You can gain a ton of knowledge by reading everything you can about the game of Poker. Even if the information is not very good, or you don’t agree with what you are reading, you will still be thinking about and analyzing the game. Thinking and learning about the game when you are away from the table is a GIANT step in improving your play. Some people are great players and when asked, say they have never read a Poker Book. While this is very possible, 90% of the players out there could improve their play by reading about the game of Poker. The books (the good ones, at least) are written by accomplished, winning players. Certain books are better for certain things obviously also.

If you play Poker tournaments, the Harrington series is pure GOLD. If you read these books correctly I guarantee your tournament game will greatly improve. And you will see it in your bankroll.

I have read a bunch of Sklansky and though his information is good, and he backs it up with Math, it’s just not a very pleasant read. He is very dry in his writing style. I like when I feel like the author is talking to me and explaining the concepts, not when it feels like I am reading a textbook. His knowledge of Poker theory and Poker strategy is very solid. There was a reason Doyle picked him to write a chapter in Super/System.

Phil Gordon has the best writing style along with Doyle Brunson in my opinion. If you only read the NL section of Super/System and Phil Gordon’s books, you will have an edge on most of the competition at the lower levels.

Of course a book can’t teach you situations or “feel” the only thing that can teach that is experience. Too many people think they are experts because they have read all the books, but they end up in the RED at the end of the month or year. You have to put the concepts in the books to work at the table and Practice Poker. The aim of Poker literature is to keep you from making the same mistakes most players make while keeping your losses to a minimum and your wins as Big as possible.

The Poker Books that were mentioned here and more are available in our Recommended Reading section. Good Luck at the Tables.

Other Great Gambling Sites:

blackjack

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 at 5:29 pm and is filed under Poker Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.