Poker Books??? are they any good???

ok i have recently purchased the book How to win at No limit holdem cash games volume 1, by Dan Harrington, i havent recived it yet but was wondering if books are even worth it? Can you actully get better from reading a book??

KoenigKing said:

ok i have recently purchased the book How to win at No limit holdem cash games volume 1, by Dan Harrington, i havent recived it yet but was wondering if books are even worth it? Can you actully get better from reading a book??

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Yes, they are good. But books arent going to give you the best value for your $. For whatever you pay for 1 book, like $20-$30, you can get a months membership at a top tier training site like StoxPoker, CardRunners, or Deuces Cracked. There you will get unlimited access to videos and be able to get way more value.

Tiger woods know's every rule in the pga rule book every sentence!
One time he disputed a call and sure enough he was right.
Knowledge is power. You get the power you get the money. I think Al Pachino said that in so many other words

That being said , Every great poker author allways states that nothing is writin in stone when it comes to poker.

Read Harrington on Hold'em Vol 1,2,3

For fun reading anything bye Mike Caro's . Be aware of an old book bye caro's called "caro's Book of tell's . Alot of people read that and if they see you trying to read them they will do the opposite.

If your a smart cookie then david Sklanski has really good books on all kinds of poker. personally I use them as refrence books and have to read it over and over lol..

KoenigKing said:

Can you actully get better from reading a book??

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Most definitely. You are dead money if you haven`t made an effort to study the theory of the game. Although, as DSV says, there are other methods of training which can also have value.

Egon's said it, pretty much.

Reading books can absolutely have an effect on your game. I credit the Harrington on Hold 'em series, Killer Poker - No Limit by Vorhaus and Phil Gordon's Little Green / Blue Book for some major improvements in my game.

Exactly how much difference they'll make will depend a lot on how good a player you were to start with and like Egon and dvsw have noted, they're not the only way to improve your game. You can do a lot worse than being well read though, especially if you're reading stuff by well respected, credible authors.

Dan Harrington definitely falls into that category, BTW.

Definately read the books, they dont just tell you how to play, they can often tell you little pieces of knowledge that can seem so simple afterwards you would wonder why you never realized it before.

Good luck :top:

Most of these books need to be read again and again with alot of pratice in between.

I love poker books and I learn something new and valuable every time I read one. I have maybe a dozen or so and I reread them when I hit a slump or get confused on something. Just don't try to use everything you read all at once or you might be in for a big hit to your bankroll. You have to know WHY a certain strategy works before you can try to use it effectively.

You learn a lot more from playing and seeing things happen. Check out a book, skim through it, but realize that you will do much better just playing and watching good players.

poker books

I've never read a poker book and I'm 99.9% sure I never will. There's no need for them unless you want to know odds. I get my poker knowledge from my own poker experiences.

Glad you are a poker player and not a brain surgeon. There is a world of information to be had in some of the best poker books. You can learn it all yourself by trial and error or you can take advantage of their knowledge and build on it.

yeah i was told not to use books but i want to read at least one to see how i fair from it. i was told to instead of read books, read forums and stuff like that

Well, forums can be great and you can get a lot of diverse advice. However, a lot of people giving advice on forums don't have bracelets to back up what they say. Books are worth a lot more than just odds. Sure, knowing the numbers is great but you can get books on tells, low stakes, high stakes, you name it. Why spend years grinding and figuring out what works when you can stand on the shoulders of giants and get a head start? Its all there for the taking.

Very true, ill read it and work with it and see how it goes hopefully really well

KoenigKing said:

ok i have recently purchased the book How to win at No limit holdem cash games volume 1, by Dan Harrington, i havent recived it yet but was wondering if books are even worth it? Can you actully get better from reading a book??

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Yes you can and you should read them until the covers fall off.

I have Harrington on Holdem volumes 1-3 and Harrington Cash Games 1&2 (as well as many others) and they are very good books.

The thing to remember is that ,although they will give you valuable information, these books are not designed for beginners so trying fancy plays on a 5/10c table is not that effective.

However, they will improve you as a player.

I like barry's book "Ace on the River" ,
its about how to make money playing poker
it helped me alot . the thing hellped me the most is
self experience . so dont wait and start to play LOL

KoenigKing said:

i was told to instead of read books, read forums and stuff like that

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I would suggest both.

Forums are certainly a useful source of information, and there is much valuable advice right here at CC.

It is important to be careful about whose advice you take, though. At CC, you can recognise the "loyalers" (the senior members of the forum) because they have personalised titles next to their screen name and avatar, rather than the standard "Junior Member", "Amateur Member" etc. See mine above, for example. These members have been recognised for the quality of their contribution here. They won`t always be right about everything (Heaven knows I am not ), but they are experienced voices.

The member who joined last week and has only ten posts might be a good player who just found this site, but he might also be a noob giving you dumb advice. Don`t necessarily give equal weight to everything you read here.

Egon Towst said:

I would suggest both.

Forums are certainly a useful source of information, and there is much valuable advice right here at CC.

It is important to be careful about whose advice you take, though. At CC, you can recognise the "loyalers" (the senior members of the forum) because they have personalised titles next to their screen name and avatar, rather than the standard "Junior Member", "Amateur Member" etc. See mine above, for example. These members have been recognised for the quality of their contribution here. They won`t always be right about everything (Heaven knows I am not ), but they are experienced voices.

The member who joined last week and has only ten posts might be a good player who just found this site, but he might also be a noob giving you dumb advice. Don`t necessarily give equal weight to everything you read here.

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Haha thats kind of like myself, i consider myself a stellar player but i just found this site im looking to get one of those names sooner or later

Im just here to make my game go to that next level

jolubman said:

Most of these books need to be read again and again with alot of pratice in between.

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I keep them in the bathroom

I've read harrington 1 and 2 and found them very informative

slansky ok but can be hard going

- dont even think about brunson's supersystem!

I kinda like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by HSThompson, but that has nothing to do with poker. Otherwise I like Harrington

i would say read the books also. Why not read something that can give you an idea or theory that can up your game to either another level or just give you the ability to crush the stakes your playing at.

Forums are good, but no where on any set of forums will you see someone putting out 100s of pages of info and theory on why you should do what they say than in books.

There are alot of really nice people that always go the extra step to help people on forums but there is never a really long guide that is put together like a book

WOBogey said:

I kinda like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by HSThompson, but that has nothing to do with poker. Otherwise I like Harrington

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Now Hunter never talked about poker much, but I met him one time in Montreal, and he gave me a bottle of Wild Turkey, which got smashed on the street when my girlfriend started beatin on my chest with an umbrella... but thats another story I guess,,

i have the super systems book and honestly everything in that book i could find on this site! so i mean if you just want a book to read while your goin to the bathroom or to relax then the poker books are good..but if your just wantin to learn..you can learn and understand all you need to know on the internet with sites like these..