[Tommy]

Team Full Tilt Presents "Our Favorite Poker Books"

In recent months, many of our players have asked for
suggestions on what poker books provide the best insights
into the game. Being curious ourselves, we put the question
to our pros and the answers we got back included some long-
time favorites, along with a few surprises.

While our pros all have poker books that they like, not all
of them believe that reading about poker theory is essential
to improving their play. In fact, a few of our pros
expressed sentiments along these lines:

We're not big fans of poker books. Once you get the basics
down, is there something you can read that will drastically
change your outlook on poker? Probably not. If there were a
secret formula that would guarantee you'd always win, or one
certain technique to win the most money, wouldn't everyone
be playing that way already? The best teacher is
experience.Choose a playing style and game mentality that
fits your style, then get out there and actively think about
the game. See what works for you and what doesn't. No book
will be as effective as your own thought process.

Still, many of our pros do have some suggestions about which
titles you might want to add to your personal library.

Chris Ferguson believes David Sklansky's Hold 'em for the
Advanced Player and Theory of Poker are perhaps the two best
books out there. Both of Doyle Brunson's Super System books,
and Mike Caro's Book of Tells have helped his game, too.

Steve Brecher agrees with "Jesus" about Sklansky's Theory of
Poker for its idea of the semi-bluff and its analysis of the
concept of odds in poker. Sklansky's Hold 'em for the
Advanced Player and the rest of the Advanced Player series
are also solid reads.

Brecher also likes Doyle Brunson's chapter on No-Limit Hold
'em in his Super System for its emphasis on the importance
of implied odds (although that's Sklansky's phrase, not
Brunson's).

Erik Seidel notes that he hasn't read many of the poker
books out there, but his all-time favorite is The Biggest
Game in Town by Al Alvarez.

Being friendly with Phil Gordon, Perry Friedman has gotten
to read an advance copy of Phil's Little Green Book (due out
in October), which he thinks provides the best example of
how to teach people to think about the game. He adds that
both of Dan Harrington's books are filled with incredible
advice for tournament play.

When it comes to "non-strategy" books, the pros' choices are
as varied as their playing styles at the table.

Howard Lederer says, "I've recently started reading some
books on Zen Buddhism. Zen has always been associated with
the fine arts of flower arranging, calligraphy, and tea
making. But there is also quite a tradition of Zen in
swordsmanship and archery. Through reading these books and,
in particular, Zen in the Art of Archery, I have a greater
understanding of the process one goes through to master an
art form. And poker is most certainly an art form."

Other more poker-related titles on our pros' bookshelves
include Positively Fifth Street by James McManus, The
Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King by Michael Craig,
and the recently published Tales from the Tiltboys by the
Tiltboys. They're also looking forward to reading Nolan
Dalla's biography of Stu Ungar, One of a Kind.

It's safe to say that the books listed above will provide
you with an eclectic and comprehensive view of the
strategies, techniques, and personality traits that can help
you become a winning player. So enjoy these books, and good
luck at the table.

-Team Full Tilt

[Tommy]

Very good article here