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amulet
11-23-2004, 09:14 PM
i am surprised at the lack of mention of many of the best poker books at this site. especially since most of the best books are published by two plus two. the book that seems to get the most attention here is "small stakes hold 'em." it is a great book. however, from reading the posts i am noticing that many people seem to feel reading this one book is enough. additionally they recommend it to virtual beginners. this is not a beginners book. therefore, i have taken the liberty of discussing several books that helped my game. i believe anyone serious about their game should read as many books as possible.

SMALL STAKES HOLD 'EM by Ed Miller, David Sklansky & Mason Malmuth.
A great book on small stakes Hold 'em. Not for the beginner. It incorporates a lot of the principles of the two below books ('Hold 'em for Advanced Players" and "Theory of Poker"). A must read for all players.

HOLD'EM POKER FOR ADVANCED PLAYERS by David Sklansky & Mason Malmuth
Considered the most important advanced work on the game today. Full of strategic concepts. Another must read for all players. However, it is not simple to a new player, and might take time to digest much of what is written. As most here know David Sklansky is considered the foremost poker author in the world. You will learn an incredible amount from this book.

THEORY OF POKER by David Sklansky
This is the best poker book I have ever read. Poker concepts that all serious players must know. A great book. Somewhat complex the first time you read it.

TOURNAMENT POKER FOR ADVANCED PLAYERS by David Sklansky
This work is vital for anyone playing tournaments.

For the beginner who knows the game somewhat, but is not yet ready for SMALL STAKES HOLD 'EM, I suggest:
WINNING LOW LIMIT HOLD `EM 2nd Edition by Lee Jones
A good book for the player who knows a little and now wants to learn strategy. Very straight forward, very clear. The book is not always correct. It also makes things too simple, and does not advocate aggressive play. However, there is currently a gap in the poker literature, no complete beginners book exists. Therefore, I think this is a must for all new players.

MIDDLE LIMIT HOLDEM by Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier
A terrific book filled with problems and answers. I see many posts at this site that if said poster had read this book they would not be asking the question.

Other books I loved and highly recommend for anyone serious about the game are:

INSIDE THE POKER MIND by John Feeney
A wonderful book that will help all players improve their game and make more money. It helps you find the tools to think on a higher level as you play.

POKER ESSAY'S Volume I, II, & III
I find as my poker improves I get more and more out of these terrific books.

Other Books I found very helpful are:

GETTING THE BEST OF IT by David Sklansky
GAMBLING THEORY AND OTHER TOPICS by Mason Malmuth
SKLANSKY ON POKER by David Sklansky
POKER GAMING AND LIFE by David Sklansky

I also found the dvd of CARO'S BOOK OF TELLS helpful. However it is somewhat slow and painful to sit through.

I want to reiterate a point that I have made in other posts. I reread all these books often. I find the more I understand about the game, the more I get out of each book

omahaChamp
11-24-2004, 12:28 AM
Tournament Poker by Sklansky is horribble. I would like to know what his tourney experience is post 1980s. Its a lot of mathematical theory that in the main does not work practically.
I would advise you to buy Tournament Poker by Mcevoy (Altough that has problems as well, lot of repetition)
Theory of Poker by Sklansky, thats a great book that has indirect Tourney appplication

Mason Malmuth
11-24-2004, 12:48 AM
Hi amulet:

For the beginner, we're planning to release Getting Started in Hold 'em by Ed Miller in February, 2005. (The title will probably be changed.)

best wishes,
Mason

Stork
11-24-2004, 12:51 AM
Mason, will Getting Started in Hold 'em have any value to someone who's already read Small Stakes Holdem, Theory of Poker, and the likes?

Leavenfish
11-24-2004, 12:53 AM
I VERY much agree about Mason's Poker Essay's Vol I and III. Those are too little talked about. When you get right down to it, they are probably my two favorite books on poker. Really nice. Any chance a Poker Essay's Vol IV will be coming out in the future?

---Leavenfish

Talk2BigSteve
11-24-2004, 12:53 AM
[ QUOTE ]
For the beginner, we're planning to release Getting Started in Hold 'em by Ed Miller in February, 2005. (The title will probably be changed.)

best wishes,
Mason

[/ QUOTE ]

Mr. Malmuth,

Will this then be considered the "entry" book to SSHE or will this replace the updated Hold 'em Poker by David Sklansky???

Living, Learning, and Laughing.
Big Steve

Mason Malmuth
11-24-2004, 01:16 AM
Hi Fish:

No. Things can always change down the road, but right now there are no plans to do a Poker Essays, Volume IV.

Best wishes,
Mason

amulet
11-24-2004, 01:25 AM
I completely disagree. Sklansky's TOURNAMENT POKER is terrific. For most player just learning about the "gap concept" alone makes the book worthwhile. And while math is part of poker, this book is not too manth heavy. As for McEvoy's books in general I do not recommend them.

froggy527
11-24-2004, 02:21 AM
[ QUOTE ]
Tournament Poker by Sklansky is horribble

[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I completely disagree. Sklansky's TOURNAMENT POKER is terrific

[/ QUOTE ]
I agree with you amulet,this guys main agenda here is to
trash all of the 2+2 authors,and to promote "Hilgers"
book(which I have not read so I won't comment On).
If you look at his past posts he seems to be quite
enamored with his poker knowledge. And he likes to go for the"If you can't dazzle em with Brilliance then Baffle em
with BS)approach!
Or maybe it's just me! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

johnnybeef
11-24-2004, 02:53 AM
ssh is an instant classic. up until it was published all of the most accurate literature was based on middle limit games as before the internet, low limit games did not turn enough of a profit for any player to take seriously. to add to this, i think there are two reasons that make ssh an undeniable classic. 1. it gives people that do not have a serious bankroll but yet have the ability to apply the concepts from hepfap and ciaffones middle limit book the ability to build up a bankroll worthy of a middle limit game (like myself). 2. it teaches intellegent people who would enjoy learning the game (but do not have any clue) a way to work their way up from the beginning towards the middle and higher limit games. unlike almost every poster at this sight, i believe that this is a book that will benefit any player that is not already beating middle limit games. i do believe that mr. sklansky touches both of these issues in the first part of the book and i couldn't agree with him more.

good luck,
johnny