Time for a Look at "The Best Poker Books"

by Andrew Glazer, published on Wednesday, January 2 2002

Because people have different needs, experience, and abilities, there's no one perfect or best poker book for everyone. The best book for you depends on a few things:

1) How much experience you have (a great beginner book is useless to an advanced player, and vice-versa).

2) What games you like to play or regularly play (a textbook on standard games is pretty useless if all you play is "Guts" or "Seven-Card Stud, 3s, 8s and 9s wild").

3) How "hard" you want to work (some books lay things out in easy to follow format, and others require you to do a fair amount of thinking).

By the way, if you don't want to work hard, you might want to save your money, even though buying and reading poker books will save you a lot more money. To get maximum value from a poker book, you shouldn't read it like you read a novel, and you shouldn't just accept the author's word. You should go slowly and THINK about what you are reading and see if you can find another example of where the author's advice might come into play.

I say that for two reasons. First, I've always believed that if you can't explain something, you don't really understand it, and second, the chances of you running into the PRECISE situation an author describes in a book are pretty remote. You need to learn how to apply specific examples to general principles, and general principles to specific examples.

Poker books are a great starting point, and can save you lots of money that in the old days you had to (if you wanted a poker education) spend the old fashioned way: by losing. Nonetheless, they are not The Answer, all by themselves. Read the books, practice, be honest with yourself about your own strengths and weaknesses, and believe that there's always more to learn, and one of these days, you'll be the one whom your opponents least want to face-even if they like you personally.

In the sections that follow, I'll clump books together in the following five categories, so as not to avoid picayune debates about whether one book should be #2 and another #3:

1) Awesome/Must Read
2) Excellent
3) Good
4) Mixed

I) GENERAL BOOKS, I.E., NOT NECESSARILY FOCUSED ON ONE PARTICULAR BRAND OF POKER

1) Awesome/Must Read

The Theory of Poker, by David Sklansky

Sklansky is one of poker's top theorists. Although he's not a feared tournament player, his books are a vital reference for any player who is learning the game, and The Theory of Poker is his best work, because it describes many fundamental poker principles. One caveat: if you are a beginner, you will probably find the book a bit rough in places. Also (might as well get it all out of the way at once), Sklansky is not a great "writer." He writes great poker books, virtual must-reads that will teach you a lot, but he won't dazzle you with his prose. So what? If you're feeling empty afterwards, go read some Shakespeare.

Supersystem, by Doyle Brunson

When it was written in 1978, Supersystem was certainly the greatest poker book ever written. Supersystem is still a must-read, even though some of the information is now a little out of date. Brunson is one of few players who has achieved true greatness both as a money player and a tournament player; usually, someone who is "great" in one arena is only "good" in the other. His style is entertaining, he taps several other poker greats to contribute chapters, and the book covers most of the more popular poker games. Beginners will probably find the book a bit tough to follow, but it's worth the work.

The Body Language of Poker, by Mike Caro

Caro, poker's self-styled "Mad Genius," originally published this as "Mike Caro's Book of Tells." I recommend the book strongly, but with one very important caveat: don't take every word as gospel. Caro often reduces the information about tells (gestures that give away information) to percentages that are far too precise for my liking. Perhaps even more importantly, the book's mere existence has made some of the information less reliable, because good players have read it and taken steps to avoid giving away information in the manner Caro describes! Generally, the higher up the poker ladder you go, the less useful the book will be, but you ignore this book at your peril.

2) Excellent

The Psychology of Poker, by Alan Schoonmaker, Ph.D.

Although many readers claim they feel this book is more useful for beginners than for experienced players, I disagree, and consider it a vital part of any poker player's arsenal. Although this becomes more true as the stakes grow larger, at virtually any level, poker is a people game that happens to be played with cards, rather than a card game played by people.

Zen and the Art of Poker, by Larry Phillips

Probably a surprise entry, for those familiar with the more famous poker books, but in poker, as in so many other parts of life, mastering and understanding yourself is something you have to do before you can hope to conquer others. A large percentage of poker players play very well when things are going their way, only to fall apart when trouble arrives.

