of the standard two. But this complex form of poker has many differences, and it continues to grow in popularity as the poker boom matures.
This book starts with the fundamentals of hand valuation and continues up through advanced concepts. Topics include preflop hand strength, short stack play, wrap hands, blind stealing, marking your aces, playing on the flop, which flops are good for bluffing, position and check-raising, pot size manipulation, blockers, and numerous sample hands.
Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players by David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth, and Ray Zee.
Seven-card stud is an extremely complex game. Deciding exactly what the right strategy should be in any particular situation can be difficult. Perhaps this is why very few authors have attempted to analyze this game even though it is widely played. Topics include the cards that are out, the number of players in the pot, ante stealing, playing big pairs, playing smaller pairs, playing three-flushes and three-straights, randomizing your play, playing on the later streets, defending against the possible ante steal, playing against a paired door card, scare card strategy, and the Horse Race Concept.
High-Low-Split Poker, Seven-Card Stud and Omaha Eight- or-Better, for Advanced Players by Ray Zee.
Although this is the third book in the 'For Advanced Players' series, it’s actually books 3 and 4 in the progression. The books are presented together for two reasons. First, many of the concepts are similar for both games. And second, players mastering one game can easily make the transition to the other.
Topics discussed in the seven-card stud eight-or-better section include starting hands, disguising your hand on third street, what to do when an ace raises, play on the later streets, position, bluffing, staying to the end, and scare cards. Covered in the Omaha eight-or-better section are general concepts, position, low hands, high hands, your starting hand, play on the flop, multiway versus short-handed play, scare cards, getting counterfeited, and your playing style.
Sklansky on Poker by David Sklansky.
This book combines two earlier books by the author, Essays on Poker and Sklansky on Razz, plus a short section on tournament play. Topics in the Essays section include having a plan, choosing your game, playing according to your bankroll, and the protected pot.
The razz section of the book will show you how the experts play this form of poker. It includes advice on how to play every street as well as a chapter of razz problems. Sklansky on Razz is considered by many to be the definitive work on this game. ...
Poker and More: Unique Ideas and Concepts by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth.
Poker is a game of many different concepts and ideas, and the relative importance of these ideas has changed over the years as different forms of poker gain and lose popularity. But the underlying theory of how to approach poker, and in particular no-limit hold em, still remains the same. ...
The Intelligent Poker Player by Philip Newall.
As poker theory develops, the field is becoming more abstruse and mathematical; gradually becoming less accessible to the layperson. The Intelligent Poker Player by Philip Newall aims to reverse this trend by presenting a cohesive and sophisticated method of play in plain English. ...
The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky.
This text discusses theories and concepts applicable to nearly every variation of the game and describes the thought processes of advanced poker players. It also addresses the all-important factors you should consider in a particular situation before determining what to do. Topics include The Fundamental Theorem of Poker, ante structure, the value of deception, the free card, the semi-bluff, loose and tight play, position, game theory and bluffiing, and heads-up on the end. ...
Poker, Gaming & Life: Expanded Edition by David Sklansky.
This volume is a collection of articles written by David Sklansky that have appeared in various publications including Card Player, Poker World and the Two Plus Two Poker Strategy Magazine. From the original book, ‘Poker and gaming’ topics include ABeing a Favorite,’ ‘Are Great Players Born?’ ‘Talent Versus Discipline,’ ‘When Time is Not of the Essence’, and ‘Is Your Wallet Fat Enough?’ ‘Life’ topics include ‘What It Is that Makes an Issue Controversial,’ ‘Coincidences,’ ‘Legitimate Grievances,’ and ‘Crime and Punishment.
This expanded addition also contains 32 additional essays, many of which address no-limit hold ’em. ‘Essays for the Expanded Edition’ include ‘Pros Versus Wannabes,’ ‘Bluff Raising as the Big Blind,’ ‘Evaluating Expected Value,’ and ‘Expert Non-Optimum Random Strategy.’
Poker Essays by Mason Malmuth.
