General Poker Books

Book Description
Twenty years ago, Mike Caro wrote the book on what to look for in a player's movements, gestures, and facial expressions--their "tells"--to determine if they were bluffing, and it remains one of the bestselling poker books of all time. But what Caro didn't do was teach players how to bluff. Enter Matt Lessinger, a professional poker player and columnist, who in THE BOOK OF BLUFFS shows players how to get their opponents to fold--no matter how strong a hand they've been dealt. Lessinger reveals how, with the correct timing and artistry, bluffing will allow a player to win while holding an inferior hand--the very essence of poker.

About the Author
MATT LESSINGER lives in Alamo, California.

Although this title isn't released yet, the combination of Full Tilt's very high information quality and the quality of the authors listed above puts this title on my pre-order list.

You probably recognize Barry Greenstein, the gaunt looking author of this book from his appearances at WPT events.  People call him the Robin Hood of poker because he donates his tournament winnings to charity (Children Incorporated specifically).  Casual players may not realize that he's the most successful cash game player in the world.

When Doyle Brunson was gathering talent to write sections of Super System 2 he approached Mr. Greenstein to write a chapter.  What originally was intended to be a 20 page section on making money at poker to compliment the technical sections of Super System 2 turned into over a hundred pages.  Instead of shortening the content he turned it into a book.  He submitted the book to several publishers and was accept by most of them, but decided to go with a smaller company (Last Knight Publishing) to give himself more control over the process.  The result is... really good.

Professional player Annie Duke says this is a must read and she's not alone.  This book is required reading if you want to progress to advanced play quickly.

John Vorhaus writes this gnarly book of hyper aggressive strategy.  Damn the torpedoes!  A good reminder that it's important to get money in when you have the best of it and to force your opponents to make more decisions (and hence more mistakes).

Emotional control is the key with this book (and the next, "Zen and the Art of Poker").  Included are hundreds of tips and exercises to keep you on an even keel.

Holistic poker?  This is an excellent compliment to "The Tao of Poker" for helping with emotional control while playing poker.  Gaining some control over "tilt" is something that will pay for these books hundreds of times over your poker career.

At the highest levels poker becomes a game of not only knowing what you have and putting your opponent on a hand but also of thinking about what hand they put you on and what hand they think you think they have...  and so on! 

A poker book that is up to the standards of the "for Dummies" series.  The rules and general precepts of poker playing are laid out very clearly here to take you through the painful (and expensive!) beginner period as quickly as possible.

One of the most famous poker books in existence, this fully illustrated book gives a large number of examples of common player tells.  One of the most important reasons to get this book is to know what tells you may unconsciously be giving off when you play in live games so you can keep them under control (or eventually learn to impersonate them).

"Fundamentals of Poker by Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis discusses the most popular casino and cardroom poker games - seven card stud, Omaha, Omaha, razz, and lowball draw. It covers everything from the ranking of the hands and poker etiquette to the most important strategy considerations that are necessary just for basic survival." -2+2

Do people really gamble for a living?  You bet they do--by gambling when they have an edge and you can do it too.  Concepts in this book also apply to poker play.

"Getting the Best of It by David Sklansky contains six sections discussing probability, poker, blackjack, other casino games, sports betting, and general gambling concepts.  A great compliment to Gambling for a Living." -2+2

"Topics covered include general concepts, technical ideas, structure, strategic ideas, image, tournament notes, in the cardrooms, and poker quizzes." -2+2

"As with the original Poker Essays, this book is designed to make the reader do a great deal of thinking about the game. In fact, very few readers will agree with everything this text offers, but the information provides should help most people become better poker players." -2+2

"As with the first two books in this series, Poker Essays, Volume III is designed to make the reader do a great deal of thinking. In fact, very few readers will agree with everything this text offers, but the information provided should help most people become better poker players." -2+2