Best Books On How To Play Poker

There are two types of poker book; the ones you read once and the ones that you read again and again throughout your poker career. I strongly believe that the books below are the latter.

In an effort to teach their players how to win at poker, TopPokerValue.com listed Unfolding Poker as one of the best Texas Holdem poker books available online. The Mental Game of Poker: Proven Strategies for Improving Tilt Control, Confidence, Motivation, Coping with Variance, and More by Jared Tendler and Barry Carter. Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em is probably the best book for novice poker players. It goes through everything you need to be a winning poker player: expected value, pre-flop hand ranking guides, adjusting for tight and loose games, odds, implied odds, everything. Together, these two books create a full library of the best poker strategies, professional concepts, and advice ever written. Harrington on Hold’em: Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Volume I Strategic Play (2004) by Dan Harrington. Without a shadow of a doubt, the most difficult player to combat at the cash game tables or in tournaments is one who plays a loose-aggressive poker strategy and plays it well.

Below is a list of what I believe to be best strategy books in each category from general strategy, no limit cash game strategy, tournament strategy and ebooks.

Texas Hold'em strategy books.

General strategy.

• Published: 1994
• Price: $20

The Theory of Poker is the best all-round poker book you are going to read. It does not address the game of Texas Hold'em specifically, but the true value of the book is that it teaches you how to think like a winning poker player.

Starting hand charts and quick-fix rules will only take you so far, as being able to make the best plays possible based on your analysis of a situation makes the difference between an average and great player. It's a must read for every serious poker player.

I would however recommend that you have a least a basic knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the game, as the strategy may well be very hard to digest for anyone very new to poker.

• Published: 1999
• Price: $17

This is another great all-round strategy book that covers all of the most popular variants of poker. It is an enjoyable read and contains informative strategy for helping you develop a solid all-round game.

I would personally choose Theory of Poker over this if I could only choose one 'general' strategy book to read, but that's not to say this doesn't have value. I'd would however choose this book over ToP if I was very new to the game due to the fact that it is easier to follow and understand.

Cash game strategy.

• Published: 2006
• Price: $20

This book is definitely not an easy read for beginner players, so you should only pick up this book if you already have a sound knowledge of good Hold'em strategy.

No Limit Hold'em: Theory and Practice can be hard to follow at times, but it does contain a lot of very valuable information. The material is a little complicated, but it is well worth reading if you want to be able to absorb some of the most advanced strategy that you can get from a Hold'em strategy book.

• Published: 2007
• Price: $20

Professional No-Limit Hold'em is an easier read than Theory and Practice, and does a very good job of covering the fundamental strategy for a profitable game. One of the most useful topics of the book is the REM process, which explains the importance of Range, Equity... Maximize - one of the most important concepts to learn about as an intermediate player.

A number of other unique topics are covered in later sections that have no been covered so well in other books. This is not an easy read for beginner players, and it may act as more of a re-cap for advanced players. I would recommend this book to players working on moving from a break-even to winning game.

It's a close call between Theory and Practice and this, but I prefer reading Professional No Limit Hold'em.

Tournament strategy (MTTs and SnGs).

• Published: 2005
• Price: $18

This book is a like a collection of gems of information for the game of NL Texas Hold'em. Every time I read it, I pick up something new that I had never fully considered before. It is not the most advanced book out there, but it definitely has a lot to offer to the beginner players and a little something for intermediate players.

The book is split up into digestible segments and is very easy pick out useful information without being overloaded with too much strategy and thought processes at once. I will go ahead and say that this is my favorite Texas Hold'em strategy book to read.

I would recommend that all no limit Hold'em players read this book at some point, regardless of what level you might currently be playing at.

• Published: 2005
• Price: $20

The Harrington on Hold'em series is widely regarded as the Bible (Bibles?) for Texas Hold'em tournament strategy. If anyone ever asks for a recommendation on a good tournament strategy book, you can be sure that the question is quickly followed by the acronym HoH.

This first book covers the main bulk of strategic play of tournament poker. The book contains a lot of useful hand examples with each individual being explained very clearly and succinctly. HoH is comfortably one of (if not the) best series of books for tournament poker strategy.

• Published: 2005
• Price: $20

This is the second installment of the HoH series. This book is equally as good as the first and focuses on endgame strategy as opposed to early strategic play.