The author has written for a variety of poker/gambling publications including Card Player, Poker World, and The Two Plus Two Poker Strategy Magazine. This first volume includes essays that the appeared from 1988 to 1991. Topics include handling pressure, fluctuations, differences between stud and hold ’em, limit versus no-limit, weak-tight opponents, and appropriate image.
Poker Essays, Volume II by Mason Malmuth.
This text contains those essays that this author wrote from 1991 through early 1996. Topics include handling rushes, moving up, poker skills, how to play well, chopping the blinds, and cardroom theory.
Poker Essays, Volume III by Mason Malmuth.
This text contains those essays the author wrote from 1996 through early 2001. Topics include which game to play, controlling steaming, marginal hands, selecting the best game, bluffing, unusual strategies, raising with suited connectors, keeping poker honest, reading hands, and checking aces.
Note: All three of the Poker Essays books, with just a couple of exceptions, only address limit poker.
Real Poker Psychology by Mason Malmuth
During the last few years, there has been much new information produced that comes under the heading of poker psychology. The idea is to cover that area of poker which is less strategic but still important to one s overall success at the game, and a new area of mental coaching has appeared.
DUCY? by David Sklansky and Alan Schoonmacher
The title, DUCY?, was taken from our forums at twoplustwo.com. To encourage people to think better, David would often ask, Do you see why? before fully explaining his conclusions or advice. Forum participants created the acronym and started using it themselves, and it became so popular that the following definition now appears in the Urban Dictionary: Abbreviated form of Do you see why? Commonly used on online forums; originated from the Two Plus Two Poker Community. We believe that the term does a good job of capturing the essence of this book
Inside the Poker Mind: Essays on Hold ’em and General Poker Concepts by John Feeney, Ph. D.
Poker is a game of many skills and to become an expert poker player you need to master them all. However, there are many players who have mastered most of these skills yet they still do poorly in the games C at best they are only small winners. Winning poker is a process that requires a lot of thinking as well as a thorough and systematic approach to the game, and that’s what this book is about. Topics include ‘Playing Too Many Hands,’ Self-Weighting Cold Calls, ‘The Strategic Moment in Hold ’em,’ and ‘Countering a Good Reader.’
The Psychology of Poker by Alan N. Schoonmaker, Ph. D.
Poker demands many skills and strategies to be successful. They include proper hand selection, appropriate aggression, bluffing, semi-bluffing, understanding tells and telegraphs, choosing the right games, and reading hands. These skills do not come easily since they require unnatural actions.
In this text, Dr. Schoonmaker is concerned only with the way that psychological factors affect your own and your opponents' ability to play properly, and he will answer questions as to why you and your opponents play the way you do. It will also suggest strategic adjustments you should make to improve your results against different type of players as well as personal adjustments that will help you play better and enjoy the game more.
The Professional Poker Dealer's Handbook: Expanded Edition by Dan Paymar, Donna Harris, and Mason Malmuth.
With the explosive growth of poker, there are a few 'growing pains,' and a lack of quality dealers is immediately apparent to anyone who either plays poker or works in the industry. Dealing poker is one of those occupations that looks easy when performed by a top quality dealer and you too can achieve this status with practice and effort. This is the ultimate book for anyone interested in a career as a poker dealer and this newly expanded edition now addresses both no-limit hold ’em and automatic shuffling machines.
PokerFarce and PokerTruth by Ray Michael B.
Serious poker players are often asked, 'What's it really like...the world of poker? The answer is not easy because poker is an amazingly complex game. As complex as life itself. This book will attempt to answer that question. You will be taken to a serious game and be sitting besides the author. That is, you will be a spectator to the unfolding drama of poker.
The History of the World from a Gambler's Perspective by Mason Malmuth and Antonio Carrasco.
Gambling is something that many of us participate in, and this can include a trip to a casino or perhaps a home game of poker. But it turns out gambling, or aspects of gambling, will appear in many places, and this, of course, includes history, and that is what this book is about.
Getting The Best Of It by David Sklansky.
