OFFICIAL Ask Steve-O questions about poker books thread

[Steve-O]

I've been reading poker books since around 2001 and coupled with my current job writing for poker media outlets (where I get quite a few freebies to review) I have read a lot of poker books over the years --probably around 250 if I had to guess. I've also read quite a few books that deal with psychology and body language that can be easily applied to poker.

So if you have any questions about specific books (regarding the content, the writing style of the author, or anything else), or are looking for the best bang for your buck on a specific topic, post a question here and I'll try to answer it if I can.

[Bootsy Collins]

I've been reading poker books since around 2001 and coupled with my current job writing for poker media outlets (where I get quite a few freebies to review) I have read a lot of poker books over the years --probably around 250 if I had to guess. I've also read quite a few books that deal with psychology and body language that can be easily applied to poker.

So if you have any questions about specific books (regarding the content, the writing style of the author, or anything else), or are looking for the best bang for your buck on a specific topic, post a question here and I'll try to answer it if I can.

Your honest opinion of Hellmuths "Play Poker Like the Pros"?

[Dan Druff]

I've been reading poker books since around 2001 and coupled with my current job writing for poker media outlets (where I get quite a few freebies to review) I have read a lot of poker books over the years --probably around 250 if I had to guess. I've also read quite a few books that deal with psychology and body language that can be easily applied to poker.

So if you have any questions about specific books (regarding the content, the writing style of the author, or anything else), or are looking for the best bang for your buck on a specific topic, post a question here and I'll try to answer it if I can.

Which is the best book on NL tournaments that isn't aimed at beginners or outdated based upon today's prevalence of aggressive internet players (even at live events)?

What is the best book on PLO?

[Steve-O]

I've been reading poker books since around 2001 and coupled with my current job writing for poker media outlets (where I get quite a few freebies to review) I have read a lot of poker books over the years --probably around 250 if I had to guess. I've also read quite a few books that deal with psychology and body language that can be easily applied to poker.

So if you have any questions about specific books (regarding the content, the writing style of the author, or anything else), or are looking for the best bang for your buck on a specific topic, post a question here and I'll try to answer it if I can.

Your honest opinion of Hellmuths "Play Poker Like the Pros"?

If you don't know the Big Blind from the Cutoff it's a terrific book!! On a serious note, most of these "older-style" books (Play Poker Like the Pros, HEM For Advanced Players, Winning Low Limit Holdem and so on) can still be used just to show people how complex poker is, and that it's a game of skill. If you were only going to read ONE poker book this shouldn't be it, but if you plan on continuing to learn it's a fine jumping off point.

[Deal]

Can you give us an honest assessment of Mason as a publisher.

[Steve-O]

I've been reading poker books since around 2001 and coupled with my current job writing for poker media outlets (where I get quite a few freebies to review) I have read a lot of poker books over the years --probably around 250 if I had to guess. I've also read quite a few books that deal with psychology and body language that can be easily applied to poker.

So if you have any questions about specific books (regarding the content, the writing style of the author, or anything else), or are looking for the best bang for your buck on a specific topic, post a question here and I'll try to answer it if I can.

Which is the best book on NL tournaments that isn't aimed at beginners or outdated based upon today's prevalence of aggressive internet players (even at live events)?

What is the best book on PLO?

The best Tournament book(s) right now, in my opinion, are the Jonathan Little Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker. I just finished Volume 2 --review and Interview with Little will be coming soon-- and they were pretty solid, not overly filled with math and took different factors into the equation (In certain spots he would give his thoughts and then tweak one or two things about the hand and give a completely different line).

I also enjoyed the Kill Phil and Kill Everyone books by Lee Nelson et. al. not because I advocate push/fold strategies, but because the books open your eyes to different playing styles and such and can be very useful when you are short-stacked.

I found Harrington's books fairly straightforward even when they first came out --I think the Squeeze Play was the only thing that added to tournament poker theory from those 3 volumes-- but they are good for entry-level tournament players.

As far as PLO goes: it depends. It depends on your particular style and the games you play. Rolf Slotboom has written a few books on the topic, and I thought they were pretty good, so has Jeff Hwang. It's still a fairly new format, so when it comes to strategy books I think the strategies and theories are still undergoing a major evolution. If I had to pick one I would say Secrets of Short-Handed PLO by Slotboom and Hollink

[Bootsy Collins]

Which is the best book on NL tournaments that isn't aimed at beginners or outdated based upon today's prevalence of aggressive internet players (even at live events)?

What is the best book on PLO?

The best Tournament book(s) right now, in my opinion, are the Jonathan Little Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker. I just finished Volume 2 --review and Interview with Little will be coming soon-- and they were pretty solid, not overly filled with math and took different factors into the equation (In certain spots he would give his thoughts and then tweak one or two things about the hand and give a completely different line).

I also enjoyed the Kill Phil and Kill Everyone books by Lee Nelson et. al. not because I advocate push/fold strategies, but because the books open your eyes to different playing styles and such and can be very useful when you are short-stacked.

