I am reviewing these books on poker theory and tells because they have been most helpful to me in becoming a profitable poker player. Educating yourself on no limit holdem is not to difficult to do with all the books out there. Just visit Amazon and type in no limit holdem and you will get lots of selections. I recommend Amazon for this because they have a big selection, you can buy the books used for a fair price and their are reviews of the books right below the book. These reviews are written by people that have purchased and read the book. I have found some of them helpful and found them to be truthful because not all of them are good. So if you are looking for a book on holdem I think Amazon is a good source.
Review of Dan Harrington 's Volume I-III: Dan Harrington has been a successful No Limit Tournament player for a long time now. He has 3 books out that are actually best used as a set. Volume I talks about the beginning stages of a poker tournament and hand selection. Its a great book for beginners that want to learn the basic idea behind playing in tournaments. Harrington goes over lots of different things in this book that every beginner should know. The big one is hand selection and odds. He talks about how to play tight aggressive which is his playing style. The next Book Volume II assumes that you have read Volume I so it goes right in and builds on the principals from the first book. Volume II talks about the end game, meaning towards the middle or close to the money stage of the tournament where blinds are high and people tend to get real tight. If you combine the knowledge of these two books and have a little talent for the game of poker you will soon be successful in playing no limit poker tournaments. I know after I read these two books I made significant changes to my game and went from being a hit and miss tournament player to consistently making the final table or at least close too. No matter what you do you can not always win in my opinion however if you follow the Poker strategies Harrington lays out in these two books you can get pretty close consistently. Volume III is actually a test of your knowledge. What you will find in all of Harrington's books which I really like is that he will explain a theory and then give several scenarios where it can apply. This way not only do you get an explanation of the tactic but also a couple of examples of where the tactic fits in to your game. Well Vol. III is basically the test it is full of scenarios for you to navigate thru and after wards the book scores you. Now depending on your score you can go back and review certain parts of the other two books to improve that aspect of your game. This is almost like having a pro go over your game and then show you the flaws you need to improve upon.
Sklansky 's Holdem Poker For Advanced Players: Let me start of by saying that this book is not an easy read or at least it wasn't for me, however Holdem Poker For Advanced Players has lots of gems in it and is well worth reading. I have actually read the book 3 times now and I pick up something I missed every time. This book is definitely not for total beginners but if you have logged some time at the poker table you will find it very useful. I have found this book to be helpful in playing cash games rather then tournament style poker. Most of the theories in the book are more geared towards cash play in my opinion. The book splits different tactics in to different types of games. It talks about average games, tough games and loose games for example and then gives you advice on the hands you should be playing according to the game you are sitting in. This book is definitely worth reading over an over if you play in cash games. You will find that if you use tournament tactics in cash games you are not going to be as successful.
Mike Caro 's Book of Poker Tells: Mike Caro's book of poker tells is a great read for any poker player that is interested in reading their opponents. This book is full of poker tells that you will see at the poker table and how to interpret them. Their are different types of tells. You have tells that suggest a strong hand and tells that suggest a weak hand. This book by the mad genius of poker is an eye opener to anyone that is trying to figure out what their opponent is doing. This is the aspect of poker that deals with playing the player not the cards. I say this because if I can read a player properly the cards he are not as important. For example lets say you notice that a player is weak and is wanting to lay the hand down. Now with this information you make a bet and he folds the winning hand. If you could do that would that not put big time bucks in your pocket? Or lets say you have a tough call to make and you pick up something on the player that lets you know he has you beat and you fold therefore saving you money. This is what Mike Caro's Book of Poker Tells tries to teach you. I can honestly say that at least on one occasion the only reason I made the final table was because I read this book. I made 3 tough reads that got me in the money. This is not the only time that tells that are talked about in this book have made it possible for me to get out of a hand or to make the right call. If you are serious about playing live poker I highly recommend this book on poker tells.
I hope these poker book reviews have been helpful in giving some insight in to the books mentioned above.
