Books
Strategy, mental game and poker writing worth reading.
Fundamentals & Classics26
Caro's Book of Poker Tells
Published 1984
Mike Caro's classic photo guide to the body language of poker players.
Decide to Play Great Poker
Published 2011
Annie Duke and John Vorhaus on thinking through no-limit hold'em decisions, aimed at newer players.
Doyle Brunson's Super System
Published 1979
Doyle Brunson's 1979 classic, written with Chip Reese, Mike Caro, David Sklansky and other pros, covering hold'em and several other games.
Exploiting Poker Tells
Published 2017
The third book in Zachary Elwood's tells series, on using reads and hiding your own tells.
Getting Started in Hold 'em
Published 2005
Ed Miller's beginner hold'em course, taught through hands at a nine-handed $1/$2 limit game, with a shorter no-limit section.
Getting Started With HORSE Poker
Published 2022
Beginner's guide to mixed games from three world champions, Chris 'Fox' Wallace and Michael and Robert Mizrachi: the rules and basic strategy for each H.O.R.S.E. game, live or online.
Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players
Published 1988
Sklansky and Mason Malmuth's long-standing limit hold'em text on starting hands, reading hands and play after the flop.
Hold'em Excellence
Published 1996
Lou Krieger's course in cardroom limit hold'em for players moving from beginner to winner.
Hold'em Poker
Published 1976
David Sklansky's original hold'em text: position, starting hands (the Sklansky hand groups), semi-bluffing, free cards and check-raising, for limit games.
Hold'em Wisdom for All Players
Published 2007
Daniel Negreanu's 50 short, practical tips for no-limit hold'em players.
How to Study Poker (Vol. 1)
Published 2017
Sky Matsuhashi's study techniques for getting better between sessions.
Improve Your Poker Now!
Published 2026
2026 guide for serious amateurs from Topher Goggin and Alexander Fitzgerald.
No Limit Hold 'em: Theory and Practice
Published 2006
David Sklansky and Ed Miller apply core poker theory to no-limit hold'em.
Phil Gordon's Little Green Book
Published 2005
Short lessons on no-limit hold'em fundamentals from Phil Gordon, a popular first strategy book.
Play Poker Like the Pros
Published 2003
Phil Hellmuth's introduction to hold'em, Omaha and stud, with a step-by-step plan from beginner upward.
Reading Poker Tells
Published 2012
Zachary Elwood's guide to physical tells in live poker, the first of his tells trilogy.
STOP! 10 Things Good Poker Players Don't Do
Published 2015
Ed Miller, James Sweeney, Christian Soto and Doug Hull on ten habits that cost small-stakes players money.
Super System 2
Published 2005
Brunson's 2005 follow-up with chapters from Daniel Negreanu, Lyle Berman, Mike Caro and others on limit hold'em, tournaments and mixed games.
The 100 Biggest Mistakes That Poker Players Make
Published 2022
Alexander Fitzgerald lists the common leaks he sees in students' games and how to fix each one.
The Poker Brain
Published 2022
Matt Matros on building a better thought process at the table using both optimal and exploitative thinking.
The Professional Poker Study Plan
Published 2024
Dara O'Kearney and Barry Carter's plan for learning poker on your own with modern theory and practice tools.
The Theory of Poker
Published 1987
David Sklansky's classic on core concepts like the fundamental theorem of poker.
The Theory of Poker Applied to No-Limit
Published 2019
David Sklansky revisits the ideas of The Theory of Poker for no-limit games.
Verbal Poker Tells
Published 2014
Zachary Elwood on what players' table talk gives away about their hands.
Winning Low-Limit Hold'em
Published 1994
Lee Jones's guide to beating loose, low-stakes hold'em games.
Cash Games31
Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy
Published 2007
Barry Tanenbaum's techniques for beating tough, aggressive middle- and upper-limit hold'em games, including his 'illusion of action' idea.
Crushing the Microstakes
Published 2013
Nathan Williams's (BlackRain79) book on beating micro-stakes online cash.
Donkeys, Degenerates & Dreamers
Published 2025
Kiefer Taylor's memoir and strategy guide from 30 years in live low-stakes cash games.
Easy Game
Published 2009
Andrew Seidman's no-limit hold'em strategy book, written for online cash players.
Exploitative Play in Live Poker
Published 2016
Alex Fitzgerald's book on exploiting live poker players.
