Though the majority of poker books hold a good amount of practical information, there are a couple that are head and shoulders above the competition. For beginners, the hardest part of learning poker strategy is deciding where to start. For this reason, I have decided to put together a list of what I feel are the best poker books available.
This list will include my top three book picks in each major category. Please be aware these are my opinions, but you’ll find most of these books at the top of most players’ lists. I suggest you take these lists for what they are, personal opinion, and go to your local bookstore and browse the titles yourself before purchasing.
Limit Hold’em Books for Beginning Players
1. Small Stakes Hold’em by Ed Miller
2. Winning Low Limit Hold’em by Lee Jones
3. The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky
Limit Hold’em Books for Advanced Players
1. Hold’em for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth
2. Weighing the Odds in Hold’em Poker by King Yao
3. How Good is Your Limit Hold’em? by Byron Jacobs
No-Limit Cash Game Hold’em Books
1. Super System: No-limit Section by Doyle Brunson
2. Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book by Phil Gordon
3. No-Limit Texas Hold’em by Brad Daugherty
Tournaments
1. Harrington on Hold’em: Volumes I and II By Dan Harrington
2. Kill Phil by Phil Hellmuth
3. Championship No-Limit Hold’em by Tom McEvoy
Books on Poker Theory
1. The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky
2. The Psychology of Poker by Alan N. Schoonmaker
3. Zen and the Art of Poker by Larry Phillips
Omaha
1. Winning Omaha/8 Poker by Mark Tenner and Lou Krieger
2. Omaha Hold’em Poker: The Action Game by Bob Ciaffone
3. How Good Is Your Pot-Limit Omaha by Stewart Reuben
Seven-Card Stud
1. Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players by David Sklansky
2. How to Beat Low Limit 7 Card Stud Poker by Paul Kammen
3. Winning 7-Card Stud: Transforming Home Poker Chumps into Casino Killers by Ashley Adams
Entertainment
1. One of a Kind by Nolan Dalla
2. The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King by Michael Craig
3. Positively Fifth Street James McManus
Other Choices
1. Caro’s Book of Poker Tells by Mike Caro
2. The Book of Bluffs: How to Bluff and Win at Poker by Matt Lessinger
3. Ace on the River by Barry Greenstein
For more information and reviews on the above titles, please visit our Poker Book Review Archives. Check back regularly for reviews on newly released poker books.