Advice for a poker novice

Hello all, I am fairly new to the world of poker, having only played in some house games and in low-limit casino games. My knowledge of proper play is fairly limited, and my success has been mostly due to my ability to read other players. I tend to win a good deal, but at times suffer large losses due to over-aggressive plays.


I am interested in learning more about the games of Seven-card Stud and Texas Hold'em, and additionally would like to learn about other things, such as how to read/influence other players (psychological aspects of the game), proper plays (should I call, check, fold, raise?), money management (win rates, standard deviation, ROR, bankroll requirements), poker terminology, and hand probabilities. I have read reviews of some of the books available, and the following seem like excellent choices:


1) Theory of Poker (Sklansky)

2) Hold'em Poker (Sklansky)

3) Seven-card Stud for Advanced Players (Sklansky, Zee, Malmuth)


Are the Hold'em and Stud books I mention the best available? If I read "Theory of Poker", will I be prepared to read the other two books? In what order should I read the books? Are there any other books that you can reccommend?


I plan on playing low-limit games initially (1-5 stud and 2-4 or 3-6 hold'em), and will move on to higher limit games as my skills increase. I have studied blackjack in the past, having read most of the quality books available on the subject(included Griffin's "Theory of Blackjack"), so I am not phased by the potential difficulty of learning poker. I would like to get the best books available, then decide on my own what my potential is. I do not want to limit myself to books that are simplistic and do not provide all information necessary to become a solid poker player.


Any information that is provided will be greatly appreciated.


-- Sincerely, Homer J.

From your post, I think you might like/benefit from Theory of Poker next.


Be advised there are two hold 'em books with similar titles. If you read TOP should probably go to the Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players by Sklansky/Malmuth. It and their stud book are excellent.

You asked these same questions a few months ago Homer. Nothing's changed since then !

Unfortunately, I was not able to get back to the site for a while. By the time I was able to return, my post and the subsequent answers were no longer being shown. Sorry to have wasted four seconds of your life.


-- Take care, Homer J.

B-man, your answer is not appreciated in the least. Obviously, I am asking the same question again because I missed the answers the last time around. Don't you think I already know that I asked the same question before? And even if I hadn't remembered posting on this subject previously, it is obvious that I am asking this question because I do not have an answer, and therefore I am trying to ellicit one by asking. If I had an answer, I would not be asking the question. What am I supposed to do with your response? Am I supposed to say, "Thanks B-man, I forgot that I asked the same question before! I also forgot that I read the answers and bought the books! Where is my head?" I would prefer no response to the sarcastic one you posted. You are an ass.


-- Homer J.

You might want to go into the archives and look for your previous post and the answers you got then. It should still be there. Click on "Archives" below "Other Topics".


Otherwise, Theory of Poker is very good, and HPFAP (Hold 'Em Poker for Advanced Players) is considered the best hold 'em book out there, even if I personally can not say that I really like the book as a book. It has many flaws in my opinion. But it and its authors can be trusted, and it's currently a must read and have. Hold 'Em Poker by Sklansky explains some things not explained in HPFAP. Maybe not a first must have though. A lot of same stuff as in HPFAP and ToP, but there are some differences that are interesting to note, and, as stated, some things that are not in the other two books.


One book that you might want to keep an eye out for is the new book by Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier: Middle Limit Hold 'Em Poker. It should be out any day now, and I have high hopes that it will be a good book. But since I haven't read it yet, obviously, I cannot say for certain that it is good. If you want to be certain, wait for reviews.


Another book from a highly regarded player and author is Roy Cooke's book containing his first five years worth of Card Player columns. His columns are very valuable to get an understanding of how to think poker. At least they have been for me. I just have to implement it too... I do not know if this book is still available, though. You might have to wait for a new edition.


There's also a bunch of books that I myself still haven't read that are to my knowledge highly regarded, like Mason's Poker Essays books and Ciaffone's books. Keep looking around for comments views and reviews.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. I clicked on "Index", and searched for messages posted by me in the last 6 months. It could not seem to find any (other than those I posted in the past few days). I also checked in the "Archives" section, but the site only seems to be archived through Aug, 2001. Thanks again for the help.


-- Homer J.

Why couldn't you check out the answers ? You have no problem posting on Wong's board. Don't waste my time.

The purpose of these forums is to exchange good quality information and have a little fun. We would appreciate it if the insults would stop.


Thanks,

Mason

Oops... Sorry for the bad advice, Homer. I haven't been to the archives in quite a while. I did not know that there was a gap. Or rather, the site has been rearranged.


First of all - the archives that there are links to at the top of all the different forums seem to be empty. Secondly, the Search links at the top of all the different forums only searches in the specific forum that you are in at the moment. So if you click the search link at the top of the Books/Software forum index page, you are only searching for messages posted in the Books/Software forum. I looked around and saw that you had posted in the Beginners Questions forum on November 28. So go to the Beginners Questions forum index page and click search there. Search among all the messages for messages posted by you. The search is case-insensitive, but in the "Messages posted by:" field the white spaces are included in the (single) search string, so "simpson" or "homer j." or even "eR j. SiMP" should work, but NOT "Homer Simpson" or "homer j simpson" (the dot is missing...). When you find your post, click on it to open it for reading, and all the replies will appear.


Hope this helps.

...for taking the time to direct me, Clueless. I am going to look at the archives now. I did not realize that when performing a search, it only looks in the archives of the section in which you are searching. I assumed that it searched the entire site. Thanks again.


--Homer J.

Mason, I am in complete agreement with you. I'm sorry that I jumped at the bait of the antagonizer. I had reached my breaking point, after having received discourteous posts within this and other forums. That does not excuse my post in response, however. In the future I will ignore such posts.


--Homer J.

I think you are on the right track. I would focus on a single game at this point though. Pick whichever game (stud or hold 'em) is more common in your area (which one typically has the most number of games going--so you can pick the juiciest one) and stick with it for at least a few months before adding a second game to your arsenal. I think this way you can focus a little more and the learning process will be a bit easier.


As far as books go. After Sklansky's original Hold 'em book read HPFAP. This can then be followed by:


"Inside the Poker Mind" -- John Feeny

"Improve your Poker" -- Bob Ciaffone

"Real Poker: The Cooke Collection" -- Roy Cooke

" Poker Essays: 1,2,3"


Regards and good studying,


Paul Talbot