How to Read Hands at No-Limit Hold'em
Published 2011
Ed Miller's range-based approach to reading hands from the betting, aimed at live no-limit games up to $5/$10, with exercises.
Internet Texas Hold'em
Published 2003
Matthew Hilger's fixed-limit hold'em strategy guide; the expanded edition adds 100+ pages on full-ring and short-handed games.
Limit Hold'em: Winning Short-Handed Strategies
Published 2007
Terry Borer and Lawrence Mak, with Barry Tanenbaum, on limit hold'em with six players or fewer, down to three-handed and heads-up.
Master Micro Stakes Poker
Published 2020
Alton Hardin's guide to beating six-max micro-stakes online cash games.
Mastering Small Stakes Cash Games
Published 2022
Evan Jarvis's 2022 book on beating small-stakes cash games.
Middle Limit Holdem Poker
Published 2002
Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier's limit hold'em strategy for $10-$20 to $40-$80 games: general principles, then analysis of more than 400 hands from real play.
Modern Small Stakes
Published 2014
Nathan "BlackRain79" Williams on beating the regulars in NL10-NL100 online and $2/$5-$10/$20 live cash games: a 500-page follow-up to Crushing the Microstakes with 100+ hand examples.
No-Limit Hold'em for Advanced Players
Published 2017
Matthew Janda's follow-up focused on advanced NLHE.
Playing the Player
Published 2012
Ed Miller on moving beyond ABC poker by adjusting to how each opponent plays.
Poker Plays You Can Use
Published 2013
Doug Hull's hands from live small-stakes no-limit games, each followed by study exercises.
Professional Middle Limit Hold'em
Published 2009
Tristan Steiger walks through every hand he played in one week of a live $30-$60 limit hold'em game in Las Vegas.
Professional No-Limit Hold 'em: Volume I
Published 2007
Matt Flynn, Sunny Mehta and Ed Miller's deep-stacked no-limit cash game planning, built on the stack-to-pot ratio (SPR).
Red Chip Poker: Late Position
Published 2014
Doug Hull, James 'SplitSuit' Sweeney and Christian Soto on playing the button, cutoff and hijack in $1/$2 to $2/$5 live games, through hands and exercises.
Small Stakes Hold 'em
Published 2004
Practical guide to beating low-stakes games (originally limit, still cited for small-stakes thinking).
Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em
Published 2010
Ed Miller, Sunny Mehta and Matt Flynn on exploiting the field in small-stakes 6-max no-limit games.
Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Cash Games
Published 2015
Jonathan Little's guide to the common spots in small-stakes no-limit cash games.
The Exploitative Edge
Published 2025
James Sweeney and Adam Jones's 2025 framework for building an exploitative game plan against imperfect opponents.
The Grinder's Manual
Published 2016
Pete Clarke's complete course in online six-max no-limit cash games.
The Live Cash Game Poker Workbook
Published 2024
James 'SplitSuit' Sweeney's exercise workbook for live $1/$2 to $2/$5 no-limit games: preflop ranges, pot and implied odds, SPR, multiway pots, straddles, live bet sizing and river decisions, with an answer key.
The Low-Stakes Poker Playbook
Published 2026
James Sweeney and Adam Jones's 2026 book of if-then exploitative decisions for low-stakes games.
The Poker Blueprint
Published 2009
Tri Nguyen's strategies for micro and small-stakes online no-limit hold'em.
The Poker Delusion
Published 2025
Vinton Mojdeh's 624-page digital manual (PDF) on the habits that keep live cash players from improving.
Waiting for Straighters
Published 2018
Tommy Angelo's preflop experiment for no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha, pairing tight hand selection with a painless outlook. Ebook and audiobook only; a free web version is on his site.
Winning in Tough Hold 'em Games
Published 2007
Nick Grudzien and Geoff Herzog on short-handed, higher-stakes limit hold'em: stealing and re-stealing blinds, blind-vs-blind and heads-up postflop play.
Tournaments & SNGs16
Endgame Poker Strategy: The ICM Book
Published 2021
Dara O'Kearney and Barry Carter explain ICM and final-table play using solver results.
Every Hand Revealed
Published 2008
Gus Hansen walks through every hand he played on the way to winning the 2007 Aussie Millions.
Harrington on Hold 'em
Published 2004
Dan Harrington's multi-volume tournament series, long a standard.
How to Beat Players Who Never Fold
Published 2024
Alexander Fitzgerald's 2024 guide to casino tournaments and low-stakes home games full of callers.