Inside the Poker Mind, by John Feeney, Ph.D.

I've heard some people call this "the advanced player's version of 'The Psychology of Poker'," but the books are quite different, and there was so much hold'em in here, I was tempted to list it among the hold'em books. Nonetheless, it's an important work, although a bit rough for a true beginner.

The Art of War, by Sun Tzu

Not a poker book at all, but poker is warfare, at least once you get beyond the friendly kitchen game for matchsticks, and anyone who doesn't realize that will be a losing player. You'll need to be a bit of a philosopher to translate the lessons into poker applications. Save this one until after you've read the technical books and played a lot of poker, but then read it to take your game to another level. If it sounds familiar, actor Michael Douglas mentioned it in the movie Wall Street, while playing Gordon Gecko. The Gecko character wasn't a good guy, and his immorality eventually did him in, but he was one tough competitor.

3) Good

Poker Essays, Volumes I, II, and III, by Mason Malmuth Gambling Theory, by Mason Malmuth

Like his frequent writing partner Sklansky, Malmuth is better known as a theorist than as a successful tournament or high-limit player, and as I've said about Sklansky, that shouldn't even slow you down from eagerly devouring his essays. In the time since my last article came out, Malmuth has published Volume III, and even though I've not read it yet, I'm including it here, because it's inconceivable to me that Malmuth could write a bad poker book. My only reservation about his work is that he tends to talk too much in absolutes for my liking. Malmuth's opinions are very useful and usually right, but many times he makes statements that are opinions with such confidence that he makes it seem as if they were facts. Malmuth's work is really meant more for intermediates and advanced players than for beginners, and the Gambling Theory book isn't really even for intermediates. It's not the kind of book I could write: I don't have his mathematical background. Nonetheless, once you have progressed to a certain point in your general poker studies, it's worth a look, even if occasionally you will have to decide whether you want to skip over an equation or risk a headache.

Improve Your Poker, by Bob Ciaffone

A lot of excellent advice for both the beginning and experienced player, from a respected teacher and player.

Real Poker: The Cooke Collection, by Roy Cooke

A long time Card Player columnist compiles some of his better work: as the name implies, it's really a "best of" collection of independent articles, rather than a book that moves from a beginning to an end. Cooke writes so much about hold'em that I was almost tempted to put the review in the hold'em section below, but it's not just a hold'em book, so here it is.

Casino Gambling the Smart Way, by Andrew N.S. Glazer

OK, so I'm more than a little biased. And let me make one thing clear, Smart Way isn't a poker book; rather, it's a philosophical guide to casino gambling that tries to get you to look at your motivations for gambling, and then, once you've established those motivations, helps you figure out the best way to accommodate them. But most of the lessons that I try to teach people about psychology in conventional gaming apply to the emotional and psychological aspects of poker. And if you go get your copy at www.casinoselfdefense.com, it will come autographed.

Caro's Fundamentals of Poker, by Mike Caro

Another very short book (more like a pamphlet); it's almost written in outline form. Caro highlights a lot of good concepts in short, easy-to-remember form, which makes it handy if you used to play a fair amount but haven't played for a couple years and want to read something before you jump back in. The advice is good; there just isn't enough of it, or enough explanation of why the tips are right, for it to get a higher ranking.

Sklansky on Poker, by David Sklansky

Like just about everything Sklansky writes, this book has value, but I think a more accurate title would have been "Half a book on matters I've already written about elsewhere and half a book on Razz." It certainly doesn't hurt to re-read Sklansky, but if you've read his other books, the only reason you should have for buying this one is if you want to learn Razz. The only people who want to learn Razz are very high stakes players who sometimes play it by itself but much more commonly play it as part of the rotation games (like H.O.R.S.E.) that become popular at high stakes, or in tournaments. If you ever want to be part of the high stakes crowd, you'll save yourself a lot of money by learning some of the finer points of Razz, which is deceptively simple.