This text contains six sections discussing probability, poker, blackjack, other casino games, sports betting, and general gambling concepts. This book contains some of the most sophisticated gambling ideas that have ever been put into print. Topics include ‘Mathematics of Parlays,’ ‘The Eight Mistakes in Poker,’ ‘World Class Poker Plays,’ ‘Casino and Their Mistakes,’ Beating Sports,’ and ‘Making the Best Decision.’
Gambling Theory and Other Topics by Mason Malmuth.
Most people who gamble are attracted by the action and the excitement that this form of entertainment offers. But a small number of people are actually quite successful at gambling. How is this so? Why is it that these few can constantly make decisions that devastate their opponents? And what do you need to also become successful at this extremely challenging occupation?
Gambling Theory and Other Topics was written in an attempt to answer these questions, You will be introduced to the dynamic concept of non-self weighting strategies and shown how these strategies apply not only at the ‘very exciting gaming tables’ but also in real life. Other topics include risk and fluctuations, bankroll requirements, win-rate accuracy, free bets, lottery fallacies, dangerous ideas, poker tournament strategies, the world’s greatest gamblers, and building pyramids.
Gambling For a Living by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth.
Is there really such a thing as a professional gambler? The answer is an unequivocal yes! The authors of this book are but two examples. The truth is that there are many thousands of people around the country who make a good living exclusively from gambling. It’s not easy, but it can be done. The key idea is to understand which games are beatable and how to beat them.
Sklansky Talks Blackjack by David Sklansky.
Blackjack is the one casino game where the player can easily get an edge over the house. This has been known for over forty years and many good books have been written on the subject. In spite of this, there are still only a relative handful of people who are taking advantage of this knowledge.
David Sklansky believes the reason is that most people think expert blackjack play is too hard to learn due to all the charts and tables that many blackjack books feature. However, they are not really needed to show someone how to play almost perfectly. Here is a technique where the author talks you through everything you need to know to ‘beat’ this popular game.
Blackjack Essays by Mason Malmuth.
In addition to writing about poker, in his early years Mason Malmuth also wrote about blackjack. This text, similar in style to his Poker Essays books and assumes that the reader already knows how to count cards, but it covers many facets of the game which most books do not address. Topics covered include ‘Card Domination,’ ‘Unintentional Preferential Shuffling,’ ‘Traps to Avoid,’ ‘Crowded Versus Empty Casinos,’ ‘Ideas Whose Time Has Come and Gone,’ and ‘Front Loading.’
The Fundamentals series are a set of small books designed to provide the basics of the four most popular casino games. They give you the skills necessary not only to obtain the best possible edge with a small amount of study, but to also get the most fun out of your casino dollar.
Fundamentals of Craps by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis.
The only information you’ll ever need for learning to play this exciting fast-paced casino game. Many people consider this the best book ever written on the game of craps.
Fundamentals of Poker by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis.
A hard hitting guide to the best beginner strategies for the popular casino poker games of seven-card stud and limit Texas hold ’em, plus insights into winning at no-limit hold ‘em, Omaha, Omaha eight-or-better, seven-card stud eight-or-better, razz, and lowball draw.
Fundamentals of ‘21' by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis
A detailed basic strategy with an easy-to-learn card counting system designed to cut the house edge and turn the odds in your favor.
Fundamentals of Video Poker by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis.
A guide designed to help you select the right machines and make the correct drawing decisions in the most popular of all slot games.
Videos and podcasts are undoubtedly solid ways to educate yourself about poker, but some of the best learning you'll pick up is through good old fashioned poker books. Here's my essential list of books you need to read if you want to play your best.
Ask any pro in any field and they'll tell you the secret to their success is founded in their drive to always improve their game. This isn't always done in the field - or even mostly done in the field. Improvement largely begins behind the scenes.
In the case of poker, a lot of your learning happens when you're not at the tables. Sure, you'll learn a thing or two on the fly, but - if you want to play to win - you should be sitting down with an entire arsenal of intel already in place. The Duke of Wellington didn't show up to Waterloo with water guns and zero military training, right?
You're damn right he didn't.
