Poker Books and Reviews

A journeyman poker player presents odds and probabilities for hold'em and Omaha for the average guy. Using red and blue text, his charts are easy to follow, as are his explanations of how to start at the beginning and figure all the numbers you need to gain an edge. He explains that the math will help you epand your use of common knowledge beyond what others are capable of. Information, he says, is equity and if the information is good the equity will likely increase
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The Russ Bailey Guide to Limit Texas Hold'em Poker is book for the intermediate player. It's a book that covers a range of betting strategies that is sure to add to any poker player's game. Dan Krier, the writer of this publication, has transcribed the lessons of the game Texas Hold'em poker personally from Russ Bailey who shares his thoughts and strategies of his successful plays. This book explains the essentials of Hold'em poker, explaining how things work, and why they are done in certain ways. There is a glossary of terms followed by five chapters that cover main strategies; poker card ranks, game play and advanced strategies, ‘catching' particular poker hands, and bluffing. While this book is not intended as a biography of Russ Bailey, it defiantly sheds a light into who he was and why he was such a successful poker player.
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Are you curious about the pro's secrets to winning hold'em poker that none of the how-to books tell you? Professional players use strategies and tactics every day that most recreational players don't even know exist. This book was created to reveal to beginners and even good players an artful understanding of the game you love. Here's a bonus secret to start you off: This book is really two books in one. It's a book filled with secrets that you can use yourself. It's also filled with information about what other people-particularly experts-do.
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If you've been surfing around looking for poker information on the web, you've no doubt come across Dan Kimberg. For years, he's maintained Dan's Poker Page (now SeriousPoker.com) which has gained the respect of poker players everywhere. Now Kimberg has written 'A field guide to poker as it's played in casinos and cardrooms in North America and around the world.' This revised and streamlined edition features An Introduction to Serious Poker (including rules, etiquette and starting to play); Basic Strategy; Taking Poker Seriously, (advice on how to think about poker, understanding expectation and variance, money management and record keeping); Special Topics, which range from how tournaments work to how to avoid being cheated; and technical and reference material. Serious Poker fulfills the needs of serious poker players everywhere.

Mike Sexton will forever be known as the spokesman and commentator for the World Poker Tour. But he is also a consumate poker player and a vehement spokesman for the game. Now, in this book, he has taken his mission one step farther by putting together a text that will have the beginner learn the basics and move to the winning strategies of today's top players. He discusses what it takes to be a winner, no-limit hold'em strategies, tips for winning online tourneys, a guide to setting up a World Poker Tournament at home. He also includes profiles of the stars of the WPT and a hefty poker resource section. Comes with a computer CD.
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Based on his experiences in the strange world of poker, May's debut novel Shut Up and Deal is the story of a nontraditional '90s slacker, a dropout with an incurable obsession and incredible stamina, who makes a career in a profession where the only goals are to stay in action and to not go broke. In Shut Up and Deal, a professional poker player takes readers along on his adventures over several years in and out of casinos and card rooms in locales such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Amsterdam.
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This revealing book uncovers for the first time the amazing world of professional poker in Britain, and tells the story of the country's top poker professional -- Dave ‘The Devilfish' Ulliott. Ulliott is a former safe cracker who spent his 21st birthday in prison, became a pawnbroker, and then conquered the poker world, winning the first Late-Night Poker final and a World Series gold bracelet. Des Wilson's book is must-read for anyone who is part of, or fascinated by, the growth of professional poker, from yesterday's illegal back-street card games to the cyberspace and television.
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Take Me to the River is a hilarious, heart-wrenching tale of Las Vegas and an exploration of what it means to be part of one of the fastest-growing and most popular sports in the United States, at the moment of its apogee, and of the lessons that poker has to teach about probability and luck, good and bad fortune, patience, perseverance, and -- most fitting for a man with marriage in his near future -- commitment.

The Tiltboys -- even casual poker fan will recognize Phil Gordon, the ringleader of this bunch of seemingly devil-may-care gamblers. Gordon is the expert commentator for TV's 'Celebrity Poker Showdown.' The rest are a bunch of buddies who went to Stanford together and began a weekly poker game that led to weekend trips to Las Vegas and, for a few of them, to a life of playing poker professionally. Phil Gordon made dot.com millions and is now living the good life in the poker world and on television. Perry Friedman won a World Series of Poker event. Dave 'Diceboy' Lambert is, according to the other Tiltboys, the luckiest human being on the planet.Kim 'Tiltmom' Scheinbert is the backagammon assassin. They are the leaders of this pack of 13 who will bet on how long it will take an old lady to cross the street, or whose luggage will come down the carousel at the airport first. They are the gang your parents warned you about but are also the gang your parents would welcome with open arms.
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Hold'em Poker is highly predisposed to probability-based decisions. The book presents the mathematics involved in card distributions in hold'em and provides a precise account of the odds associated with all gaming events. The author is a recognized authority on casino mathematics. No formal background in mathematics is necessary for reading this book, although comfort with some probability and set theory notions is helpful. In most cases, you'll need some college math to follow the formulas but this is not a requirement, because the numerical results are collected in tables at the end of each section. The work is packed with formulas, algorithms and tables. Its primary goal is to allow the reader to quickly find the odds for own hand and for opponent's hand, in order to improve his/her betting decisions.
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Even though the math behind the game of poker is fairly simple, some people still don't understand how to derive numbers and/or how to use them in action. Matthew Hilger, author of a best-selling book on playing poker on the Internet, takes the seemingly complex subject and breaks it down into usable information. He covers limit and no limit as well as tournament situations and focuses not just on how to calculate odds but also how to apply them to make better decisions. Because he uses everyday language and very few formula, his simple concepts and strategies mean you don't have to be a wiz in math. Illustrated with charts and diagrams, the book spans the math gap to cover the needs of the beginning, intermediate and the experienced player.
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An enjoyable-to-read collection of 52 interviews with the best professional poker players in the world (including Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer, Scott Fischman, Chris Moneymaker and Annie Duke) in which they recount the greatest hands of their storied careers. Combining heart-stopping action, dramatic storytelling, larger-than-life characters, and expert instruction, Rosenbloom, the syndicated poker columnist for the Chicago Tribune and the ESPN Poker Club, provides colorful, money-making wisdom from the sharpest minds in the game. Whether you're a newcomer in a friendly weekly game, an on-line shark, or a veteran of Vegas tournaments, this book will teach you to talk, think, and play like a pro.
Read Full Review of 'The Best Hand I Ever Played'