4) Mixed

The Advanced Concepts of Poker, by Frank R. Wallace

It's out of print, and that's not entirely a bad thing, because while Wallace offers some valuable lessons, I strongly dislike for the things he tries to teach about ethics. That's not just because I think I'm some sort of ethical purist (although I try); rather, I think a lot of the advice he gives is very short term in nature, and would hurt poker in the long run. Also, as one friend of mine mentioned to me, "If I could always play against the kind of fish (bad players) that Wallace uses in his examples, I wouldn't need any 'advanced concepts' to take home the money. Just playing solid poker would be fine." Focuses exclusively on home game poker.

Play Poker, Quit Work, and Sleep Till Noon, by John Fox

I hate the title, because it encourages players to try something that, of those who try it, perhaps one person in a thousand actually succeeds at. It's an older book, which means that most of the examples and information about tactical play come from draw poker, and you probably haven't played much draw poker lately. But the book contains some very good material on psychology. I certainly wouldn't make it one of the first poker books I tried to find, but an expert who doesn't mind wading through the draw poker material can find some useful information here.

The Pro Player Playbook, by John Vorhaus

Like many poker books, this is really more a collection of short tips and short articles than a start-to-finish book, and it makes the last because its batting average is decent. By that I mean that the book's subtitle is "223 Ways to Win More Money Playing Poker," and I don't think all 223 are right, which is why it falls into the "Mixed" group and why I think it's probably a better book for strong players than for those who are just learning.

II) BOOKS FOR TOTAL BEGINNERS

If you've been playing poker for a few years, you will probably find the books in this section a waste of your time. If you've just begun, not only will you find these books much easier to read than those listed in the first section, you will probably find them necessary to get to the more advanced books-unless, of course, you prefer to learn how to play by losing money to your opponents.

1) Awesome/Must Read

Maybe I just haven't read the beginner books from the right point of view yet, but I've yet to find a beginner's book that I'd put into this category. A number of writers I know are working on books that are supposed to be for beginners, and so perhaps in the next year or two we may have an entry here.

2) Excellent

The Official Dictionary of Poker, by Michael Wiesenberg

It's just what it says: a dictionary. For that reason, it certainly should not be the first poker book you buy, if you're only buying one, but if you're getting started, the terminology you run into in many books and magazine articles can be baffling, and so I would highly recommend this book if you are getting several others. The problem is not just that poker writers are bad writers. Sometimes if you've been around the game for a long time, you forget that certain "insider" lingo is a complete mystery to newcomers. I write a general gambling column for the Detroit Free Press, and only last week I wrote that with poker finally arriving there, the Greektown casino was spreading 10-20 hold'em. My editor emailed me to ask what the heck "spreading" meant, and after I told her it was synonymous with "offering" or "dealing," I realized I had been writing too long for a poker-savvy audience. As a result, I think that if you plan to start buying poker books and/or reading poker articles, you pick up a copy of Wiesenberg's book. Although Wiesenberg is a very funny guy, he keeps his dictionary definitions pretty straight.

Poker for Dummies, by Lou Krieger

You don't have to be a dummy to read it; in fact, if you ARE a dummy, you probably shouldn't play poker, unless you like losing. I'm familiar enough with the Dummies series (and with Lou) to know that he was either helped or constrained by their formula, because he would have written it a little differently without their guidelines. Nonetheless, a good place for the novice to begin.

3) Good

Thursday Night Poker, by Peter O. Steiner

Most of the better poker books around focus on casino or cardroom poker, but that's not how most players start: they begin in home games, and home games are a very different animal. Steiner's book helps the home game player more than most, but his lessons are useful to the cardroom player, too.

Fundamentals of Poker, by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis

A very short, pocket-sized, non-intimidating book, that does a good job of preparing the novice for his or her first poker efforts.

4) Mixed

Scarne's Guide to Modern Poker, by John Scarne

Although Scarne's self-confidence sometimes exceeds his expertise, that's only because his self-confidence was more or less limitless. The book is a bit old, which is why it falls into the "mixed" category: too much of the advice is out of date. Still, it helped start many poker players of my generation, and Scarne's name is big enough to make me feel addressing his book important.

