By
Generaly
The Theory of Pokerby David SklanskyThis book is a revision of the original "Sklansky
on Poker Theory" from 1978. At one time titled "Winning Poker" and now
known as
The Theory of Poker, the book is considered to be a must read
for any player who is serious about the game. It is less a "how to"
book and more of a "why" book, explaining in a simple yet
mathematically precise way the thought process that a professional
gambler goes through when placing a wager. Just as the successful
casino accepts wagers based on having the best of it in the form of
positive expected value (+EV) so too does the successful poker player.
No one explains this better than Sklansky.
After reading
The Theory of Poker you will look at each bet that you
make in an entirely different way. You will consider yourself the house
in that you will be making and calling bets based on sound logic that
is founded on expectation. Obviously we all make bets with the
intention of winning a particular hand and thus winning money but
Sklansky puts it in perspective. That perspective basically boils down
to evaluating whether a play has a positive or negative expected value.
So whenever you hear someone say I felt the play was +EV, they are
applying a theory of poker from Sklansky.
Sklansky never claims that poker isn’t gambling. On the contrary, he suggests
that it is gambling, but that one should strive to always have better
than a 50% chance of winning the bets one makes in order to be a
winning player. He goes on to discuss what he calls "the fundamental
theorem of poker" in order to help you decipher whether or not you’re
making a play with +EV. The book covers five-card draw, seven card
stud, hold ‘em, draw lowball, razz and high low split. By covering so
many different forms of the game, the typical hold ‘em player will gain
a much wider perspective of the game of poker as well as all the
concepts, thought processes, and psychology of the game as a whole.
Odds, implied odds, free cards, semi bluffing, bluffing, slow playing,
position, reading hands and much more are all discussed in detail.
The Theory of Poker is a must read. If you’ve read it, and your
opponents haven’t, you gain. If your opponents have read it and you
haven’t, they gain. It is not only a book you should read but one you
should have on hand to refer back to.
If you want to buy this book on Amazon.com click here:
The Theory of Poker