Learn How to Play Poker The Best Books

There are thousands of books about “how to play Poker,” and many of them are written from the perspective of the particular writer who has been successful at playing poker. There are as many different approaches as there are hand combinations and I certainly read a lot of books when I first started playing. These are what I consider to be the five best books to help you learn how to play poker. They are weighted towards Texas Hold'em. because of that particular game's popularity, but the lessons are applicable to most games.

This is probably one of the most influential poker books ever written. I certainly based my playing on Mr. Brunsen’s approach, and if you read one book about playing poker, this is probably the most important in that it is more about playing your opponent than just the cards. I have found though, that too many players adopted this system, and when you have eight aggressive player at the table using the same approach, things get a little messy. The other thing I will say is – this system will not work as well at low stakes games. There seems to be a tendency lately for many to be playing “No Fold’em Hold’em,” and this changes the game somewhat.

Nonetheless, Doyle’s no nonsense approach and clear explanation of how to trap an opponent when you can put them on a big hand is well worth reading. His idea of raising into a pot that was raised pre-flop - after the flop when you have hit a set has made me more money than I care to think about. Most players with a big pair are just not prepared to let it go after a low flop. Golden advice.

This is another not-to-be-missed poker book. Mike Caro is clearly insane – or rather – he wants you to think he is insane and does an extremely good job of persuading you. Which makes him sane, very sane. Full of photographs to illustrate the point he is making, if you can just learn not to do the things he points out – you are ahead of the game.

I love his idea of trying to determine your opponents motivations and one major thing I learned from this book is to ask the question, “Why would he have done that?”  Another one that will repay the investment in spades.

Sklansky does an extremely good job of delving into the theory and mathematics of poker. A little too mathematical for my usual tastes, but if you want to learn to be a better player, this is a vital component to understand. We all want to cut down on the amount of bad beats and this book will help in that direction. The opening chapters are a good description of the various types of poker, and an extremely useful look at the differences between limit and no limit games. Sklansky has written numerous books on poker and is widely regarded as an authority on the game. No poker library should be without at least one of his books.

Dan Harrington is on of the most respected players on the No limit Hold’em tournament circuit. Like many professional players he has a background in chess and Backgammon, and brings a wealth of knowledge to playing no limit Texas Hold’em, which he shares in his series of books about tournament play.

This is the first in a series going into great detail about one of the most important aspects of playing poker tournaments. How to get through the opening rounds. If you watch a televised poker tournament, you could be forgiven for thinking it is just about the final table, but to get to this table, the players have gone through thousands of hands, sometimes spread over several days. Harrington share all his secrets in these books, and this is another must-have poker book for any would-be serious player.

This book is a little different to the others in that it is very conversational in style, and doesn’t really give detailed, specific advice. What it does instead is show an insight into the thinking of one of the major players in poker. Hansen is a gambler, pure and simple and has gone broke more times than any other major player I know – with the possible exception of Mike “The Mouth” Matusow.

Hansen’s style is similar to my own and in fact, the last time I played him at the EPT main event in Monaco, we were both knocked out of the tournament in the same hand when another player drew his flush.  This is an interesting book, and well worth a read.

Good luck at the tables !