Free Money: How to Win in the Cardrooms of California, by Michael Wiesenberg

Wiesenberg is a good writer and is funny, and this 1984 book was one of the first I ever bought on poker. In 1984, it helped a great deal. Today, it falls into the "Mixed" section because the poker world has chanced so much in the last couple of decades. Much of the strategy involves draw poker and lowball, but Wiesenberg is good enough that the book is still worth a read. Just don't make it your first poker book unless the only games you play are five card draw or lowball.

The Complete Guide to Winning Poker, by Albert Morehead

Another oldie (How old? The cover price on my edition is $3.95), and so it omits a great deal of information that the modern poker player needs. I placed it in the "mixed" section more for what was left out rather than for what was wrong. It also focuses more on home game poker, because cardroom poker wasn't very big when Morehead wrote it in 1967.

The Andy Nelson Series

Andy Nelson has written a series of about a dozen books, and with the exception of "101 Ways to Win" and "Poker: A Winner's Guide," all of the rest are really pamphlets, not books. I never found them particularly helpful when I was a raw beginner, but because the guy had written SO MANY poker books, I assumed he had to be a good poker writer and I bought them all at once. I wanted this article to be about the "best" books, not a list of books you don't really need, but because there are so many of Nelson's books floating around, a lot of beginners will make the same mistake I did way back when I had no idea who the good authors were and who they weren't.

III) BOOKS ABOUT SPECIFIC POKER GAMES, SECTION ONE: HOLD'EM

1) Awesome/Must Read

Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players (21st Century Edition), by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth

There's no disputing this work as one of the fundamental building blocks for taking your hold 'em game to the next level. Even though some players believe that the theories in this book have become so integrated into modern play that going against the text advice will produce more profits, I think you have to learn how to play by the rules before you start messing around with breaking the rules.

Winning Low Limit Hold'em, by Lee Jones

Although the name implies that the advice will help only in low limit games, many players have found extremely loose and wild games at higher limits (especially in California and home games) where the advice in this text will be invaluable. I think it's an awesome "partner" to the HFAP (above), because between the two books, you will get good advice about the two main kinds of games you're likely to run into: tight, and loose.

Championship No-Limit and Pot Limit Hold 'em, by T.J. Cloutier and Tom McEvoy

Cloutier is a poker tournament legend, and '83 WSOP Champ McEvoy isn't far behind. If you're thinking about moving up into poker's big leagues, this is a must-read. It focuses more on tournaments than it does on live game play, but for Americans who (unlike their European counterparts) rarely find live pot-limit or no-limit games and who must learn via tournament play only, that's probably not such a bad thing.

2) Excellent

Pot-Limit and No-Limit Poker, by Bob Ciaffone and Stewart Rubin

A nice companion book to the Cloutier text because it doesn't focus as much on tournaments and gives one more tips on live play. I still think the ultimate text on how to play live (money, as opposed to tournament) pot-limit poker book has yet to be written, mostly because the people who really know how to win in live pot-limit games are making far too much money playing to give away their secrets.

3) Good

Hold 'em Excellence, and More Hold 'em Excellence, by Lou Krieger

Krieger, a mid-limit Southern California player, provides a lot of useful information for the intermediate player, in an easy to digest, short-chapter style.

Hold 'em Poker, by David Sklansky

Hold 'em is certainly THE poker game in casinos and cardrooms, and Sklansky gets novices off to a good start here. Advanced players will find this work a bit too mechanical and incomplete, but Sklansky makes it quite clear he didn't intend this book for advanced players: you've already seen THAT work in the "Must Read" list.

4) Mixed

Championship Hold'em, by T.J. Cloutier and Tom McEvoy

It almost breaks my heart to put any Cloutier/McEvoy book into any category below "Excellent," but Championship Hold'em, while offering much excellent advice, also offers a few too many errors for me to recommend it without an asterisk. I DO recommend it: I just recommend it to players who are already reasonably advanced players, and who will do the work thinking through the examples and advice offered, so that they can separate the great advice from some of the lesser advice.

