Most helpful books?

i am currently working on improving the theoretical part of my game. apart from reading threads in this forum i also have watched a lot of youtube videos from Poker Bank, that has taught quite a lot of the basics of advanced strategy. i even subscribed to deucescracked for the free trial week (planning to cancel it before it expires of course). what i also wanted to find though is some good and helpful poker books that will provide me with the right tools to advance my game. i was in a bookstore and i found the "theory of poker" by david sklansky and had heard good things about it so i started reading it (didnt buy it of course... ) To my disappointment i realised this book was full of complete and utter BS. I have also read various online poker books and all of them had absolutely no valuable information. it is mostly people who have made an image in the poker world trying to capitalize on that by mainly giving motivational speeches. and calling everyone (else but their audience) a fish. apart from that the rest is really just general tips like "playing the player not the cards" "dont overvalue premium hands" "if i get my money in with the best of it i am winning in the long run" "we shouldnt care that much about variance and short term winning" etc etc... nothing about the real concepts of poker strategy. they touch poker odds as a subject but i believe theres just so many concepts to learn that these books arent covering. especially some books from old school players like negreanu or the "supersystem" by brunson are terrible. i play NL2 at the moment so no matter how much my game is going tobe improved by a poker book it isnt going to be good investment unless i move up in limits (which means a big increase of my bankroll to support it) i am mainly looking to get my hands on free poker books that have valuable information in them. i heard good stuff about the "Mathematics of Poker" by Bill Chen and "Kill Everyone" which is a book for tournament poker though.. if i spend any $$ on poker books it will be more of an investment for the knowledge rather than for making money out of it, but i hate putting my money in bad. so if you have any advice or recommendations of poker books that have what i am looking for i would highly appreciate it. if they are also free online you have my appreciation^2...

"Polished poker" is a good variant. It's interesting and useful. And it's free to load but has a paid workbook with tasks and questions.

There are a bunch but it really depends on how you want to play and what you want to play. Skylanskys book was a little too basic for me, but its good for beginners. If you want to play live maybe pick up a book of tells or even books about psychology and micro-expressions.

Let there be Range is a great book, especially for online cash games, problem is its very expensive...however I have a digital copy I may be persuaded to dub if the offer was right. hit me up in a message and we can talk. This book will increase your profit margins significantly.

btw Math of Poker by Chen is amazing, but a tough read, you really need to understand somewhat complex math

There are a few good Omaha books too. Farha's is tuff, he is crazy, I really enjoyed The Big Play Strategy by Hwang and use most of his teachings in my play

"Polished Poker " is very good indeed .

thanks all... i found a way to get digital copies of the Math of poker and kill everyone. i will even get that "let there be range" pretty easy and free. i already have polished poker and yeah it seems decent as well. if anyone has more to propose i am open

"i was in a bookstore and i found the "theory of poker" by david sklansky and had heard good things about it so i started reading it (didnt buy it of course... ) To my disappointment i realised this book was full of complete and utter BS".

With an attitude like this, I can't help you.

"...books from old school players like negreanu or the "supersystem" by brunson are terrible".

That's like saying that Institutiones Calculi Differentialis is "terrible" because Leonard Euler is "old school". Calculus hasn't changed one little bit since then, and every other calculus text is a derivative (pun intended) work. Same with NLHE: the game hasn't changed since Brunson wrote Super System, and the same principles apply. Ed Miller's book, Small Stakes No Limit Hold 'Em and AnHalt's Polished Poker say essentially the same things as what Brunson wrote in Super System. The only difference is that Brunson didn't use the latest buzz words: "range", "semibluff", "equity", but he sure did describe the underlying concepts.

"i play NL2 at the moment so no matter how much my game is going tobe improved by a poker book it isnt going to be good investment unless i move up in limits (which means a big increase of my bankroll to support it)"

Good luck with that, because you'll be playing it forever. Be sure to send in those weekly deposits.

"i am mainly looking to get my hands on free poker books that have valuable information in them".

No you're not. You're looking for Poker "grimoire" with magic spells that will turn you into Durrrrr over night. And you don't even want to pay for it!

Harrington 's modern tourney poker.

