Worst Poker Book Written

[str8]

Holdem Poker for Advanced Players I think is the worst book written that I read it. I wonder if Sklansky and Malmuth weren't drunk while they wrote that book.

Theory of Poker. I think a lot of it contains useless informations and is a big waste of time to read it. It's also very difficult to read. I read many books but TOP it's impossible to read. It's so boring and so bad written. I only read a few chapters from TOP but I feel that I don't really need to read it b/c there are a lot of informations that can't be put in practice. The informations that are useful from that book can be found on other books that are better written. What I find surprising is that NLHTP, another Sklansky book, isn't that difficult to read as TOP. A lot of informations from NLHTP are also useless informations (many math that you don't need it), but it's more easier to read than TOP.

 

[SoCalJD]

Holdem Poker for Advanced Players I think is the worst book written that I read it. I wonder if Sklansky and Malmuth weren't drunk while they wrote that book.
Theory of Poker. I think a lot of it contains useless informations and is a big waste of time to read it. It's also very difficult to read. I read many books but TOP it's impossible to read. It's so boring and so bad written. I only read a few chapters from TOP but I feel that I don't really need to read it b/c there are a lot of informations that can't be put in practice.

>>>

Yep. That book works great for insomnia.:stoned:

 

[Emperor IX]

Beyond Tells by James McKenna
Texas Hold’em On the Net by David Bradshaw
Texas Hold’em Odds by Catalin Barboianu
What No One Else is Saying about Online Poker by Carl Varrone
The Mathematics of Poker by William Chen and Jerrod Ankenman

Thank you. I thought I was the only one who remembered that.

 

[Jack Daniels]

What No One Else is Saying About Online Poker

ZOMG ^^^ /thread

That is by far the worst thing ever written. It makes me want to support book burning! Anyone that disagrees either hasn't read it (and shouldn't bother) and/or hasn't seen AG's in depth review. I'm one of the unlucky ones that did read it and I wanted to gouge my eyes out!!!

 

[fergy05]

I picked up Phil Hellmuth's Texas Hold'em a while ago and it has got to be the worst one I have read. I have not read that many, so not a fair sample set to really critique, but it is an awful read. Just chapter after chapter of him talking about how great he is!

 

[Emperor IX]

ZOMG ^^^ /thread

That is by far the worst thing ever written. It makes me want to support book burning! Anyone that disagrees either hasn't read it (and shouldn't bother) and/or hasn't seen AG's in depth review. I'm one of the unlucky ones that did read it and I wanted to gouge my eyes out!!!

I even requested a copy AFTER he was done giving out the original promised amount He was a very nice guy, but yeah, the book was.... special.

 

[Poker Orifice]

Negreneu's book is pretty bad too. He put his name on it to sell it, and 80% of it is written by other people. The section on Deceptive Play, by David Williams, is just a bunch of unrelated anecdotes on different deceptive plays he made. Evidently nobody told Williams that the point of writing a book is supposed to be to make generalizations and conclusions based on your experience. Glad the library was the one who wasted their money on that one.

Well I'd have to strongly disagree with this one (how can I disagree?... cuz really it's just your opinion)... but trust me.. there are many poker books that are farfar worse than this one.
I have D's book (all of them actually) and sure I was disappointed with this one but it is far from being the 'worst'. Daniel's section on SmallBall is actually quite good but the majority of the rest of the book is a waste of paper. I wish he'd even written more hand histories of his play, along with his thought processes throughout.

You want to see a far worse book??... Check out Amarillo Slim's Book. It is pure rubbish (got it for 25cents at a garage sale).

 

[Poker Orifice]

I picked up Phil Hellmuth's Texas Hold'em a while ago and it has got to be the worst one I have read. I have not read that many, so not a fair sample set to really critique, but it is an awful read. Just chapter after chapter of him talking about how great he is!

Agreed... Phil's books are down near the bottom of the list for sure (but trust me.. there are worse ones out there,lol).
I lent out my Helmuth books (I never lend out poker books, lol) and I haven't gotten them back now for over a year.... but am not disappointed one bit. I guess I lent them to a 'jackal'....

 

[Reducto]

"Neocheating - the Unbeatable Weapon". HUGE load of crap. Maybe 2 useful paragraphs about spotting some already well-known shuffle cheat methods.