Hold'em Poker, by Gary Carson

I'd actually rather give this book a ranking of "Incomplete" rather than "Mixed," and that's not Carson's fault. I'm gonna fess up and admit to not having done my homework: I haven't read this just-released text in its entirety yet, even though I had some opportunities while it was still being assembled. I know there's some good advice in here, because I've read it. However, I've never met anyone who has either played with Carson or watched him play, and so it isn't clear to me how much of the book is purely theoretical on Carson's part, or if he has assembled his knowledge base via reading other authors, working with poker software, or playing solely in private games. None of those provisos means the book might not be excellent. I'll follow up with a review in a later WNP after I've finished it. Dan Kimberg's "Serious Poker," another relatively new book, also gets an "incomplete" and I'll let you know more later.

BOOKS ABOUT SPECIFIC POKER GAMES, SECTION TWO: Seven-Card Stud

1) Awesome/Must Read

Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players (21st Century Edition), by David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth, and Ray Zee.

The name says it all, and you've already seen all three authors' names on this list. One caveat: the book is really designed for those playing at mid-limits, like 20-40. A lot of the concepts don't work very well at lower "no fold 'em" limits, or in very high limit games. I have a lot of respect for Sklansky and Malmuth, and when you add Ray Zee-who has won a LOT of money playing poker-to the team, you get a VERY good book.

High-Low Split Poker for Advanced Players, by Ray Zee

High-low is a very different animal from straight high poker, and this book, which is actually two books in one, with separate sections for 7-stud and Omaha), does a great job of explaining just how different.

2) Excellent

Championship Stud Poker, by Max Stern, Tom McEvoy, and Linda Johnson

A useful guide for both mid-limits and tournament play, especially because the authors don't hesitate to disagree with one another. I'm very fond of the book for that reason: too many poker authors write as if their recommended plays are the gospel that no sane person should dare challenge. Stern, McEvoy and Johnson freely admit that there's more than one road to success.

3) Good

7-Card Stud, by Roy West

West is a solid writer who aims his text squarely at low and mid-limit games, and I like his "lesson plan" approach. Well worth a look.

BOOKS ABOUT SPECIFIC POKER GAMES, SECTION THREE: OMAHA

1) Awesome/Must Read

Championship Omaha, by T.J. Cloutier and Tom McEvoy

It earned me 23 times the cover price the first time I played after I read it. 'Nuff said.

3) Good

Cappelletti On Omaha, by Mike Cappelletti

My 1989 edition is a self-published book that I suspect is no longer in print. The good news is that Cappelletti is still writing regular columns for Card Player. Other good news I get from my survey of poker pro pals is that Cappelletti is a better writer than he is a player (they don't mean he's Hemmingway; they mean he seems to be able to write about Omaha better than he seems to be able to play it at the table, and that's good news for someone considering buying his book!).

Omaha Hold'em Poker: The Action Game, by Bob Ciaffone

It's not a long book, but when Ciaffone speaks, I listen.

BOOKS ABOUT SPECIFIC POKER GAMES, SECTION FOUR: TOURNAMENTS

1) Awesome/Must Read

Tournament Poker, by Tom McEvoy

Unless you're some sort of natural poker savant, if you aspire to tournament success, you must read this book. Tournament play is very different from ring (money) play, and McEvoy does a fine job explaining how. This is very clearly numero uno when it comes to books on tournaments, and there were more than a few tournament pros who were not happy with McEvoy when he wrote it, feeling he gave away too many "secrets."

3) Good

Poker Tournament Tips from the Pros, by Shane Smith

The book's cover is very honest: It says "Especially good advice for rookie tournament players," and that's exactly the group to whom I'd recommend it. I don't think there's much in here for the tournament veteran, but tournament strategy is VERY different from money game strategy, and if you're thinking about trying out tournaments, this book is a very good place to start.

