Poker Books Blog » Poker Books

Poker Book: The Psychology of Poker

Chunta — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:42:44 +0000

One book I will personally recommend for someone who’s starting to learn the game or someone who can consider himself an intermediate player is The Psychology of Poker written by Allan Schoonmaker. The pages of this book have a lot of things to offer.

As you may have read everywhere, psychology is a vital part of poker. Understanding the psychology of the game is somehow knowing the reasons why you are doing what you are doing. The book explores into the motivations that one might have for playing poker. Schoonmaker delves into the principles of the game, evaluation of one’s self if you have the stuff needed for poker, subjective rationality, and a bunch of other poker psychology stuff. The good thing about the book is that everything is presented the way you and I will understand it.

One good section of the book goes into the Styles Grid which helps you answer some basic questions to determine how you should play the game.

The book was published back in 2000 just before everyone went crazy for the card game. The author hits the spot that one must be tight-aggressive. One just cannot wait all day and all night to get the best cards to play or your chips will be way down because of the blinds.

We also commend the chapter of the book which helps us analyze the right frame of mind and style of play when dealing with loose passive poker players. Schoonmaker points out that discipline prevails in poker.

The Psychology of Poker is a good read. One great addition it brought to my game is patience.

Super System: A Course in Power Poker by Doyle Brunson

Jon — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:29:04 +0000

Mr. Doyle Brunson is one of the true legends of poker, and this book probably is the most legendary poker book ever written. Educating players for decades, Super System: A Course in Power Poker by Doyle Brunson is the book that has lead the current generation of money-making professionals to poker riches, in my opinion.

I actually enjoyed the read, considering the fact that it’s an old book. I loved Chip Reese’s part of the book – and really endorse the whole book!

The Professor, The Banker, and the Suicide King by Michael Craig

Jon — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:20:39 +0000

Billionaire Andy Beal took on a “team” of professional poker players (known as The Corporation) in the highest stakes cash-game ever to be played in the world. In this book, Michael Craig talks about the game, the people involved and gives us an insight in the world of ultra-high stakes gambling.

I loved this book, and honestly feel all poker fans should give it a try.

Mike Caro’s Book of Poker Tells

Jon — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:23:06 +0000

Subtitled “The Psychology and Body Language of Poker”, Caro’s Book of Poker Tells (formerly titled Caro’s Book of Tells) is a true classic in the poker community. Legendary author Mike Caro writes about some very well-known and some very marginal tells at the poker table, which will allow you to spot important signs while playing. It is a good book, but due to the fact that it is somewhat dated – quite a few players know all these things, and might use them against you…

It’s very much worth reading, but I do suggest you to keep in mind that the more experienced players at the table probably read this book too…