The majority of tournament players will buy both volume 1 + 2, as they go hand in hand. Think of them as one big book split up in to two. The third installment is more of a optional extra, although it does contain some great stuff.

• Published: 2006
• Price: $16

This book is the perfect compliment to the HoH series (above). I wouldn't recommend this book over the tournament books by Harrington, but I will say that it should be on the list of essential reading for anyone looking to play solid tournament poker.

The Poker Tournament Formula takes a slightly more aggressive approach to playing poker tournaments, which is why it works to your advantage to read both the HoH series and this. If you are looking to expand your tournament strategy after HoH 1, 2 and 3, look no further.

• Published: 2007
• Price: $20

This is the sequel to the widely acclaimed Kill Phil book (not actually written by Phil Helmuth), which had outlined basic strategy for a good preflop game in Hold'em tournaments. This book takes it up a level, and contains more advanced information on how to play later streets. This book covers both MTT and SnG strategy.

Kill Everyone is quite like a Sklansky book in that it contains a lot of great strategy, but it is not an easy read. I wouldn't recommend this book to a novice, but I think that any intermediate player will find this very valuable indeed.

• Published: 2007
• Price: $17

As you would expect, this book focuses on the Sit 'n Go tournament structure as opposed to the larger MTT games. I believe that this is the best NL SNG specific strategy book out there, with the book being packed with quality strategy and very informative hand examples.

This isn't a book for complete novices, as it does require that you have some basic knowledge of SnG games and how to play poker. However, I think that a beginner player should be able to digest the majority of information in this book.

Overall, you're not going to find a better strategy book for Sit 'n Go poker games.

For a big list of very useful and informative reviews on the majority of these books, check out the LV Revealed gambling book reviews. The user reviews on the Amazon site itself also do a very honest job of helping you find the better books.

If books are not really your thing, there is a handful of genuinely useful poker DVDs out there to buy.

Strategy ebooks.

There are a load of really bad Texas Hold'em strategy ebooks out there, so be careful. Anybody can write an 'ebook', claim it is the best strategy in the world and then sell it to the unsuspecting visitor. When it comes to poker ebooks, you are far better off going on recommendations as opposed to how good the sales page sounds.

Below are the top ebook-only strategy books for the intermediate/advanced player. These are genuinely valuable ebooks with great strategic advice.

• Price: Free (yeah, seriously).
• www.gamblingsystem.biz/books/2p2NL6max.pdf (used to be www.ryanfee.com, but looks like it's no longer around)

This is a widely acclaimed strategy guide for playing small stakes 6max NL Texas Hold'em. You are not going to find a more informative ebook with such great strategy anywhere else, and I highly recommend that every 6max player reads this book - it's a gem.

Here is a 2+2 thread discussing the ebook.

As I say, you should be very skeptical about any ebook with a big long sales page. Anyone can write a book and tell you it's the best strategy ever, but a lot of the time they do not deliver. If you ever have any concerns about the quality of an ebook or normal book, search for online reviews. The 2+2 forums usually give very critical and honest advice, so try searching those.

There is a wealth of instructional material for beginning poker players available all over the internet, but there are some amazing poker strategy books for beginners that all aspiring poker players should study.

Sure, poker training has become its own industry, with a plethora of professionals teaching players how to win on video. Plus, there are any number of poker forums with in-depth discussions on just about every situation you’ll face at a poker table.

For anyone new to the game of poker, the opportunities to learn and get better are almost endless.

But with a few thousand poker strategy books to be read, beginners should be use books as the foundation to any poker syllabus. That said, it can be almost impossible for beginners to decide where they should begin, so we’ve put together our very own list of the Top Five Poker Strategy Books For Beginners.

Poker For Dummies, Richard D. Harroch and Lou Krieger (2000)

A lack of understanding of the basic concepts of poker doesn’t necessarily make you a dummy. But since the “For Dummies” book series has taught people everything from how to fix their car to how to program a computer, it is as good a place as any to start with poker.

This book is ground zero for poker beginners as it covers all the basics and even some winning concepts along the way. It’s perfect for our list of top poker strategy books for beginners.

The poker book is written by lawyer and poker player Richard Harroch and veteran poker author Lou Krieger. Plus, it includes anecdotes from professional players like T.J. Cloutier and the late legendary Stu Unger. The book was originally published in 2000, but later editions now include a forward by 2003 World Series of Poker Champion Chris Moneymaker as well.