Kill Everyone
Published 2007
Lee Nelson, Tysen Streib and Kim Lee on aggressive tournament and SNG strategy, including ICM.
Mastering Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em
Published 2018
Jonathan Little's 2018 book on beating small-stakes tournaments and cash games.
Mystery Bounty Poker Strategy
Published 2023
Dara O'Kearney and Barry Carter on mystery bounty tournaments.
PKO Poker Strategy
Published 2020
Dara O'Kearney and Barry Carter on adjusting to bounty and progressive knockout tournaments.
Poker Satellite Strategy
Published 2018
Dara O'Kearney and Barry Carter on how satellite strategy differs from regular tournaments.
Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker: The Essential Guide
Published 2021
Jonathan Little's updated one-volume edition of his tournament strategy series.
Short Stack Ninja
Published 2020
Chris 'Fox' Wallace's short guide to tournament play under 30 big blinds: fold equity and the moves available at each stack size, with charts, to get past push-and-pray.
Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Poker Tournaments
Published 2015
Jonathan Little's practical guide to small-stakes tournaments, among the most-reviewed poker books on Amazon.
The Complete Poker Workout
Published 2025
Jonathan Little's 2025 book of 100 tournament hand quizzes with explanations.
The Final Table
Published 2023
Gareth James on final-table tournament strategy, with analysis of 100+ hands across full ring, short-handed and heads-up play, and a foreword by Phil Hellmuth.
Thinking Tournament Poker
Published 2015
Andrew Brokos, Nate Meyvis, Leo Wolpert and Gareth Chantler discuss real tournament hands from the Thinking Poker team.
GTO, Theory & Math15
Beyond GTO: Poker Exploits Simplified
Published 2024
Dara O'Kearney and Barry Carter on when and how to deviate from solver play against real opponents.
Essential Poker Math
Published 2016
Alton Hardin's expanded guide to the no-limit hold'em math you need: odds, equity and expected value.
Essential Poker Math, Workbook Edition
Published 2024
Alton Hardin's companion workbook to Essential Poker Math: 190+ exercises on no-limit hold'em math with a full answer key.
Expert Heads Up No Limit Hold'em (Vols 1-2)
Published 2012
Will Tipton's game-theory treatment of heads-up no-limit hold'em, in two volumes.
GTO Poker Simplified
Published 2022
Barry Carter and Dara O'Kearney's book of solver lessons that cash and tournament players can apply without running a solver.
Heads-Up No-Limit Hold 'em
Published 2008
Collin Moshman's guide to heads-up matches, from preflop ranges to postflop play.
Modern Poker Theory
Published 2019
Michael Acevedo's solver-era manual; dense, best after you understand ranges.
Play Optimal Poker (1 & 2)
Published 2019
Andrew Brokos's books on game theory applied to practical play.
Poker Math That Matters
Published 2010
Owen Gaines's plain-language introduction to the math behind no-limit hold'em decisions.
Poker Workbook: Math & Preflop
Published 2020
James Sweeney's workbook of exercises for practising poker math and preflop decisions away from the table.
Poker's 1%
Published 2014
Ed Miller on the frequency-based thinking that separates elite players from the rest.
The Advanced Poker Workbook
Published 2023
James Sweeney's GTO and exploitative practice drills for cash and tournament players.
The Mathematics of Poker
Published 2006
Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman's rigorous math treatment of poker.
The Postflop Poker Workbook
Published 2020
James 'SplitSuit' Sweeney's exercises in postflop technical analysis: how often board textures come, and the EV of calls, bets and raises on the flop and beyond, with an answer key.
Mental Game19
A-Game Poker (book)
Published 2024
Elliot Roe and Ryan Carter's 2024 book on building a winning mindset for modern poker.
Ace on the River
Published 2005
Barry Greenstein's advanced guide to the life and mindset of a professional player.
Dailyness
Published 2019
Tommy Angelo's short primer on keeping a daily meditation practice going. Not a poker book, but a companion to his painless-poker approach.
Elements of Poker
Published 2007
Tommy Angelo's book on mindset, tilt and the 'reciprocality' concept.
Khemset Holistic Poker Codex
Published 2026
Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger's 222-page limited-edition hardcover (500 copies) in three volumes: poker strategy, ancient philosophy and the nature of reality, and how he ties the two together. Expands on his Holistic Poker Handbook with more detailed strategy and personal stories. $85; pre-order, shipping December 2026.
