Self-instruction card game poker. Is there a good poker tutorial? Good luck and good game

Succeeding in the world of poker is no easy task. Players need to know inside and out about this card game and constantly improve their knowledge base by learning from the best. All this can help poker books, which should be read by both beginners and experienced poker players. To date, there is a huge amount of literature devoted to such a card game. How to navigate in this diversity? We will help you! As part of this article, we will present to your attention some of the most famous publications for poker players.

Books for beginners

Let's start with a list of books for beginners that will help in mastering this card game and will allow you to succeed very quickly in it. First of all, this "Tutorial for playing poker at micro limits". It presents a unique program that was developed by professional trainers and will help you learn cash from scratch.

The Micro Limits Poker Tutorial explains in detail not only the terms, rules and combinations, but also the strategy that is suitable for playing limits from NL2 to NL25.

The next book that will be useful for any beginner is " Easy game". It was written by Andrew Seidman, a well-known coach and professional player. In it, he sets out in a simple and understandable form the rules and features of poker, highlights aspects of such a game that have not been discussed anywhere before. And most importantly, the author teaches beginners how to earn at least $ 100 per hour on such a game offline or online. Then he proposes a concept that will allow you to constantly increase such income.

Beginner Hold'em by Ed Miller will help you master the world's most popular form of poker. This publication is an excellent guide for beginners, where they will find many practical advice and actionable strategies. With this book, playing limit hold'em successfully will be a simple task.

Chris Moorman also published a book for beginners, which received a simple title - "Moorman about poker." It is written in an unconventional style and contains a lot of valuable information. In particular, beginners will learn from this book how to correctly play certain hands on the flop, how to beat opponents with weak cards and identify bluffs of their opponents.

An excellent tool for learning such a card game is "Poker Theory" by David Sklansky. This book presents not only the rules and combinations, but also provides comprehensive knowledge regarding tactics and techniques in the game. The author also voices the strategies he resorts to during hands at tournament and cash tables. He shares his experience so that beginners can turn poker into a stable source of income.

Books for players with experience

But what kind of poker books should be read online by players who already have some experience in such a card game? Here the bibliography will be different. First of all, we recommend that you study the "Manual for building a bankroll" from Pavel Nazarevich. It is interesting because the author talks about an effective system for increasing your bankroll in 83 days, which he himself put into practice, as a result of which his account increased from $200 to $10,000.

The system presented in The Bankroll Building Guide is very easy to understand. Every player can start using it, regardless of what limits he prefers to play.

Another essential book for experienced poker players is Treat Poker Like a Business by author Dusty Schmidt, who is in the big leagues in online poker y. His publication will allow you to take a different look at such a card game. In it, readers will find the secrets of winning and a lot of practical advice that will help turn poker into a real business that will bring a stable income and allow you to "live in clover".

how to correctly define tasks;
how to make a personal schedule;
how much time to devote to improving their skills;
how to maintain your health, even under increased stress and in stressful situations.

And another important publication for experienced players– "Harington on Holdem", which is presented in three volumes. The book was written by a professional poker player who has repeatedly become finalists of the World poker series. He shares his secrets with his readers good game in tournament competitions. In the books, not only theory awaits, but also practice by solving problems taken from the life of the author.

Books on Texas hold 'em and Omaha

Having decided to read online books on such a card game, you should definitely study the literature on Texas Hold'em. After all, this variation of poker is No. 1 in the world. That is why it is mandatory to master. We present you a list best books on Texas Hold'em, which will help not only to fully master it, but also to improve your skill level:

"Low Limit Hold'em" by Lee Jones;
"Internet Texas Hold'em by Matthew Hilger.
"Winning at Hard Hold'em" by Nick Grajine.
Head-to-Head No Limit Hold'em by Collin Moshman.

The second most popular type of poker is Omaha. So, such a card game also requires mastering. The following popular books will help to delve into and succeed in it in detail:

Pot Limit Omaha by Jeff Hwang
Omaha Poker by Bob Ciaffone;
"Secrets of Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo" by Dan Deppen;
Omaha for Champions by Tom McAvoy
Pot Limit Omaha by Tri Nguyen.

Books on mathematics

Success in poker largely depends on how actively the player resorts to mathematics. Such exact discipline is the basis of this card game. That's why it's important to know how to apply it within a hand. Books will help with this. One of the most popular is Easy Poker Math by Roy Rounder. It is small - only 36 pages, but very informative. Even a beginner will be able to understand how to perform mathematical calculations in poker and what their meaning is.

