Hi there

Just signed up to the site as a google search for poker books brought me here, ive had a search through the forums and generally the recommended poker books and ones which im considering buying are the following:

Theory Of Poker
Smalls Stakes Hold'em
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players
Harrington on Hold'em 1 & 2

Ive also seen Texas Hold'em: A Complete Guide by Sklansky which may be a good first read to get upto scratch with the game fully and gaming terms etc.. I dunno?

Ive only played poker on and off for around about a year, but its mainly been play money with friends messing about and not taking it that seriously; ive recently been playing raked cash games and the odd low buy-in STT. I'd say I have a basic understanding of the game from playing and from also watching WPT shows; though im interested in getting better at the game and investing in some books is a good idea.

Im not sure what kind of game i'd like to focus on between raked cash games and tournaments, id probably say tournaments as theres less risk of losing money rather than bringing more cash to the table on a raked table.

So back to my original question, which I may have already answered from my research; but what order would be the best to read those books in?
Theory of poker first, or small stakes hold'em first?
And anyone who has read the Texas Hold'em: A Complete Guide by Sklansky, is it any good and worth a read for someone who knows abit about the game? Would this book expand on the game itself etc.?

Any help is much appreciated and im looking to purchase my first book very soon so I can read it on my holiday.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that i will be mainly playing online and so far ive always played on NL tables, ive never played limit.

welcome to our little boudoir

if you're just starting to develop an understanding of the game, id leave Theory of Poker for a while and start with Small Stakes Hold Em......almost everyone will agree that this really is the bible of hold em for those starting out.

if its tournies that you're gonna concentrate on, you should definently buy HOH I and II.....III has just come out too but im not sure if anyone here has read it yet

<<<<<<<<<<<<<you will also find some good book reviews in the links on the left

__________________
For the best rakeback rates, greatest choice of poker rooms, more promotions, tournaments and bigger $$$ freerolls than any other rakeback affiliate, visit RakeTheRake, one of the largest and most reputable poker rakeback affiliates in the world.

Get constant bonuses and superb customer support at RedKings. (Non-US only){its rigged for me but prob not u}

I would toss out Tournament Poker for Advanced Players and Texas Hold'em: A Complete Guide by Sklansky

ToP is good, but if you are pretty new to the game, you may want to get Getting Started in Holdem first.

You need some expirience before get a lot out of ToP.

Small Stakes Holdem covers most of the concepts in ToP, and the HoH books build on the best from from Tournament Poker for Advanced Players.

If you want to learn some non-hold'em book Play Poker Like the Pros and SuperSystem2 have good sections on some of the other games that are widely played.

Agreed. If you are gonna go for a higher level Poker book buy Hold Em Poker for Advanced Players by Sklansky. I got a lot of use out of that one. But still read SSH first.

__________________
Lots of good rakeback options at http://www.raketherake.com/?refer=RTR25126

KRE8R probably has about seventy college funds in his NL5 roll.

Hi

Thanks for all your responses, it looks like Small Stakes hold'em is the way to go then, progressing onto further books in due time.

I also forgot to mention that I will mainly play online, rather than a live game. Maybe the odd live game with friends but nothing special.

Small Stakes Holdem is limit only.

Harrington on Holdem is tournament only, but could be used somewhat for cash games.

Check out Getting Started in Holdem in a book store and see what you think.

Also, if you are more NL oriented, The Little Green Book of Holdem by Phil Gordon is pretty good.

His DVD Final Table Poker is great.

Yeah also forgot to mention that all games ive played so far has been NL, ive never really had a go at limit poker to be honest.

what games and limits do you play? Have you played for money yet?

yeah ive played cash games, mainly raked games 0.25/0.50 NL tables on 5/6 max players tables, bringing about $20-$50 to the table; though I can't say ive set myself a limit.

Ive played about 10-15 low buy-in STT, with the highest being about $5 buy-in, winning a few of them.

Just been looking at some of the no-limit poker books, considering purchasing The Little Green Book as a starter and moving on to No Limit Holdem: Theory and Practice by Sklansky or the HoH books; which are believe arent really books to start on.

No Limit Holdem Theory and Practic I am reading now.

Little Green Book is a decent place to start.

Small Stakes Holdem is good for the outs excercises, but it is little harder to apply in NL.

No Limit and Pot Limit Poker has a good NL Holdem section.