It's with this aim in mind that I’m going to give you a rundown of the best of the best poker books that helped shape me into the finely-tuned machine you see tearing up the felt - or sometimes, waiting patiently and biding my time. That's what a thorough poker education does for you: it helps you play your best and adapt to your surroundings. Sometimes you'll be making grown men cry. Sometimes you'll be letting other players fight it out. You gotta know how to act. You gotta know when to act. You gotta know when to...well, you know how it goes, and Kenny Roger isn’t going to get the better of me. Not today.
Let’s get to my recommendations. Listed in order of preference.
1. The Tao of Poker
Author: Larry W. Phillips
Type: General Strategy
Year: 1999
Why you need to read it:
This is without a doubt the most comprehensive book on poker I've ever read, which is why it tops the list as my number one recommendation. The Tao of Poker not only breaks down strategies to be used on the table, it also speaks to the strategies that should be used above the rail, in the human element of the game.
The tao 'or way' of poker, dives into topics such as game selection, bankroll management, self control, luck, longevity - basically everything. In The Tao of Poker, Larry has completed the manuscript on the poker experience, and it's the only book I've ever read where I felt the author was putting everything on the table. I could relate to his stories, his analogies, and he did a great job of making the book accessible to the common person while also packing it with a lot of high-level insight.
The format in which the book was written (broken down into 285 small secrets) makes for easy reading whether someone is in for a short sit, or a long ride. Like I said, this is the best poker book I've ever read - hands down. No stone left unturned: Larry covered it all.
Every single lesson in the book is important, but the concept that got me the most was the idea of how a good player 'weaves a web' and that others fall into this web.
Here’s a look at what I’m talking about:
“Rule 99: Weaving a web...
The great poker player doesn’t just play the game. He spins a web. He weaves a story. It is a mystical netting, made of talk and image; seeming strength and apparent casualness; hopes, fears, and paranoia; past successes, and maybe a dash of down-home storytelling – with accompanying gestures – from the way he puts his chips into the pot to the clothes he wears. It’s a web that other players get drawn into and caught up in. He is a master self-dramatist, but – and this is important – he does all this without seeming to. He spins a web. This web might be spun in a hundred different ways: by making a miracle draw-out on a key hand, by relying on other people’s tales of his past prowess, by his imposing stature at the table, by his coolness, wit, or other forms of behavior, by his win record, or even by his quietness and solemnity.”
2. Zen and the Art of Poker
Author: Larry W. Phillips.
Type: General Strategy
Year: 1999
Why you need to read it:
The prequel to the ‘Tao of Poker’ deals out 100 rules for success in the game of poker. Zen and the Art of Poker brings a spiritual warrior mindset to the game and teaches readers how to maintain inner peace in a world where luck can cause a ton of turmoil.
Don’t get scared off. There’s no heavy-hitting mysticism in this read. Just good, solid advice about how to control the only thing you really can at the tables: you.
The mixture of Zen quotes and poker strategy may seem odd at first, but Larry Phillips makes it work. He doesn’t try to mesh the teachings together; he recognizes where there are similarities and differences between the practice of Zen and the art of poker, and he shows the reader how the Zen methodologies can enhance their performance at the tables.
Suffice it to say this is a book that definitely strays outside the norm which makes it a unique gem and one of the best poker books I've ever read.
Here’s a taste of Phillips’ teachings:
'Any high-stakes poker game, especially among experienced players, is as much a ceremony as any Zen ritual.
It is a carefully choreographed give-and-take of power, rhythm, parry, thrust, withdrawal, and retreat. Mastery and virtuosity appear. One of the central assumptions of Zen is that an activity can be raised to the level of perfection. Poker, as with other activities, fits this category.”
3. Excelling at No-Limit Hold'em
Author: Jonathan Little
Type: Hold'em Strategy
Year: 2015
Why you need to read it:
It's the best collaboration since Super System and the only book to cover cash game, tournament and mental game strategy in one place. A lot of secrets and plays that had never been discussed before were brought into the spotlight as 17 world renowned poker players made their first appearance in print together. They definitely brought A+ material to the table.