The Secret to Winning Big in Tournament Poker, by Ken Buntjer

A lot of players bitched and moaned when Buntjer's book came out, because it lists for $49.95, which is ten or twenty dollars more than the vast majority of poker books cost (I can only think of one with a higher cover price: Supersystem), and it sure wasn't the second best poker book ever written. They were worried, I guess, that if people bought the book, other authors might have the gall to charge the same amount and assembling a poker library would be more expensive. Fortunately for the book buying public, no one else has followed suit in the cost department, although I still found the argument a bit silly. If the book wins you a tournament that you otherwise would not have won, the extra $20 on the cost really doesn't matter, does it? The other problem was that the high price created high expectations. I think if this book had come out with a cover price of $19.95, everyone would have said they loved it. At $49.95, people read it with the attitude that it damn well better help their game, or else, and the reality is, it's only a good book about winning poker tournaments, not a great one. I think it has more than earned back its cost for me, but I too was one of those people who figured that if KB was charging that high a number for his book, he was going to be revealing something special I'd never seen or heard anywhere else, and I didn't find that to be the case.

Poker Tournament Tactics for Winners, by D.R. Sherer

A pretty reasonable tournament primer, and when you're just getting started with tournaments, $24.95 is a lot better than $49.95.

Poker Tournament Strategies, by Sylvester Suzuki

Like Buntjer's book and unlike the Smith or Sherer texts, Suzuki's book contains advice more useful to someone who has already played some tournaments than to a tournament rookie.

IV) Good Anecdotal Books for All Players

Note: The following books aren't really instructional texts, although occasionally you learn something about poker from reading them. They are good collections of poker stories that I think most poker players would like.

1) Awesome/Must Read

Telling Lies and Getting Paid, by Michael Konik

Although the whole book isn't about poker, the title piece (it's a collection) is worth the price of admission by itself. If you like playing poker and you don't buy this book, you're making a mistake.

Total Poker, by David Spanier

I'm sorry to say the poker world lost David Spanier in the year 2000, and it was a big loss. Spanier was a terrific writer, much more so than most of the poker-playing authors out there, and you should grab hold of this and all other Spanier books. Another nice one, published just about the time of his death, is "The Little Book of Poker."

Big Deal: A Year as a Professional Poker Player, by Anthony Holden

Holden, like David Spanier a writer first and a poker player second, does a great job of describing a good player's foray into the world of big-time poker. If you read it, you'll almost certainly get Big Tournament Fever and start playing a lot more poker. When you read Poker Brat (the book I'm working on with Phil Hellmuth, Jr., right now) sometime in 2001, your case of Big Tournament Fever will become critical.

The Biggest Game in Town, by A. Alvarez

Out of print at the moment, although you can probably find a copy in a poker playing friend's library. Alvarez fits in with Holden and Spanier as a writer first and poker player second, and if you like stories about Big Time Poker, you'll love this work, which many people consider the best book ever written about the World Series.

The Man with the $100,000 Breasts (and other gambling stories), by Michael Konik

Like Telling Lies and Getting Paid, this book isn't solely about poker, but I don't think you'd ever find any poker player anywhere who felt it wasn't a great read (except perhaps the players who only read menus). Konik is a great writer who is also a great player.

2) Excellent

The Education of a Poker Player, by Herbert O. Yardley

Another oldie but goodie-enough of a goodie to still be in print, despite a 1957 publication date. Helped launch me, and probably a few hundred thousand other players. Come to think of it, a few hundred thousand might be a low estimate.

3) Good

According to Doyle, by Doyle Brunson

A very entertaining, and also informative, collection of articles by one of poker's all-time great players and personalities.

Tales Out of Tulsa, by Bobby Baldwin

Baldwin, who was the youngest player ever to win the World Series of Poker until Phil Hellmuth broke his record, has proven that wisdom at the poker tables can translate into wisdom in the business world, having gone on to high-profile casino management success. A little wisdom here, a little humor there, and you'll be glad you picked it up.