Book Smarts vegas99bet wee lad
I am approaching this book post from the point of view that I have about vegas99bet. I have played cards in one way or another my whole life. As I am sure many can say the same, my first card game was Go Fish. I don't remember much about the game except for that I hated losing. This moved to War which in turn gave way to Uno where I cut my teeth on basic card strategy when I was but a wee lad.
This continued on with my early high school peer group. We began playing poker based home games such as Man or Mouse, 7.5/21.5, Little/Big Mac, Screw Your Buddy, Pass the Queen, etc. With some 5 card draw mixed in. Most weren't true poker games but bastardized poker variants.
I remember playing my first true No Limit Hold'em game (right around 2000) and I was hooked. I wasn't addict scratch your eyes out hooked yet but I never passed up an opportunity at a game. This led into me wanting to get better and better, not just win some of the time but win all the time. I know this isn't realistic in poker but I can honestly tell you I go into any game I play wanting to crush everyone at the table.
I always think it's funny hearing someone at the table saying "Sorry about that" when handing out a bad beat or scooping a huge pot and busting someone because you will never hear me say that at the table because I am not sorry and you shouldn't be sorry when you bust me. You might catch "Tough Luck" from me but never "Sorry!".
Anyways... My point to this is that after the initial Moneymaker WSOP induced poker frenzy began (and one might argue the beginning might've been with Varkonyi) I wanted to delve deeper into poker thought and find my own way and teach myself the fundamentals and basics of poker. Not only want to win but give myself the necessary tools to do it consistently and then mold my game in order to excel.
I am not a great poker player but I strive to be and I think that is what eventually makes great players. Below I outline the books that have truly helped me on my way and I also list some that I haven't read but are on my want list to continue my poker travels.
If you want to be a consistently good player you will have to work at it. These books have/are helping me and I have all the confidence in the world they will you too. You will notice the list is geared more toward NLHE and tournament play. This is not by accident. I am a better NLHE tournament player than cash game player (for a myriad of reasons) and as such spend most of my poker play at the tournament tables. I have read some good helpful books on cash game play but tournaments interest me more and as such I find the most value in the books I will mention below.
Note: The order of this list is NOT meaningful in anyway. I simply listed them in the order with which they entered my mind. It should not be considered a ranking at all.
Theory of Poker By: David Sklansky
Do not read this book until you feel comfortable with all general concepts of poker. The Fundamental Theorem of Poker took the way I thought about poker to another level. This is one I go back to often and I can't tell you how many times I have worked through it. You won't always agree with David but this is great mind fodder for people that enjoy thinking about their game.
Tournament Poker For Advanced Players By: David Sklansky
This is another Sklansky classic. Great way to begin looking at tournament play.
Improve Your Poker By: Bob Ciaffone
This book was the most helpful book of any I have ever read. It is a book that is aimed at the player that fully understands the ins and outs of poker play and wants to dissect their play and take it to a new level. The parts about firing a 2nd and 3rd bullet really changed the way I looked at post flop betting. Great stuff from a great guy. I met him in Tunica a couple of years ago. We chatted a bit and I could tell he really cares about the game.
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