We advise you to read the book "Poker Math" by Bill Chen. In it, the author teaches how to build a game strategy using the basics of mathematics. In his opinion, relying on such an exact science, everyone will be able to easily make the right decisions on every street. Due to which it will be possible to stay in a good plus for long distances.

Author Tri Nguyen also offers a handy book on poker math called Let There Be Order. It touches on one of the most pressing topics - hand ranges and how to play them. Thanks to the application of mathematics, it will be possible to succeed in these areas.

Psychology books

Psychology is also an integral part of the game of poker. That is why it is worth reading books that deal with this topic. I can recommend the publication "Poker: Mind Games". The book is written by Jared Tendler and takes up the psychological aspects of the game. In her touches on issues of fear, motivation, confidence, tilt. It gives advice on the psychological attitude to the game, and also presents methods that help to reveal the emotional state of opponents.

Alan Schoonmaker's book The Psychology of Poker is also recommended reading. In it, the author dwells on why some players prefer to stick to a passive style, while others prefer an aggressive one. The author explains why some tactics are easy and others are not. It provides recommendations that will help you understand yourself, find your line of play and develop a unique strategy.

And another interesting book from this category is "Sign Language in Poker" by Mike Caro. This publication will teach you how to "read" your opponents at the table in a live game. To do this, it is only necessary to pay attention to the gestures of your opponents and know their correct meaning.

Summing up

In this article, we have considered only a part of the best poker books. There are many more of them. That is why, after studying the recommended publications, you should start reading other well-known literature. Don't stop there. Constantly strive for new knowledge, then you will be able to become a successful player and make good money on poker.

Poker, a game played all over the world. The first mention of a game similar to poker dates back to 1526. In that early poker, three cards were dealt into hands, and the game was called "primero" in Spain and Italy and "la prime" in France. The game included the announcement of bets, and the combinations evaluated were: three identical cards, pairs, and also three cards of the same suit, called a flush.

In 1700, bluffing, which had appeared by that time, was combined with the announcement of bets and the delivery of not three, but five cards, and the games became known as Brag (brag) in England, Pokhen (pochen) in Germany and Pok (poque) in France. In these forerunners of the game of poker, bluffing, or declaring a high bet in the presence of bad cards to get other players out of the pot was an important element. It is likely that the French name "pok" is a cast from the German, and the name "rocker" comes from the French.

Brag, Pohyun and Pok had only one betting round. The revealing of the cards - the display by all players of the cards in hand to determine the winner - occurred immediately after the end of this round. The seniority of the hands was determined by the following sequence: four identical (high); full house- (full house - three of the same and a couple of others); three are the same; two pairs; one pair and no pair (high card - the highest ranking card is taken into account).

The game of poker was brought to America by French colonists who first settled in the territory of Louisiana, then settled up the Missouri River and throughout the country. Poker in its modern version was first mentioned in 1829 in the memoirs of the English actor Joe Cowell, who traveled around America. In 1834 poker was played with a deck of 52 cards. At one time, poker was the national card game of the United States. It is still the most popular card game in the US today.

The return of poker from the States to Europe began after the US ambassador to Great Britain, Colonel Jacob Schenk, introduced this game to the court of Queen Victoria in 1870. In fact, Schenk wrote a code of rules for the queen, who expressed her interest in this game. However, in those years the game did not spread throughout Europe. It spread there only during the First World War by soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force.

Rules of the game:

Poker is played with different decks - 32, 36, 52 cards, and maybe 54. The number of players is from two to five with a deck of 32 cards, from two to six with a deck of 36 cards, from two to nine with a deck of 52 cards. 54 cards. Before the start of the game, each player contributes a certain bet to the pot.

Poker has many varieties. Joker short poker is played with 33 cards (a deck of 32 cards and a joker). Each partner plays five cards. Sometimes they play without trump cards, sometimes the trump suit is determined in this way: the distributor, who is determined by lot, allows the neighbor on the right to remove the deck and distributes five cards to everyone and reveals the top card that turned out to be the first, which is the trump card according to the rules. This card is placed face up on the side of the deck. The strength of the cards is determined by the available combinations. There are no senior suits - all suits are equivalent.