I soaked up every word of this read and it was the first time since No Limit Hold’em Theory and Practice and The Raiser's Edge that I felt I'd learned something new. It’s a game changer.
This is a book that will not only transform your game but also transform your life in a big way. It promotes fitness, relaxation, reflection, visualization and meditation, and proves their effectiveness as top pros say how important these things are to them. Modern strategy for the modern game!
Here’s a snippet from a section on tilt by Jared Tendler:
“When learning to play better poker it’s important not just to learn how to play certain hands from certain positions. You need to learn sound theories for the game so you can start to think like a poker player. The same is true in the mental game. The following is a theory that is critical for your understanding of what causes tilt and the steps you’ll need to take to solve it.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law describes the relationship between all emotion, including anger, and a player’s performance. Emotion is essential for performance; it’s only when there is too much (or too little) emotion that there is a problem. This is true of both positive emotions and negative emotions. Having too much confidence is a problem because it shuts down your ability to think. Being tired is a problem because you don’t have enough energy to think.”
4. No-Limit Hold’em: Theory and Practice
Authors: David Sklansky and Ed Miller
Type: Hold'em Strategy
Year: 2006
Why you need to read it:
This book taught me the fundamentals of play in the cash game world. Sklansky and Miller were the first to coin names for plays like 'the squeeze play', and the 'gap concept’. This naming of concepts made it much easier for my beginner mind to understand and start implementing them.
The examples in the book also did a great job of proving the concepts and moves in play so that I could picture them easily in my mind. This was only the second book I read in my 12+ years of playing the game and it played a huge part in laying my foundation into solid, proper, strategic play.
In this book, Sklansky and Miller teach you the plays, explain when they can be used best, but leave it up to the reader to decide when to execute on each. This is great ‘choose your own adventure’ style for the poker tables that will have you finding the happy ending 95% of the time.
A look at the wisdom within:
“Don’t telegraph that you have one pair unless you can profitably call big bets. One pair can be a very tricky hand to play in deep stack no limit. If you resolve to fold it every time someone makes a big bet, then you’ll find your opponents bluffing you out of pot after pot. If you plan to go to showdown with it every time, you’ll play lots of big pots against better hands, and you’ll find yourself often getting stacked.
So you have to “play poker” with it, identifying situations when you should fold it to pressure and others when you should call with it. If you welcome a big bet with one pair because you expect that bet to be a bluff, then it’s ok to telegraph your hand by playing in a way that makes it obvious what you hold. Doing so might help to induce a big bluff.”
5. Raiser's Edge
Author: Bertrand Grospellier
Type: Tournament Strategy
Year: 2011
Why you need to read it:
The Raiser's Edge was the conclusion to the Kill Phil, Kill Everyone series and is the most profound transformative book I've read on tournament play. (And also, who doesn’t love a good play on words, right?)
In this book, ElkY (Grospellier) introduces the concept of fear equity, which creates poker's holy trinity between pot equity and fold equity. Finally, he explains how ‘Image’ and ‘Aura’ (or the ‘web’ Phillips described) have a place in poker literature. It adds a whole other level to the game.
ElkY goes on to discuss the different player types in up-and-coming markets, thereby giving readers a good idea of what countries are worth travelling to in order to find the best value.
On the strategic side, everything in the book was exceedingly sound. He wrote about strategic play for each stage of the tournament and each stack size. The book also went in-depth into the concept of the bubble factor, which is one of the most crucial factors for success in tournament poker. Between their use of graphics for bubble factors, power numbers, shove charts and having three extremely talented writers on board, this book is one of the original masterpieces in the tournament poker realm.
Take a look inside the book...
“Bubble factors are highest when the tournament is close to a big jump in prize money. When the jump is fairly small or far in the future, pressure is lower.