Also Phil Hellmuth's random bits in Joe Navarro's book on tells. It was obvious filler and an attempt to justify putting his name on the cover. Yes Phil, we all know how great you are. Enough already!

 

[john003]

I actually liked Power Hold Em by Negreanu. *shrug*

Maybe cause I've only read that and Super/System, which I will say I was very disappointed in.

Maybe I liked Negreanu's book cause I found the Small Ball chapter to be very helpful.

Either way, definitely going to be picking up some Harrington on Hold Em books for sure!

 

[ChrisJJJJ]

I read my first poker book last week.
havent been in the money in a week. hmmm!!!

 

[aliengenius]

Holdem Poker for Advanced Players I think is the worst book written that I read it. I wonder if Sklansky and Malmuth weren't drunk while they wrote that book.

Theory of Poker. I think a lot of it contains useless informations and is a big waste of time to read it. It's also very difficult to read. I read many books but TOP it's impossible to read. It's so boring and so bad written. I only read a few chapters from TOP but I feel that I don't really need to read it b/c there are a lot of informations that can't be put in practice. The informations that are useful from that book can be found on other books that are better written. What I find surprising is that NLHTP, another Sklansky book, isn't that difficult to read as TOP. A lot of informations from NLHTP are also useless informations (many math that you don't need it), but it's more easier to read than TOP.

^^^doesn't realize book is about limit el oh el, doesn't understand how to translate the limit lessons to NL, el oh el, needs to kill self, el oh el

 

[WEC]

What do you think is the worst poker book written? It seems, with the Poker boom in 2003 a lot of books have been written. Some of them written just to capitalize on the poker crazy.

ACME Publishing's "Any Two Cards Can Win"

Preface by WileECoyote

 

[Duccleman]

I too enjoyed Daniel's Power Holdem especially Todd Brunson's contribution. I hope he writes a book. The worst book hands down for me was Doyle's online poker. It is truly a book for "dummies". Helmuth's book would be second.

 

[str8]

^^^doesn't realize book is about limit el oh el, doesn't understand how to translate the limit lessons to NL, el oh el, needs to kill self, el oh el

What book are u talking about? HPFAP or TOP? HPFAP is a limit book and TOP covers both NL and FL, but very little NL.
"doesn't understand how to translate the limit lessons to NL" LOL. FL is very different than NL. There are more similarities between NL Holdem and PL Omaha than between FLH and NLH.

Btw, I'm a medium stakes FL player (I play NL only occasionally). HPFAP has a lot of bad advices and stupid plays (you will be a loser in any limit if you follow their advices). Read Winning in Tough Holdem Games (the best limit book on the market) and then read HPFAP. You will see a HUGE difference.

In TOP I didn't see mistakes, but is terrible written. And TOP doesn't learn a player how to play. It's a theory book. It's good if you want to understand better pot odds, effective odds, implied odds, semi-bluffing, bluffing, heads-up play on last street, etc. But it doesn't teach you to play poker. It's useless for a NL or tournament player. And it's useless for a FL player, because there are better FL books available that cover poker strategy, not just useless theory (Winning in Tough Holdem Games or Limit Holdem:Winning Short-Handed Strategies).

Edit: I'm sure there are worse books than HPFAP or TOP, but they're not so overrated because they're not 2+2 books. Those 2 books have some very good reviews and that's the reason I mentioned them. I don't have problems with bad books that are not overrated.

 

[jdeliverer]

In TOP I didn't see mistakes, but is terrible written. And TOP doesn't learn a player how to play.

reread plz

 

[str8]

I don't understand. Do you think there are mistakes? Or do you think it's well written?
However I didn't read all the book and I'm not going to read it. It's too boring and I want to do better things with my time. And since I've read Stox book(the best FLH book) I don't really need to read other books about FL.

 

[dash]

The mammoth book of poker comes to mind.
Its probably not the worst poker book ever written but i hated it with a fire vengence .

Too bad. I really like the Mammoth Book of Chess. Just a great book to read on the go about chess. It's a mini-encyclopedia and you have to be ready for that.

