Best book

Dodgersc1

hey guys iam new to this forum and been playing poker for about 1 year now but in the past 5 months ive decicded to play for money. ive had a bit of sucess with this but other times i get beat. this is maybe due to not reading the hand or the players correctly..  i usually play tournys but was wondering wat other books out thhere is bes for this.. my friend gave me doyle brunson super system.  but i would like another book to horm my skills atr tourmament play.. any thoughts

Lambert180

I would say the best book I've ever read about tournament play is definitely 'Winning Poker Tournaments: One Hand at a Time'.

It comes in 2 volumes, the first one is everything up to and including the bubble. The second volume is about once the bubble's burst, late stages, FT bubbles, playing the FT etc. Really great books and can be bought quite cheap, especially compared to the crazy prices of some poker books.

Another good one is Harrington on Hold 'em, but I found it a bit tough going, and some of it is a bit out-dated nowadays.

Dodgersc1

cheers guys for the help..idonkcallu where about did u wattch these videos ... utbue or sommit. or a poker site that u have to pay for ?

Lambert180

If you want videos then yeah Youtube is good. Otherwise there are various sites that will give you free trials or just some videos on the site are free.

Check out:

HUSnG.com    (if they float your boat)
Deucescracked.com

EDIT: Apologies Mods if I'm not allowed to post them websites. If so, just delete them. If you didn't get a chance to see the links original poster, then just PM me and I'll send them to you.

grantorino

Harrington on holden excellent for beginners. Great explanations of how to think about hands, whatever format of nlhe you want to play. Not sure it's that outdated either for playing low stakes MTTs, why do you think that lambert?

Lambert180

In Response to Re: Best book:

Harrington on holden excellent for beginners. Great explanations of how to think about hands, whatever format of nlhe you want to play. Not sure it's that outdated either for playing low stakes MTTs, why do you think that lambert?
Posted by grantorino

Well I read it for the first time very recently and I was just really shocked by some of the recommendations he makes in terms of what to do with opening ranges. I might be wrong, I'm sure he's a better player than I am lol but he sets out kind of set things you should do with certain hands in certain positions. This is just a made up example as I can't remember it word for word but this is the general idea... it might say 'Raise 3-4x with JJ+ AQ+ in MP, but if you got SCs 89+, 88-TT KJ+ then only make it 2-3x in MP, and if you got small PPs etc then limp in MP.

As I say this is a rough generalisation from what I can remember, but he advocates different openings with different holdings in the same position which surely must become very exploitable if people notice that you only ever limp when you have small PPs etc.

I still thought ti was a good book, because generally it was good in terms of thinking about opponents ranges through the streets post-flop, I was just a bit shocked by what I mentioned above.

yoyo

every hand played by gus hansen is a great tourny read.

as already pointed out books probably aren't the best medium these days, hand analysis threads on forums & a training site subscription is probably a better investment, both financially & time-wise...many offer a free 7 day trial so you can test the water.

good luck

jamwa

Hi,

The Harrington tournament series, I found to be excellent. Remember there are three volumes to this series. Volume I is BASIC STRATEGY, Volume II is ENDGAME, and Volume III is the WORKBOOK.

First of all, let me say something about the general format. Each chapter (which may have a series of sub-chapters) explains the new topic and provides real-life examples to back up the ideas. At the end of each chapter, there is a 'problems' section. Each problem starts with the scenario's background information and table illustration. You are then taken through the problem step by step as Harrington asks you what you should do and why, at each play. Immediately after he says what he would do and why. It's a great format that really resonates with my learning style.

Volume I (the blue one) does suggest very tight and mechanical plays, but they provide a fantastic foundation and a great starting point for any player. I think if you were to follow just these basics, you could be successful at low stakes tournaments. However, you are relying on 'getting good card' a lot more than others. It will work in the long run at this level though.

Volume II (the red one) is where he starts to show how a tight-aggressive player may want to open up. Chapters include 'Making Moves', a really interesting part called 'Inflection Points' and eventually 'Heads-Up' play. In my opinion, this is where it starts to get really interesting. Familiar dynamics of a poker table are described wonderfully in this book. He challenges the reader the whole way through, trying to extract a 'thinking poker' from them.

Volume III (the grey one) is where everything is brought together in a huge problems book. Just as in the problems at the end of each chapter in the Volumes I and II, Harrington asks what you would do, only this time you are rewarded 'points' depending on the quality of your play. You then total them up at the end and he tells you where he thinks you are as a poker player.*

It takes the problems out of real encounters. One moment you're playing as super-aggressive Phil Ivey, the next you're playing as Action Dan (Harrington) himself. This real life aspect to it forces you to really get stuck in.

Some may say these books are 'outdated' or 'for beginners'. I don't know why these books have got this reputation. They are brilliant books that just advocate playing the poker which gives you the easiest decisions.

These are the books to help you start thinking like a poker player. So what are you waiting for? :P

*I got 419/591 which fell into the bracket 'Good solid player, should show a solid profit in big tournaments.'

PS I found the skills I learnt in this book much easier to produce in LIVE PLAY. I'm still struggling with the mental approach to online, but I will get there.

BorinLoner

I think any losing player can benefit from reading Harrington on Hold'em. If you haven't read the volumes 1 and 2 I think you're starting off from a lower base than someone that has. I actually think there are some decent, break-even players who have holes in their games that could be fixed by reading these books.

I understand what people say about them not offering as much or as good information as some of the training videos but I think alot of the information on those videos is based upon principles that people only understand because of books such as Harrington. The most important thing to bear in mind when reading the books is that they will only give you the fundamentals of playing a straightforward ABC style. That's exactly what a new player needs though, as even the top players will play around 8/10 hands in an ABC style. Most poker hands play themselves but only if you know the basics.

Read Harrington on Hold'em, that's my advice. EBAY is your friend for cheap copies.

Dodgersc1

Thanks guys for all ur advice much appreciated thank you

foldUfairy

Jonathan Littles books are decent and their recent aswell.

Secrets of professional tournament poker vol 1 & 2.

grantorino

Every hand revealed great read, prob not best as a guide for how to play for beginner IMHO

Lambert, ages since I read hoh, just asked cos I think Internet kids like to post books outdated forums teach you how to 

Play pokerz. Forums prob better, but not the same as books, and good poker books still useful imo,esp for beginners. Hoh excellent for teaching how to think about hands, even if some of stuff in it is out ranges is stoopid or just bad