If your unfamiliar to poker it’s easy to believe that the game is all about luck. The person with the most luck wins just as with any lottery or casino game. However, after a while playing Hold’em, most of us realize that poker is not about luck but is a very complex game which takes lot´s of time and effort to master. We (the authors of this page) have ourselves been playing for quite some time and understand that Texas Hold’em is a complex game which requires dedication and patience.

Below we present our reading strategy for Texas Hold’em. This strategy is first and foremost aimed to help those who have recently started playing but can also be of help to anyone interested in poker. It is our hope that you by using this strategy will become a better player in a shorter amount of time. Of course there are no guarantees that you become a better player by reading these books but we would definitely say that your chances increase substantially.

Our reading strategy is divided in to three parts, fixed limit, tournaments and no limit. We recommend that you start reading the books about fixed limit and then move on to tournaments and finish with no limit. This is because you risk less money at fixed limit so it can be best to start of with the books on fixed limit and then go on to tournaments.

Fixed limit

The first book we recommend reading is Winning Low Limit Hold’em by Lee Jones. This book is an excellent starting point since it describes the game at the lower limits where you are likely to start playing. This book is easy to read and explains all the basic rules and concepts. 

Last but not least we also recommend Sklanskys book the Theory of poker. This book describes the fundamentals of all poker games and is a must read for any serious poker player.

For further reading we also suggest reading Small Stakes Hold’em: Winning Big with Expert Play by Ed Miller, David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth. A great book to get the most out of low limit holdém.

Tournament poker

We feel that the next natural step after fixed limit is tournaments. Your are now playing no limit but you only risk the buy in to the tournament.

Here we first recommend reading the three tournament books by Dan Harrington. They are excellent.
 
1. Harrington on Holdém. Volume 1. Expert strategy for no-limit holdém tournaments
2. Harrington on Holdém. Volume 2. Expert strategy for no-limit holdém tournaments
3. Harrington on Holdém. The workbook. Expert strategy for no-limit holdém tournaments

No limit

Last but not least we arrive at no limit poker – “the Cadillac of poker”. In this area of Hold’em there are not so many books published so we only recommend two books.
 
First you should read Mastering No limit Hold’em by Russel Fox followed by No-limit Hold’em: Theory and practice by Skalnsky and Miller. The books are different and sometimes they actually contradict each other. This is a good thing because it gives perspective and a deeper understanding of the game!