Cowboys Full is the best book about poker I've ever read, and I've read
just about all of them. The history of cards, of poker (draw, stud, high-low,
hold'em, Omaha, H.O.R.S.E., even badugi!), Doc Holliday, Wild Bill Hickok,
all the presidents and generals who played, the WSOP from its days at
Binion's Horseshoe to 8,000 players at the Rio and on ESPN, the Andy Beal
game, the science and technology of the game as it's now being played
live and on the Internet. READ THIS BOOK!
One of professional poker's most intriguing and fascinating
players, Gus Hansen has often been called "The Madman" for his
crazy, fearless, aggressive style. But you can't dispute the fact that this
poker superstar knows how to win--and win big. The holder of the inaugural
Poker Superstars Invitational title as well as the only player to win three
World Poker Tour tournaments, Gus won his fifth major international title
when he became the 2007 Aussie Millions Champion, outlasting 747 players
and nabbing $1.2 million. Now, for the first time ever, Gus analyzes the
hands that he played during the tournament and reveals his secrets for winning
in Every Hand Revealed.
The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How To Think
Like One (Paperback)
Sklansky's The Theory of Poker has generally been reguarded as a classic
since its initial release. Along with Doyle Brunson's Super System and
Mike Caro's Book of Poker Tells these three book were the the 1-2-3 knockout
combo of poker books. Super System covered many main types of poker specifically,
Caro's Book of Tells covered much of the psychology of poker, but Sklansky's
Theory of Poker was quite different.
Instead of focusing on one aspect of poker, Sklansky decided to focus
on the "big picture". Odds, psychology, information, using these
things in combination to make the correct decisions is what poker is all
about. And with The Theory of Poker Sklansky wrote a book that attempted
to teach you how to do just that. Simply stated, if you make more correct
decisions than your opponent, and make less wrong decisions, then in the
long wrong, you will win. Luck is the thing that keeps beginners and gamblers
coming back to try and "hit it big". And it's what keeps those
in the know in the money.
Phil Hellmuth Presents Read 'Em and Reap: A Career FBI Agent's Guide
to Decoding Poker Tells (Paperback)
Every great player knows that success in poker is part luck, part math,
and part subterfuge. While the math of poker has been refined over the
past 20 years, the ability to read other players and keep your own "tells"
in check has mostly been learned by trial and error.
But now, Joe Navarro, a former FBI counterintelligence officer specializing
in nonverbal communication and behavior analysis—or, to put it simply,
a man who can tell when someone's lying—offers foolproof techniques,
illustrated with amazing examples from poker pro Phil Hellmuth, that will
help you decode and interpret your opponents' body language and other
silent tip-offs while concealing your own. You'll become a human lie detector,
ready to call every bluff—and the most feared player in the room.
I just finished my first complete reading of the book. It is absolutely
extraordinary.
Those looking for specific advice playing particular forms of poker will
not be happy with the book (with one important, and possibly extremely
profitable exception). Those who are looking to really understand the
depths and complexity of the game, in all its forms, will be rewarded
with an absolute masterpiece.
I am a professional poker player, and I've read and studied everything
worth reading (and many others not worth reading!) about poker many times.
In my opinion, nearly all of the worthwhile stuff is 2+2 books, with a
few important exceptions. As stellar as I believe the 2+2 books are, I
feel that Mathematics of Poker (MoP) deserves its own category.
Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play (Paperback)
For today’s poker players, Texas hold ’em is the game. Every
day, tens of thousands of small stakes hold ’em games are played
all over the world in homes, card rooms, and on the Internet. These games
can be very profitable — if you play well. But most people don’t
play well and end up leaving their money on the table.
Small Stakes Hold ’em: Winning Big with Expert Play explains everything
you need to be a big winner. Unlike many other books about small stakes
games, it teaches the aggressive and attacking style used by all professional
players. However, it does not simply tell you to play aggressively; it
shows you exactly how to make expert decisions through numerous clear
and detailed examples.
Small Stakes Hold ’em teaches you to think like a professional player.
Topics include implied odds, pot equity, speculative hands, position,
the importance of being suited, hand categories, counting outs, evaluating
the flop, large pots versus small pots, protecting your hand, betting
for value on the river, and playing overcards. In addition, after you
learn the winning concepts, test your skills with over fifty hand quizzes
that present you with common and critical hold ’em decisions. Choose
your action, then compare it to the authors’ play and reasoning.
This text presents cutting-edge ideas in straightforward language. It
is the most thorough and accurate discussion of small stakes hold ’em
available. Your opponents will read this book; make sure you do, too!
Texas Hold'em For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)) (Paperback)
Texas Hold'em For Dummies introduces you to the fundamental concepts
and strategies of this wildly popular game. It covers the rules for playing
and betting, odds, etiquette, Hold'em lingo, and offers sound advice to
avoid mistakes. This handy reference guide gives new and even seasoned
players winning strategies and tactics not just for playing the game,
but for winning. You'll learn:
Rules and strategies for limit, no-limit, tournament, and online play
How to "play" the other players
The importance of your bankroll—recommended sizes and more
Hands you should and should not play
How to camouflage your play and dodge traps
When, who, and how to bluff
How to maximize your win with check-raising and trapping
The different approaches for playing in private games, casinos, card rooms,
tournaments, and on the Internet
How to use mathematics to your advantage
Illustrated Guide To Texas Hold'em: Making Winners Out Of Beginners and
Advanced Players (Paperback)
Texas Hold’em is the fastest growing, most popular game in America.