MTTs typically have two periods of intense pressure: right before the money bubble and the final-table bubble. Each tournament has a different prize structure, so sometimes the money bubble has more pressure, while sometimes it’s the final table. The tournament pressure isn’t the same for everyone—medium stacks have the highest pressure when they face off against anyone with more chips. Big-stack versus big-stack clashes also involve high bubble factors. High tournament pressure puts a premium on survival, which is a fact that aggressive players can take advantage of.
Any bubble is the perfect opportunity for big stacks to play the bully; any raise from the big stack is frequently followed by folds from the rest of the table. The big-stack’s bubble factor is low against anyone smaller, but the other stacks have high bubble factors, so they have to get out of the way.”
6. Ace on the River
Author: Barry Greenstein
Type: General Strategy
Year: 2005
Why you need to read it:
Barry's book is different than most others as it doesn't so much teach you how to play poker at the tables – it teaches you how to play life in the poker world.
I listened to this book on audio book and I felt that - for this sort of material - it was much more appropriate; text books and theory style books with lots of numbers and graphs being best suited to print.
Barry teaches the reader everything they need to know about the poker world, like how to make the most of it and what to watch out for. He also clears up a lot of common myths.
Barry provides the reader with a behind the scenes look into the industry and sheds light on a lot of things that the casual poker fan would have no idea about (bankrolling, backing, makeup, loan sharking).
For anyone looking to move to Vegas or another big Mecca to become a full-time poker professional, Barry's book is a must read for preparation. It will save the up-and-comer a lot of pain and suffering, and help them avoid losses that may come from being swindled by an experienced con man. All in all, an incredible proactive read for anyone thinking of taking the plunge.
Here’s one of Barry’s early hard-won lessons:
“I was cheated twice that I know of at the Cameo Club - once with marked cards for a period of a couple of months, and the second time by a player named Rick Riolo with a set-up involving cameras.
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It was an inside job, with the manager of the club reading people's cards with infrared cameras and communicating with Rick and another player through speakers in their ears. But Rick's partner, who liked me, said, 'You don't want to play this game.' After a couple of losses, I understood what he was trying to tell me and I quit. It helped that Rick's partner considered me to be a nice person and tipped me off. It also helped that I had been cheated before, so when I was losing and thought I should be winning, I was more alert.”
7. Caro's Book of Tells: The Body Language and Psychology of Poker
Best Limit Poker Books
Author: Mike Caro
Type: Psychology
Year: 2004
Why you need to read it:
To me, this is the bible of poker tells. Caro helps the reader to paint a picture and get inside the mind of the opponent the moment he sits at the table. Mike doesn't start with the body; no, he goes beyond that. He goes so far as to list chip stacking tells so that the player can see the whole picture.
Mike then goes on to focus on every key area of the body: face, hands, torso, arms and eyes - and his information is 100% accurate. What I also enjoyed is that Mike added a 'reliability factor' for each tell to make it clear that some tells are easier to fake than others.
Mike also reminds the reader that it's important to look for actors and to take a complete picture - a mental snapshot of your opponent - to get a full feel for what kind of person and player they are rather than basing your decision on one single tell, which may only have 55% reliability.
Take a peek inside the book:
“While the majority of tells occur during the competition for a poker pot, there is some valuable information that can be learned about our opponents when they're not involved in a poker hand. Poker tests our perception. It also tests our logic and our competitive instincts. In a sense it's a safe and sane form of warfare. Poker war is not only the competition for each pot, hand after hand. Poker war is bigger than just hand-to-hand combat, because there are important things happening between hands — things you should be observing.”
8. The Mathematics of Poker
Authors: Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman.
Type: General Strategy
Year: 2009
Why you need to read it:
The Mathematics of Poker taught me the theory and practice of ‘Game Theory Optimal Play’. While I don't have an advanced enough mathematical mind to understand all their equations, the introductions and summaries of each chapter were enough to get the point across. This said, if you’re an extreme math person, this is probably the most lucrative read you’ll get your hands on.
Chen and Ankenman did an extraordinarily good job of teaching incorruptible play, and how one should approach the game of poker from a purely theoretical standpoint by understanding the complexity and depth of the game.