Card seniority in descending order:

joker, ace, king, queen, jack, ten, nine, eight, seven

The seniority of the combinations in ascending order:

five different cards
one pair - two cards of the same value (7 of spades, 7 of clubs)
two pair (7 of spades, 7 of clubs and 8 of spades, 8 of clubs)
straight - five cards in a row of different suits (8 of spades, 9 of clubs, 10 of spades, jack of hearts, queen of hearts)
three of a kind - three cards of the same value (10 of spades, 10 of clubs, 10 of hearts) full - a pair + three of a kind (10 of clubs, 10 of diamonds and king of clubs, king of diamonds, king of hearts)
suit - any five cards of the same suit
four of a kind - four cards of the same value (for example, 10 spades, 10 clubs, 10 diamonds, 10 hearts)
flush - five cards in a row of the same suit (street of the same suit)

poker - five cards of the same value of different suits (the fifth card is a joker). The strongest combination in the game is a joker (a card with the image of a "robot") replaces any missing and necessary card for the player to have the strongest combination. If, for example, a player has two pair after the deal, and the fifth card is a joker, then he has a full. Moreover, the joker replaces the card in the highest pair.

The seniority of combinations is established by the highest cards, regardless of the suit. If the players have combinations of equal value, then there is a draw between them, and the pot is divided equally. A pair of aces is higher than any other pair. With two pairs, the higher pair will be the cards of the player with the higher pair.

The seniority of the street is determined by the highest card. , The exception is the so-called reverse straight: ace, 7, 8, 9, 10 (here the ace seems to be considered a six). The reverse straight is the lowest of the straights. The highest three of a kind is three aces. The seniority of the full is determined by the seniority of the cards that make up the three.

The seniority of the suit is determined by the highest card. If the high cards of both partners are the same, then look following cards etc. The seniority of the combination can be determined by the fifth, the very last card. The seniority of the flush combination is determined by the highest card. The Joker can be assigned to any card of the player's choice.

Game progress:

After the cards are dealt, trading begins. Each player decides whether to take part in the game or not, and announces his decision with the words "pass" or "play". If the first one says “pass”, he either drops out of further “trading”, or adds to the bank any amount that does not exceed the amount stipulated in advance, naming it out loud. The next player can fold or put into the pot no less than the previous player (more is allowed). The same applies to each following.

After the last one, it is the turn of the first one again, and so on. If everyone but one has folded, he is given the pot. His cards are not checked. If all but two have folded, then any of these remaining, after the next contribution of the partner to the bank, can either:

a) say “pass” and thereby, without checking the partner’s cards, give him the bank; b) put in the pot not less than the partner's last bet (more is possible) and give the partner the right to decide what to do next; c) put in the pot not less than the partner's last bet and say "let's open". After that, the partners compare each other's cards and the one with the stronger combination takes the pot. The party is over. The next one begins with a new collection of bets and distribution of cards.

Varieties of poker differ from each other in the order of making bets, the order of changing cards and their number. For example, in Odessa poker Play not one, but two jokers. If there are two jokers in the same trick in the game, then the one placed last is considered to be the highest. Sometimes, by agreement, poker is played by counting points for each trick. When playing for points for a trick, as usual, you need to move with the required suit. If it is not, again a trump card, if not, discard any card.

Each player places his bribes near him. Anyone can watch them at any time. Scoring occurs when all tricks have been played. for 3-4 tricks when playing with a partner or alone - 1 point; for 5 tricks (through march) with a partner - 2 points. If the leader of the game fails to take three tricks, he loses. The opposite team in this case writes down 2 points with a minus to the account of their opponents. The team that manages to get 5 points first wins and receives a bonus from the opponents.

If the opponents of the playing team do not have any points in this game, the bonus is worth 3 points. In the event that the opposing team has already managed to take 1 or 2 points, the bonus is 2 points. If the opponents already have 3 points, the bonus is 1 point.

Threesome game:

The player acting as the leader plays against the other two. For three or four tricks he gets 1 point, for a through march (5 tricks one after the other) - 3 points. If he loses, each of the two players gets 2 points. Whoever scores 5 points first is the winner. In the event that two succeed at once, the third pays an additional bonus by agreement. It is forbidden to play one of the two against the leader of the game.

Double game:

If two people play poker for points, then each is a separate team. All sevens and eights are discarded from the deck. For a through march - 2 points. Otherwise, everything is the same as in the three-player game.

In the poker community, the term "ABC poker" refers to a standardized style of play that uses only basic elements strategies. A player who practices the ABC style does not understand Texas Hold'em well enough. Due to the lack of ABC experience, the poker player cannot make game decisions on his own, instead he uses speculation and advice from educational materials on the Internet.

At first glance, it may seem that the ABC poker strategy is very primitive and not capable of generating long-term income, so it should be abandoned as soon as possible. The real picture looks different: the basic strategy is profitable at the micro limits, and there is no point in jumping up a few steps until you have managed to firmly gain a foothold on the first one. Every successful professional at the dawn of his career actively practiced ABC poker, without passing this stage, all further progress becomes impossible.