The Illustrated Guide to Texas Hold’em focuses on the type of poker
that beginners play, at a level beginners can easily understand.
The Illustrated Guide to Texas Hold’em is a heavily illustrated Texas
Hold’em poker book for beginners. Focusing on low-limit play, author
Dennis Purdy gives basic instruction on how to play the game and strategies
that work.
On each spread, the author shows the readers cards, a picture of a ten-handed
poker table, and where the reader is seated in relation to the dealer.
The author presents a basic Texas Hold’em poker situation and lets
the reader decided his/her move. On the right hand side of the spread,
the author will give the correct or best answer to the hand on the table
and a brief rationale behind each play.
Comprised of over 100 scenarios, The Illustrated Guide to Texas Hold’em
is a beginner’s quickest route from novice to skilled player.
Hold'em poker (also known as Texas Hold'em) is the most popular poker
game in the world. There are three types of Hold'em games:
Limit Hold'em (there is a specific betting limit applied in each game
and on each round of betting)
Pot Limit Hold'em (A player can bet what is in the pot.)
No Limit Hold'em (A player can bet all of his/her chips at any time.)
Texas Holdem Basic Rules
In Hold'em, players get two down cards and five community cards (which
are face-up in the middle of the table). Your hand is determined by using
the best five of those seven cards (in any combination) with the best
hand winning the pot.
There are four betting rounds in Holdem. In Limit Holdem, one bet and
three raises are allowed for each betting round. To continue to play,
players must act on each betting round and call all action to them (unless
they are "all-in"). Betting always proceeds in a clockwise rotation.
Here is the basic procedure for Texas Holdem:
1) Prior to dealing the cards, two blinds (the Small Blind and the Big
Blind) are placed in the pot by the two players to the immediate left
of the dealer (indicated by the red dealer "button"). The blinds
are put in to start the action.
2) Everyone is dealt two down cards ("hole cards"). The action
begins with the player to the left of the Big Blind folding, calling,
or raising. Action continues with all players making one of these decisions.
This is the first betting round.
3) Upon completion of the first round of betting, the dealer then turns
over three cards (community cards known as "The Flop"). This
is the second betting round. Beginning with this round of betting (and
throughout the remainder of the hand), the player to the left of the button
acts first. A player may now check (not bet or fold) or bet if there is
no betting in front of them. If there is betting and/or raising in front
of them, they may Call, Raise, or Fold.
4) Following the completion of action on the "flop", the dealer
turns over another card (known as "The Turn" or "Fourth
Street"). This is the third round of betting. (In Limit Hold'em,
the amount bet doubles on "The Turn".) The betting again starts
with the player closest to the left of the button.
5) Following the completion of action on "the turn", the dealer
turns over the last card (known as "The River" card or "Fifth
Street"). This is the final round of betting.
6) Upon completion of the final round of betting, the best hand wins
the pot.
Poker Hands
Royal Flush - The best possible hand. Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10,
all of the same suit.
Straight Flush - A straight flush is a straight (5 cards in order, such
as 7-8-9-10-J) that are all of the same suit. As in a regular straight,
you can have an ace either high (A-K-Q-J-T) or low (A-2-3-4-5). You can
not use the Ace in a wraparound and example would be K-A-2-3-4, which
is not a straight.
Four of a Kind - Four cards of the same rank like four Aces or Four Kings.
If there are two or more hands that qualify, the hand with the higher-rank
four of a kind wins.
Full House - A full house is a three of a kind and a pair, such as K-K-K-2-2.
When there are two full houses the tie is broken by the three of a kind.
An example would be J-J-J-5-5 would beat 9-9-9-A-A. If for some reason
the three of a kind cannot determine the victor then you go to the pair
to decide (this would only happen in a game with wild cards).
Flush - A flush is a hand where all of the cards are the same suit, such
as A-J-9-7-5, all of Diamonds. When flushes ties, follow the rules for
High Card.
Straight - Five cards in rank order, but not of the same suit (it can
be any combination of the four suits). An example of a straight is 2-3-4-5-6.
The Ace can either be high or low card, either A-2-3-4-5 or 10-J-Q-K-A.
Wraparounds are not allowed (an example being K-A-2-3-4). When two straights
tie, the highest straight wins, K-Q-J-10-9 would beat 5-4-3-2-A. If two
straights have the same value, AKQJT vs AKQJT, the pot is split.
Three of a Kind - Three cards of any rank with the remaining cards not
being a pair (that would be a full house if it were). Once again the highest
ranking three of a kind would win. K-K-K-2-4 would beat Q-Q-Q-2-3. If
both are the same rank (only in a wild card game), then the High Card
rule come into effect with the remaining two.
Two Pair - Two distinct pairs of card and a 5th card. The highest ranking
pair wins ties. If both hands have the same high pair, the second pair
wins. If both hands have the same pairs, the high card wins.
Pair - One pair with three distinct cards. Highest ranking pair wins.
High card breaks ties.
High Card - When a hand has none of the above qualifications of any of
the ones listed above, nobody has even a pair or better, then it comes
down to who is holding the highest ranking card. If there is a tie for
the high card then the next high card determines the pot, if that card
is a tie than it continues down till the third, fourth, and fifth card.
The High card is also used to break ties when the high hands both have
the same type of hand (pair, flush, straight, etc).
99cents
$3.97
99cents