It goes into everything from setting up a game at home to the do’s and don’ts of playing poker in casinos. Plus, Poker For Dummies will give you a good grasp of poker jargon, and all the poker rules and etiquette the game employs.

The book doesn’t include a lot of the advanced modern game theory practices employed by young professionals today. It may be a bit cliché, but Poker For Dummies is exactly that and a great place to start if your knowledge of the game is in its infancy.

Doyle Brunson’s Super System: A Course In Power Poker, Doyle Brunson and Others (1979)

Doyle Brunson’s Super System is the original poker strategy bible. The book was written by some of the greatest minds in the game. Brunson was joined by late Cash Game Legend Chip Reese, World Champion and Casino Executive Bobby Baldwin, and respected Poker Theorist and Author Dave Sklansky.

While there is a Super System 2 and several later editions, the original was published in 1979, making some of it dated. The concepts, though are pure, most are still relevant. If you believe in the old adage that you have to know where you’ve been to figure out where you’re going, it’s a perfect book for beginners.

Super System contains tips on Texas hold’em, Omaha and stud. The book dives into tournament poker and cash game strategy, and by and large covers all the poker bases.

Best Poker Book Ever

These are legends giving you access to the moves that make up their own personal playbooks and a great foundation on which to build a poker education. Considering how much the game has changed over the past 20 years, anyone wanting to learn more about poker strategy isn’t going to end with Doyle Brunson’s Super System, but it is a great place to start.

Harrington on Hold’em, Dan Harrington (2006)

How To Play Poker For Beginners

This book from 1995 World Champion Dan Harrington has now seen three volumes published. The book remains the best-selling poker strategy book in the history of the game.

Harrington focuses on Texas hold’em tournaments, the most popular type of poker. Even ten years later, Harrington’s concepts regarding all the different stages of a tournament remain viable.

Best Books On How To Play Poker

These days, beginners might want to go beyond what Harrington teaches, but they won’t likely be successful in doing so without it.

The volumes also include quizzes where you can put your newfound knowledge to the test. This is a concept that reinforces the idea poker is a game that can be studied, with strategy that can be tested, not just played – One every beginner should grab hold of early on if they really want to succeed.

Positively Fifth Street, James McManus (2003)

James McManus’ Positively Fifth Street is not, strictly speaking, a poker strategy book. It is instead an account of McManus own run in the 2000 World Series of Poker Main Event. The book also examines the murder of Horseshoe Hotel and Casino owner Ted Binion, and is as solid an introduction to the culture surrounding poker as a beginner is likely to find.

McManus was hired by Harper’s Magazine to write an article about women participating in the WSOP and cover the Ted Binion murder trial. Instead, he blew his advance money on a WSOP Main Event satellite, ended up finishing fifth in poker’s World Championship, and came out of all of it with Positively Fifth Street.

Sure, there are some strategy concepts in the text, including advice McManus weaned by reading books by poker greats. There’s even a bit of a blow-by-blow account of his deep run in the tournament that beginners can certainly learn from.

However, Positively Fifth Street stands more as a great introduction to poker culture than poker strategy. Either way, it’s perfect for a beginner immersing themselves in the game.

Mastering Small Stakes No-Limit Hold’em: Strategies to Consistently Beat Small Stakes Tournaments and Cash Games, Jonathan Little (2017)

Over the past few years, WPT Season VI Player of the Year Jonathan Little has put out several books. Little’s books cover both advanced and beginner concepts in tournament and cash game poker.

However, 2017’s Mastering Small Stakes No-Limit Hold’em: Strategies to Consistently Beat Small Stakes Tournaments and Cash Gamesis perfect for our list of top poker strategy books for beginners. After all, unless you’re a billionaire hedge fund manager you’re likely starting out at small stakes.

Little presents an easy to follow plan for how players can exploit small stakes poker. While it’s great advice for beginners, it’s even something he claims advanced players can learn.

New Poker Books

It’s all about a solid, competent, and moderately aggressive approach to the game that beginners will easily benefit from. Tthe book provides a basic strategy for crushing small stakes poker games. The book also identifies the adjustments needed for tougher opposition. This poker book is absolutely perfect for anyone just starting out.

Best Books On Poker

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