I found Harrington's books fairly straightforward even when they first came out --I think the Squeeze Play was the only thing that added to tournament poker theory from those 3 volumes-- but they are good for entry-level tournament players.

As far as PLO goes: it depends. It depends on your particular style and the games you play. Rolf Slotboom has written a few books on the topic, and I thought they were pretty good, so has Jeff Hwang. It's still a fairly new format when it comes to strategy books that I think the strategies and theories are still undergoing a major evolution. If I had to pick one I would say Secrets of Short-Handed PLO by Slotboom and Hollink

What about Raisers Edge by Bernard Grospelier Lee Nelson and Tony Dunst?

[Steve-O]

Can you give us an honest assessment of Mason as a publisher.

You know what you're going to get with 2+2 books in my opinion. The books are well structured, the content is solid but not groundbreaking, and the writing style is somewhere between a 1,000 page biography of Queen Elizabeth and a math text-book. Pretty much everyone should read the popular 2+2 books just to get a feel for what other players are doing since they are the most widely read.

I think the 2+2 books are a bit overpriced, and usually have a good 50-100 pages of "filler".

The one thing I will say about 2+2 is that they do a great job of taking an existing concept and branding it with a name, and then explaining it in very clear precise terms --think "Gap Concept"

[Steve-O]

The best Tournament book(s) right now, in my opinion, are the Jonathan Little Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker. I just finished Volume 2 --review and Interview with Little will be coming soon-- and they were pretty solid, not overly filled with math and took different factors into the equation (In certain spots he would give his thoughts and then tweak one or two things about the hand and give a completely different line).

I also enjoyed the Kill Phil and Kill Everyone books by Lee Nelson et. al. not because I advocate push/fold strategies, but because the books open your eyes to different playing styles and such and can be very useful when you are short-stacked.

I found Harrington's books fairly straightforward even when they first came out --I think the Squeeze Play was the only thing that added to tournament poker theory from those 3 volumes-- but they are good for entry-level tournament players.

As far as PLO goes: it depends. It depends on your particular style and the games you play. Rolf Slotboom has written a few books on the topic, and I thought they were pretty good, so has Jeff Hwang. It's still a fairly new format when it comes to strategy books that I think the strategies and theories are still undergoing a major evolution. If I had to pick one I would say Secrets of Short-Handed PLO by Slotboom and Hollink

What about Raisers Edge by Bernard Grospelier Lee Nelson and Tony Dunst?

I haven't read this book yet.

[Bootsy Collins]

What about Raisers Edge by Bernard Grospelier Lee Nelson and Tony Dunst?

I haven't read this book yet.

My man HeroCEO David Jung wrote a glowing review on Amazon.

[fluffer]

at least stevie replies to the questions


hi druff

[JinxedChoker]

The best Tournament book(s) right now, in my opinion, are the Jonathan Little Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker. I just finished Volume 2 --review and Interview with Little will be coming soon-- and they were pretty solid, not overly filled with math and took different factors into the equation (In certain spots he would give his thoughts and then tweak one or two things about the hand and give a completely different line).

I also enjoyed the Kill Phil and Kill Everyone books by Lee Nelson et. al. not because I advocate push/fold strategies, but because the books open your eyes to different playing styles and such and can be very useful when you are short-stacked.

I found Harrington's books fairly straightforward even when they first came out --I think the Squeeze Play was the only thing that added to tournament poker theory from those 3 volumes-- but they are good for entry-level tournament players.

As far as PLO goes: it depends. It depends on your particular style and the games you play. Rolf Slotboom has written a few books on the topic, and I thought they were pretty good, so has Jeff Hwang. It's still a fairly new format when it comes to strategy books that I think the strategies and theories are still undergoing a major evolution. If I had to pick one I would say Secrets of Short-Handed PLO by Slotboom and Hollink

What about Raisers Edge by Bernard Grospelier Lee Nelson and Tony Dunst?

+1 if someone in this thread reads the Raisers Edge book lmk how good it is. I honestly haven't read that much about tourney poker since HOH volumes but I have heard good things about it. I really wish books would focus more on the live mental aspect of the game and how it messes with peoples perception of yourself and the table (metagame). Some of these variables can swing more stronger ranged hands by opponents into a passively played line (Bet, Check/Call, Check/Call) which isn't bad 100% of the time because of there (poor) line you get more marginal holdings to showdown cheaper by checking behind in position and the overpair makes shit compared to taking a bluffy/aggro line of (Bet, Check/Raise, Bet) vs a speculative opponent who will look you up 9 times out of 10 because your line is the nuts vs nothing and nobody ever makes a hand right?

[rickastley]

is the micon system (and version 2) going to improve my game?

[Fergie72]

I have read both Slotboom's and Hwang's books. I like Slotboom's for learning the value of shortstacking and Hwang's for pretty much everything else.