For me, the most helpful books are Phil Gordons Little Green Book and Little Blue Book. At the time when I first read them, they helped improve my game a lot. I still go back and re read them every now and then.

Dorugremon said:

"i was in a bookstore and i found the "theory of poker" by david sklansky and had heard good things about it so i started reading it (didnt buy it of course... ) To my disappointment i realised this book was full of complete and utter BS".

With an attitude like this, I can't help you.

"...books from old school players like negreanu or the "supersystem" by brunson are terrible".

That's like saying that Institutiones Calculi Differentialis is "terrible" because Leonard Euler is "old school". Calculus hasn't changed one little bit since then, and every other calculus text is a derivative (pun intended) work. Same with NLHE: the game hasn't changed since Brunson wrote Super System, and the same principles apply. Ed Miller's book, Small Stakes No Limit Hold 'Em and AnHalt's Polished Poker say essentially the same things as what Brunson wrote in Super System. The only difference is that Brunson didn't use the latest buzz words: "range", "semibluff", "equity", but he sure did describe the underlying concepts.

"i play NL2 at the moment so no matter how much my game is going tobe improved by a poker book it isnt going to be good investment unless i move up in limits (which means a big increase of my bankroll to support it)"

Good luck with that, because you'll be playing it forever. Be sure to send in those weekly deposits.

"i am mainly looking to get my hands on free poker books that have valuable information in them".

No you're not. You're looking for Poker "grimoire" with magic spells that will turn you into Durrrrr over night. And you don't even want to pay for it!

Click to expand...

You didnt get to say whether or not you have actually read the books you are supporting but i will take it as granted that you have (even though i doubt it) the thing is that everyone agrees that books like supersystem are outdated and old school poker doesnt have to give that much to the new age math-oriented style of playing. The little time i spent reading old-school stuff i only saw some general concepts and nothing that can really be applied in real situations. Writers talking all the time about "importance of hand reading" without teaching you concepts upon that. Tegarding your other comments that i "want to find a magic spell to make me durrr overnight":

1) your comment is idiotic since i never implied or said i want something that improves my game fast, so your "overnight" comment is out. Never even asked about any easy methods. On the contrary i insisted on trying my best and working my ass to improve. No "magic spell" needed for that imo.

2) i never said i want to become "durrr" or any poker pro for that matter. The fact that i criticize poker pros doesnt mean i believe i play ir know better than them, but it means i have the common sense to highlight their faults. Tou dont need to be better than someone to be able to indentify their weakness. Its like an author of a book that received a negative critic answering to the person who made the critic "write a better book if you can stupid! Lol" its plain childish and the kind of thing you expect in the youtube comment section rather than from a thinking person who is sane and mature enough to post their beliefs. I dont want to be poker pro. I see poker as a hobby. Even if i had the chance to go pro i wouldnt. I dont like being a "poker player" as i dont like to be a basketbsll player even if it means more money and fame. I am studying medicine and thats what i want to do in my life. I want to be useful to the society and playing a game for a living is not me.

3)"you dont want to pay for it" of course i dont want to waste my money if there is a free alternative. This is part of poker as well. Making the best +EV decisions. And buying sth u can find for free elsewhere is definetely -EV. having found a source to get those books online for free i czn be pretty sure about it...

4)lastly as for my "attitude" i get to express it in a casual way as this is a casual forum. If you disagree with me fine. At least have the common sense to provide arguments on your points rather than repeating stupid phrases you saw on youtube comments between udiots who fight for whatever reason. And of course if you want to talk about attitude be sure to have one..

Many excellent books - all depends on the games that you play. For example: Collin Moshman's 'Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em', 'Sit ’n Go Strategy'.

I think anyone could reach high lever on póker series if have enough money to participate on world tournaments and then you gain more experience step by step.

doubt

where can i get this books Collin Moshman's 'Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em', 'Sit ’n Go Strategy'

I play Omaha because I enjoy the challenge the most - always looking for an edge.

My "bible" is Jeff Hwang - Pot Limit Omaha - The Big Play Strategy.

the main thing it teaches you is to reason out when risks are worth the reward and, as usual, the times you should fold. In watching you see you would have won a number of times but the fact that you saved money more often is a comfort.