They also offered great value in their appendices with an introduction to why all chips are not created equal in tournaments, and how one may use the Kelly Criterion for bankroll management. This is an intimidating read, but if someone can get just 80% out of this masterpiece, that's sufficient – no math background required. Sweet.
9. Harrington on Hold’em
Authors: Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
Type: Tournament Strategy
Year: 2004
Why you need to read it:
This is the second book I ever read and the most defining text on tournament play until The Raiser's Edge and Jonathan Little's Secrets were released. Harrington on Modern Poker Tournaments introduced the zone concept - green, yellow, orange and red - and how to play different stack sizes based on how many big blinds we have or what our ‘M’ is. It’s great for players of all levels, being both accessible to the novice and enlightening to the grinders.
This was also the first book to touch on the concept of ICM and had countless examples to demonstrate and clarify the concept. Harrington made great strides to show how tournament strategy is different than cash game strategy, and he proved first hand its effectiveness as he final tabled the WSOP Main Event two years in a row.
Harrington's trilogy on tournament strategy is a staple of any poker library, and the concepts are still very relevant today (just requiring some slight adjustments to specifics as general raise size and defense strategies). The theory is sound, solid and rooted in mathematics, and when players learn to adjust their strategies to the different 'zones' they will find themselves in, their game changes for the better.
The other concept Harrington coined in this series was that of 'inflection points', which is a crucial moment in the tournament where you or your opponents are either going to gain or lose a lot of flexibility. He outlines when it's time to take big risks and when it's time to play it safe. This concept of being able to change gears is crucial and one that was talked about for a long time by poker announcers but rarely put in print. Props to Dan for putting pen to paper on that one!
See what Harrington has to say about switching up your style:
“No matter what style you like, you can't stick exclusively to that style. Your opponents are always observing you, trying to figure out what you're doing. Once they have you pegged, you might as well be playing with your cards face-up. They'll know what you're doing and what your bets mean, and from that point you’ll be winning small pots and losing big ones.
Once you begin modulating your style, however, you'll discover one of the amusing paradoxes of poker: You'll make the easiest money when you're playing in a style opposite to your natural one. The conservative player will have great success stealing pots and bluffing, because players will give him credit for having real hands. The super-aggressive player will find that his great hands are getting called, because no one knows that he's stopped playing trash.
When should you switch? There's no clear-cut answer to this question. It just depends on how quickly players react to your natural style. If you're playing solid hands, and people keep calling you down, there's no need to switch. The same holds if you're stealing pots and players won't fight you. Keep playing your natural style until you get a sense some number of the players have picked up a line on you. Then switch.”
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10. The Yoga of Poker
Author: Andrew Lichtenberger
Type: Lifestyle
Year: 2015
Why you need it:
Want to master your mind and transcend the grind? Then buy this book. OK, Chewy's (Lichtenberger’s) book isn't for everyone, but for those who have moved beyond money and are on a path in search of happiness, this is a guide book that can help get you there. His writing style is a bit outside the box and I feel the book could have been structured a bit better, but for his first write, the message is on-point and the personal experience is real - and that's enough to seal the deal in my opinion.
Chewy doesn't speak often, but when he does his words are full of wisdom. It is a true blessing to have a book on the market by the great Andrew 'luckychewy' Lichtenberger.
Honourable Mention!
Mental Game of Poker 1 is also a great read. Author Jared Tendler goes into the different causes and effect of tilt and basically shows the reader that other people have this issue too, and no one is alone in their battle with the beast. You got a feel for his message in the quote I shared earlier from Excelling at No-Limit Hold’em. This was an indescribably comforting message to receive when I was in the midst of the roughest year of my career in 2013. His words fell on me like lifelines, and as soon as I finished that book my outlook (and game) improved.
If you really want to perform your best at the table – and at life – then pick up these books. Remember: your education is an investment in your game, and an investment that is guaranteed to pay off, big time.
Best Poker Book Ever
Enough about my favorites! Hit up the comments and tell me about some of your favourite poker books and why you dig 'em.
Photo Credit: Abhi Sharma Flickr