 

[Infamous1020]

Play Poker like the Pros by Phil Hellmuth

^i think thats the title lol

 

[str8]

^^^doesn't realize book is about limit el oh el, doesn't understand how to translate the limit lessons to NL, el oh el, needs to kill self, el oh el

First I thought you're speaking about Sklansky, but now I realise you're speaking about me. It's not the first time:

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poker-rooms-10/full-tilt-hiding-your-country-126941/

Pls don't speak anymore about people you don't know. I'm not so dumb to think HPFAP is a NL book.

In this thread https://www.cardschat.com/f49/first-poker-books-86485/ you said "assuming NL player". So that thread was for NL players who want to read a book.
You think "Weighing the Odds in Holdem Poker" by King Yao should not be a first book for a NL player. That book is 100% a FL book.
You think that a new NL player should not read a Sklansky/Malmuth book as a first book. From what I know Sklansky/Malmuth haven't write any NL book. It's true that Sklansky wrote "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" but not with Malmuth. It's true that Sklansky wrote NLHT&P but not with Malmuth. So maybe you thought HPFAP was a NL book???? Or SSH was a NL book???? Just because you bought HPFAP hoping to improve your NL game and you thought HPFAP was a NL book, doesn't mean all people think HPFAP is a NL book.
Edit: "Internet Texas Holdem by Hilger" Oh, no! No comment! You forgot to recommend Winning Low Limit by Lee Jones. Must read for a NL player.

 

[aliengenius]

First I thought you're speaking about Sklansky, but now I realise you're speaking about me. It's not the first time:

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poker-rooms-10/full-tilt-hiding-your-country-126941/

Pls don't speak anymore about people you don't know. I'm not so dumb to think HPFAP is a NL book.

In this thread https://www.cardschat.com/f49/first-poker-books-86485/ you said "assuming NL player". So that thread was for NL players who want to read a book.
You think "Weighing the Odds in Holdem Poker" by King Yao should not be a first book for a NL player. That book is 100% a FL book.
You think that a new NL player should not read a Sklansky/Malmuth book as a first book. From what I know Sklansky/Malmuth haven't write any NL book. It's true that Sklansky wrote "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" but not with Malmuth. It's true that Sklansky wrote NLHT&P but not with Malmuth. So maybe you thought HPFAP was a NL book???? Or SSH was a NL book???? Just because you bought HPFAP hoping to improve your NL game and you thought HPFAP was a NL book, doesn't mean all people think HPFAP is a NL book.
Edit: "Internet Texas Holdem by Hilger" Oh, no! No comment! You forgot to recommend Winning Low Limit by Lee Jones. Must read for a NL player.

wat?

 

[str8]

wat?

Ok, I will use fewer words.

You said about me "doesn't realize book is about limit el oh el, doesn't understand how to translate the limit lessons to NL, el oh el, needs to kill self, el oh el".

In this thread you've recommended FL books to NL players: https://www.cardschat.com/f49/first-poker-books-86485/
King Yao's book is not a NL book. (imo it's not even an advanced book, it's a beginner book)
You said that Sklansky/Malmuth books should not be a first read for NL players, but S/M haven't writtten any NL book.
Internet Texas Holdem by Hilger, again, 100% a FL book.

So I think you're the one who "doesn't realize book is about limit eh oh el, doesn't realize limit and NL are very different games eh oh el, needs to kill self, el oh el", not me.

 

[damon789]

The mathematics of Poker

Beyond Tells by James McKenna
Texas Hold’em On the Net by David Bradshaw
Texas Hold’em Odds by Catalin Barboianu
What No One Else is Saying about Online Poker by Carl Varrone
The Mathematics of Poker by William Chen and Jerrod Ankenman

Have to second that AG, ankenman and Chen tried to bend my mind into a pretzel, they failed ....just.

 

[aliengenius]

Ok, I will use fewer words.

In a thread called "Worst poker book written" you decided that ToP was your pick, instituting a new criteria, apparently "most overrated poker book written". Obviously you can't distinguish between the two and talking to you further is certainly a waste of time... I was drunk and your idiotic post life tilted me, hence my comment.

By the way, NO LIMIT Hold'em: Theory and Practice by Miller and Sklansky is a NO LIMIT book, so I guess you can credit 2+2 (2p2= 'Sklansky and Malmuth', yes I use the essentially interchangeably, quibble if you like) as having put one out...

 

[NoWuckingFurries]

What No One Else is Saying about Online Poker by Carl Varrone

So that's why nobody else is saying it!