In his first book Hwang does a great job of explaining what sort of hands and flops you want to try and get pot committed with. His second book goes more into how to try and lag it up and take down more smallish pots using position. This is what you need to get good at to beat the more common 6 max games and is obv much more difficult.

[hotshott74]

What are the best newer eBooks that are available? I am looking to download for my kindle.

[GrenadaRoger]

is the micon system (and version 2) going to improve my game?

Yes, i also want to know about the Micon System

is it better used to pokers train me or paper train my puppy?

[Steve-O]

What are the best newer eBooks that are available? I am looking to download for my kindle.

A lot of poker books are availabled on Kindle (2+2 for whatever reason doesn't have a good selection for Kindle though) Raisers Edge (which I haven't read but do own) is on my Kindle for less than $8, J. Little's tourney books, if you're in to Tri Nguyen's stuff those are available. Jared Tendler's Mental Game of poker book is only like $10 I believe.

***Actually I was just browsing and 2+2 seems to have added a lot of Kindle books... and if you are feeling nostalgic a lot of the old Avery Cardoza titles are available in Kindle format now too***

You can also buy an e-book and download the PDF to your Kindle, the formatting takes a bit of hit (the text is usually on the small side) but still easily readable. I did this with Don't Listen to Phil Hellmuth by Leatherass.

I wouldn advise against getting a tells book or anything else with a lot of graphics unless you have the Kindle Fire, and even then a lot gets lost in the formatting.

[hotshott74]

What are the best newer eBooks that are available? I am looking to download for my kindle.

A lot of poker books are availabled on Kindle (2+2 for whatever reason doesn't have a good selection for Kindle though) Raisers Edge (which I haven't read but do own) is on my Kindle for less than $8, J. Little's tourney books, if you're in to Tri Nguyen's stuff those are available. Jared Tendler's Mental Game of poker book is only like $10 I believe.

***Actually I was just browsing and 2+2 seems to have added a lot of Kindle books... and if you are feeling nostalgic a lot of the old Avery Cardoza titles are available in Kindle format now too***

You can also buy an e-book and download the PDF to your Kindle, the formatting takes a bit of hit (the text is usually on the small side) but still easily readable. I did this with Don't Listen to Phil Hellmuth by Leatherass.

I wouldn advise against getting a tells book or anything else with a lot of graphics unless you have the Kindle Fire, and even then a lot gets lost in the formatting.

Thanks, Steve-O for the recommendations and advice. I didn't realize the J. Little tourney books were available as eBooks, I will have to check them out. I like and have some of the Tri Nguyen's books and downloaded Raisers Edge (haven't read). I may download one or two from 2+2 (thinking about the Badugi one by Greenstein) as I like mixed games as well, Holdem is pretty much saturated.

On that note, I am also looking for good books on basic Draw poker or triple draw. They seem to be rare. I know there is an old one that's really hard to find from Two Plus Two on five card draw but I haven't been able to get a copy, I even checked the Gamblers Book Store in Vegas last summer to no avail. Just starting to look at triple draw one's, obviously it's in Super System 1 and 2. Are you aware of any others?

[Steve-O]

A lot of poker books are availabled on Kindle (2+2 for whatever reason doesn't have a good selection for Kindle though) Raisers Edge (which I haven't read but do own) is on my Kindle for less than $8, J. Little's tourney books, if you're in to Tri Nguyen's stuff those are available. Jared Tendler's Mental Game of poker book is only like $10 I believe.

***Actually I was just browsing and 2+2 seems to have added a lot of Kindle books... and if you are feeling nostalgic a lot of the old Avery Cardoza titles are available in Kindle format now too***

You can also buy an e-book and download the PDF to your Kindle, the formatting takes a bit of hit (the text is usually on the small side) but still easily readable. I did this with Don't Listen to Phil Hellmuth by Leatherass.

I wouldn advise against getting a tells book or anything else with a lot of graphics unless you have the Kindle Fire, and even then a lot gets lost in the formatting.

Thanks, Steve-O for the recommendations and advice. I didn't realize the J. Little tourney books were available as eBooks, I will have to check them out. I like and have some of the Tri Nguyen's books and downloaded Raisers Edge (haven't read). I may download one or two from 2+2 (thinking about the Badugi one by Greenstein) as I like mixed games as well, Holdem is pretty much saturated.

On that note, I am also looking for good books on basic Draw poker or triple draw. They seem to be rare. I know there is an old one that's really hard to find from Two Plus Two on five card draw but I haven't been able to get a copy, I even checked the Gamblers Book Store in Vegas last summer to no avail. Just starting to look at triple draw one's, obviously it's in Super System 1 and 2. Are you aware of any others?

I really don't know of any, especially any that would be pertinent in today's poker world. Your best bet may be Googling some articles, Cardplayer used to have a 5-card-draw columnist but his name is escaping at the moment.

[JACKDANIELS]

any good books on OmahaH/L ?