Why is it so important to master ABC poker early in the game? The fact is that this strategy allows you to minimize the number of expensive mistakes that greatly reduce the win rate of novice players. The professional player aims to play as many hands as possible and extract positive EV from each one, which entails frequent marginal high variance spots. The ABC poker player acts in a completely different way: he plays only those situations in which he has a significant advantage in equity. Such a strategy will not allow you to extract maximum value by exploiting weak players, but it will perfectly protect you from unnecessary “hacks” with regulars.

If you are interested in ABC poker strategy and want to start studying it, first of all you need to master the starting hand charts. These tables will tell you which lines and which hands to play preflop. Depending on what position you are in, the range of hands that can be played can vary greatly. If from an early position at a 6-max table you can open about 20% of the range, then on the button position this figure increases two or even three times. Preflop is the foundation of Texas Hold'em and the charts starting hands help you set it up. Sticking to ABC ranges is worth it until your experience allows you to choose spots for playing non-standard and complex moves on your own.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the ABC strategy?

The strategy of playing poker can be different, and at a very early stage, the player should strive to find the optimal game model. Before you start playing poker according to ABC strategy, you should carefully familiarize yourself with the strengths and weaknesses such a style. To give you the opportunity to get the whole picture and make a decision, we have collected the main advantages and disadvantages of playing ABC poker.

Advantages

Relatively easy to master . Depending on the discipline chosen, learning to play poker can be either difficult or very difficult. This rule does not apply to talented players and mathematicians, but even they will have to spend a lot of free time.

This is not to say that ABC poker is easy to master, but in comparison with other strategies, this option is really easy. While for BSS you need to learn the technique of triple barrel bluffing, and for MTT you need to learn the meta-game features at the final table, ABC poker strategy will only require you to memorize the tables of starting hands and learn the algorithms of playing against the main types of players. And although this approach will take you n-th number of hours, you do not need to penetrate deeply into the mechanics of the game.

Protects against tilt . Professional players often fall out of their optimal emotional state due to the fact that they are not confident in their actions. A complex expensive distribution consists of a branched decision tree, and it is not always possible to get from point A to point B without errors. Players who practice ABC poker do not have such problems: the correctness of each decision can be checked on the Internet. Hands in which you have to give the stack to your opponent cause less negativity, because you know for sure that you played within the framework of the basic strategy.

Instills discipline . Playing poker for money is associated with constant mood swings. An hour and a half ago, you could be in the black by five buy-ins of your limit, and now you have not only lost all your profits, but also poured a couple of stacks from the top. Such coincidences of events occur at the tables all the time, and because of this, many players consciously or unconsciously change their behavior pattern. ABC poker does not leave such a chance: the game algorithm is straightforward and clearly marked, disciplined adherence to it is the main guarantee of a successful career. The discipline that comes with playing ABC poker will save you a lot of money by preventing you from making impulsive, thoughtless moves.

Great for the micros . Many poker players start playing Texas Hold'em at NL2-NL5 limits and never go higher. Sometimes this is due to variance, sometimes due to incorrect bankroll management, but most often the reason lies in the wrong choice of strategy.

Some players play haphazardly, their actions are guided by speculation and emotional impulses. Other unfortunate poker players like to watch video games at high stakes, after which they mindlessly reproduce the actions from there at the tables. Let's make this point as clear as possible: micro-limits are fought not with sophisticated bluffs, but with a disciplined value game. ABC poker contains all the necessary tools and techniques that will allow you to reliably overcome the initial limits. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, instead it is enough to listen to the voice of reason and the collective experience of the poker community.

A simple "retraining" . ABC poker strategy is the starting point that every novice player strives to achieve. Once this bar is reached, each poker player is free to seek his own path of development. The foundation that the ABC game lays will be useful in BSS, MTT, and SnG strategy. Switching to a different game model will not cause any significant controversy, instead you will need to expand the decision tree and learn how to organically adapt to the faces of opponents.

Flaws

Teaches you to play "on the machine" . To play according to the ABC strategy, you do not need to think much, because you can follow the algorithm without much thought. Given the fact that most poker players prefer active multi-tabling, after a few days your game turns into a continuous stream of the same actions.

At the micros, this trend is more useful than harmful, as it allows you to save internal resources and roll back longer distances. Problems will start at higher limits, when the habit of automatic decision-making will not allow you to think deeply about the hand. Whatever one may say, you will have to reconfigure your brains ironically: at medium stakes, thoughtless distributions of money do not bring.

