I know Tikay says "best way to learn poker is to play it" but i am losing for to much. Can anyone recommend any books ior anything to help me turn my game?
Hey all I know Tikay says "best way to learn poker is to play it" but i am losing for to much. Can anyone recommend any books ior anything to help me turn my game? Thanks GMD Posted by gmd1701
for basic Poker theory, cash and tournaments you cant go wrong with
Slansky Theory of Poker
Harrington on Holdem both the tournament and cash versions.
Yes there's plenty of free stuff but do get a couple of books imo. They provide a good basis and give different viewpoints. I've got a lot tbh but it doesn't guarantee success. If you're mathematically minded then kill everyone is good imo. Winning T's one hand at a time are good for full ring play.(Green one has 6 max in too). Phil Gordons stuff is a really good read. His green one is lovely but some might say the game has moved on now(thats why he brought out GOLD). Harrington was my first book and provides a great foundation but mayl need an 'update' in your play as players seem to think its slightly outdated. Hope this helps m8......
PS It does help to play but having that base is comforting. BTW, it will help to have a look over at least 5 'dodgy' hands per tournament you play so keep a record.
PPS 'Mental side of poker' will help you to deal with the tilt side of bad beats and is well rec.
Hi buddy , I can help you here as I'm a bit of a poker bookworm.
First off, I'd dispense with Vicky Corens book. not a bad read, but not completely poker centric.
Gus Hansen's Every hand revealed is good because it goes through every hand he played in the Aussie Millions & he details who was playing against him & details his thoughts in respect of his own position, cards & table image. ( apparently he used a dictaphone between hands to record his views on the hand & why he played like he did. -it's also a good light fun read.
Slanksy's 'theory' is good, but quite heavy going, I only ever dipped in & out of it. As is Harrington on Hold 'em Vol II (haven't read Vol I) very math based & statistical ( which is cool in it's on way, just a very dry read).
Elky's Raiser's edge is a good read, albeit a reworking of another book (Kill everyone I think) - this one was only published last year I think, I'm fairly sure I got it pretty soon after it was released. As I recall it was quite valuable in me loosening up my play and starting to get aggressive (or trying to!)
But my favourite by far is 'Killer Poker online 2' by Jon Vorhaus (it's next to me on the sofa right now actually!). It's a very simple book, aimed at the amateur to intermediate player, & it is focused squarely on online play so looks at things like disconns, timer banks and things like context density (player patterns are easier to spot online due to hand frequency) it also talks about all the tells that you could possibly acquire (or give away) when playing online.
There's even a cool chapter on a fictional SnG, where he describes the notes you might have on players & then proceeds to play(describe) each hand in the SnG as if the notes were actual reads. It might sound silly, but it does genuinely make you think about some of the calls / folds you've made in the past.
I've also just ordered two more books today:
'52 Great Poker Tips: At Home, at Tournament and Online' by Lou Krieger & 'Texas Hold'em Poker: Win Online' by Paul Mendelson
Can't comment on those though! - check out Amazon, you can get 2 or 3 of the books I've mentioned for lesss than £30 & if you put the time in to read them, I think you'll notice improvement. I have for sure!
Comments
Yes there's plenty of free stuff but do get a couple of books imo. They provide a good basis and give different viewpoints. I've got a lot tbh but it doesn't guarantee success.
If you're mathematically minded then kill everyone is good imo. Winning T's one hand at a time are good for full ring play.(Green one has 6 max in too). Phil Gordons stuff is a really good read. His green one is lovely but some might say the game has moved on now(thats why he brought out GOLD).
Harrington was my first book and provides a great foundation but mayl need an 'update' in your play as players seem to think its slightly outdated.
Hope this helps m8......
PS It does help to play but having that base is comforting. BTW, it will help to have a look over at least 5 'dodgy' hands per tournament you play so keep a record.
PPS 'Mental side of poker' will help you to deal with the tilt side of bad beats and is well rec.
First off, I'd dispense with Vicky Corens book. not a bad read, but not completely poker centric.
Gus Hansen's Every hand revealed is good because it goes through every hand he played in the Aussie Millions & he details who was playing against him & details his thoughts in respect of his own position, cards & table image. ( apparently he used a dictaphone between hands to record his views on the hand & why he played like he did.
-it's also a good light fun read.
Slanksy's 'theory' is good, but quite heavy going, I only ever dipped in & out of it.
As is Harrington on Hold 'em Vol II (haven't read Vol I) very math based & statistical ( which is cool in it's on way, just a very dry read).
Elky's Raiser's edge is a good read, albeit a reworking of another book (Kill everyone I think) - this one was only published last year I think, I'm fairly sure I got it pretty soon after it was released.
As I recall it was quite valuable in me loosening up my play and starting to get aggressive (or trying to!)
But my favourite by far is 'Killer Poker online 2' by Jon Vorhaus (it's next to me on the sofa right now actually!).
It's a very simple book, aimed at the amateur to intermediate player, & it is focused squarely on online play so looks at things like disconns, timer banks and things like context density (player patterns are easier to spot online due to hand frequency) it also talks about all the tells that you could possibly acquire (or give away) when playing online.
There's even a cool chapter on a fictional SnG, where he describes the notes you might have on players & then proceeds to play(describe) each hand in the SnG as if the notes were actual reads. It might sound silly, but it does genuinely make you think about some of the calls / folds you've made in the past.
I've also just ordered two more books today:
'52 Great Poker Tips: At Home, at Tournament and Online' by Lou Krieger
&
'Texas Hold'em Poker: Win Online' by Paul Mendelson
Can't comment on those though! - check out Amazon, you can get 2 or 3 of the books I've mentioned for lesss than £30 & if you put the time in to read them, I think you'll notice improvement. I have for sure!
Check out 'the mental game of poker', a really good read in regards to to improving your mindset which can be half the battle in poker.