Opponent exploitation is very limited . ABC poker offers a universal strategy that applies to almost all players. Of course, there is still a certain segmentation: playing against a regular is not at all the same as playing against a maniac or a phone. However, this is not enough to maximize EV: in a situation where a professional will peer into statistical calculations for a long time in order to find weak spots, the ABC player will simply press one of three buttons depending on the hand and cards on the board. The same applies to bet sizing: if the pro can overbet all-in against the fish and collect the maximum value, then for a poker player with a basic strategy, the draw ceiling will be 3/4 pot.

Easy to adjust . ABC poker strategy is very vulnerable because it focuses on "fair" play with strong combinations. The player's ABC ranges are heavily biased towards value as there are very few bluffs in his range. The same applies to bluffcatcher hands and calldown lines, all of which are practically not used in the basic strategy.

It is almost easier for an experienced regular to play against an ABC player than against a fish: his range is visible through and through, and in most hands it can be safely and painlessly squeezed out. Fortunately, there are practically no such players at the micros, so poker can bring a stable win rate at NL2-NL5 ABC.

Play without creativity is boring . A regular player spends a significant part of his free time at the tables, and spending it on robotic pressing of three buttons is quite a shame. Texas Hold'em is interesting because it leaves room for creative play. Of course, competent execution of moves requires great experience behind, but the game without them may seem quite boring to many.

What are the most effective ABC poker techniques at the tables?

ABC poker does not offer many tools that will allow you to have a positive result. In order not to miss such an opportunity, you should carefully study the game techniques described below. Mastery of these tools will allow you not only to master ABC poker, but also to prepare your mind for more complex game models.

Blind stealing - A huge part of the winrate in poker is done in late positions. You need to play through the steal in positions BTN and SB with a wide range, because often the hand can be finished already preflop. If one of your opponents 3-bets, only fight back with strong hands - ABC poker doesn't require you to be able to bluff 4-bets.
Rate continuation - when playing ABC poker, the strategy does not require a large number of bluffs in the range. The Continuation Bet, which you can bet on the flop as a preflop aggressor, is just about the only bluff available. At the micros, people often enter the pot preflop with a marginal hand and then fold after failing to hit the board. If with hand A-K If you see a 6-3-J flop, don't despair: in most cases, betting ⅔ of the pot will win you the hand.
Collecting Value - The whole strategy of ABC poker rests on the ability to collect value from players. You need to do this with the help of large bets with strong made hands. Most often, top pair and higher can be considered as such, but it all depends on the dynamics of the board. The biggest value comes from weak players who are nicknamed “phones” or “answerers”: they draw the worst hands to showdown, so you need to bet against them larger and on a wider range.
Push/fold game - this aspect of ABC poker will come in handy when playing multi-table and single-table tournaments. Once you have less than 13 big blinds left in your stack, you can no longer play a raise-fold line. The only way restore the stack size - go all-in and take the blinds and antes through fold equity. Learning to play push-fold is pretty easy, all you have to do is learn the ranges for different stacks and positions.

In order to learn how to play online poker, it is not necessary to go to specialized courses and hire coaches. Of course, you can take the matter too seriously and turn to specialists who, for a certain fee will try to teach you this card game. If the thought “I want to learn how to play poker” came to your mind, do not rush to call training centers with a request “teach me how to play poker”. Most likely, they will tell you that you have contacted the wrong address J

It is quite possible to learn poker on your own. Moreover, you can learn how to play poker for free! One of these ways of learning available to everyone is a poker tutorial.

There are a huge number of poker books, and most of them are focused on private moments of poker and are intended for experienced players. We are just learning how to play poker, so our tutorial should introduce us to poker from the very basics.

To date, the best tutorials are the fundamental works of professional players such as Dan Harrington, Doyle Brunson and David Sklansky.

Dan Harrington "Harrington on Hold'em", "Harrington Cash"

The Harrington Hold'em Tutorial contains a huge array of detailed information, which did not even fit into one book, so the tutorial is divided into three volumes. In addition to the theoretical component, the books contain accessible examples and tasks.

The same can be said about the tutorial dedicated exclusively to the cash game - "Cash by Harrington", consisting of two volumes.

Learning to play poker according to Harrington is very interesting and easy.

Doyle Brunson "Super System"

Doyle Brunson is a two-time world poker champion. The book "Super System", which is also called the Bible of poker, was published in 1978, but still remains a relevant textbook on the game of poker.