Painless Poker
Published 2017
Tommy Angelo's collection of essays on the mental game and the poker life.
Peak Poker Performance
Published 2016
Dr. Tricia Cardner and Jonathan Little on bringing your A-game to every session.
Poker Mindset Strategy
Published 2023
Phil Galfond's free 44-page mental game ebook: handling downswings, quitting and moving down, beating tilt and negativity, and bringing your A-game more often.
Poker Therapy
Published 2019
Pete Clarke's mental game book: why the human mind misfires at poker, the common types of misfire, and a four-step method for rewiring them, built on logic rather than diet and meditation.
Purposeful Practice for Poker
Published 2019
Tricia Cardner and Gareth James on how to study poker: applying deliberate-practice research to set goals, train specific skills and get feedback.
The Biggest Bluff
Published 2020
Maria Konnikova's book on learning poker and decision-making under uncertainty.
The Joy of Poker
Published 2025
Jason Su's 2025 book on poker psychology and high performance: playing your best under pressure, trusting your instincts and staying motivated through swings, so you win more and enjoy the game.
The Mental Edge
Published 2019
Leszek Badurowicz, Run It Once's mental game coach, on the mindset problems that hold poker players back, with dozens of practical fixes for how you think at and away from the table.
The Mental Game of Poker (1 & 2)
Published 2011
Jared Tendler and Barry Carter's standard reference on tilt, fear and discipline.
The Myth of Poker Talent
Published 2016
Alexander Fitzgerald argues that poker skill is built through study habits rather than born.
The Poker Powered Brain
Published 2025
Lena Evans's 2025 book on the mental and cognitive skills poker trains, with input from Patrik Antonius, Kristen Foxen, Maria Ho and others.
Thinking in Bets
Published 2018
Former pro Annie Duke on making better decisions under uncertainty, drawing on lessons from poker.
Treat Your Poker Like a Business
Published 2009
Dusty Schmidt on the habits, bankroll management and mindset of a professional grinder.
PLO & Other Games4
Mastering Small Stakes Pot-Limit Omaha
Published 2020
JNandez's 2020 book on beating modern small-stakes PLO games.
Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy
Published 2008
Jeff Hwang's guide to pot-limit Omaha, long a standard first PLO book.
Pot-Limit Omaha: Understanding Winning Play
Published 2025
William Jockusch's 2025 Two Plus Two book on pot-limit Omaha strategy.
Secrets of Professional Pot-Limit Omaha
Published 2006
Rolf Slotboom on winning at pot-limit Omaha live and online.
Stories & Memoirs16
A Poker Life
Published 2024
Pat Moore's short memoir of how poker shaped his life, from a Brooklyn basement game he watched at age five to playing World Series of Poker events twenty years later.
A Rubber Band Story and Other Poker Tales
Published 2011
Tommy Angelo's best poker articles from the 2000s with new behind-the-scenes commentary: stories from his grinding years, fiction, and a strong run of pieces on tilt.
Beneath the Cards
Published 2026
Garrett Adelstein's 2026 memoir of life in high-stakes cash games, a USA Today bestseller.
Big Deal
Published 1990
Anthony Holden's account of a year trying to make it as a professional poker player, starting at the 1988 WSOP.
Life's a Gamble
Published 2016
Mike Sexton's memoir of forty years in poker, with many Stu Ungar stories.
Molly's Game
Published 2014
Molly Bloom's memoir of running high-stakes underground games in Los Angeles and New York.
On the Edge
Published 2024
Nate Silver's 2024 book on risk-takers, with long sections on poker and the people who play it.
One of a Kind
Published 2005
Nolan Dalla and Peter Alson's biography of Stu Ungar, three-time WSOP Main Event champion.
Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers
Published 2003
Katy Lederer, sister of Howard Lederer and Annie Duke, on growing up in a gambling family and her own time in Las Vegas poker.
Positively Fifth Street
Published 2003
James McManus's account of covering, then playing deep in, the 2000 World Series of Poker.
Ship It Holla Ballas!
Published 2013
Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback on a group of young forum friends who became online poker millionaires.
The Biggest Game in Town
Published 1983
A. Alvarez's literary portrait of the high-stakes players and culture of the WSOP at Binion's Horseshoe.
The Godfather of Poker
Published 2009
Doyle Brunson's autobiography, from road gambler in Texas to two-time world champion.
The Making of a Poker Player
Published 2005
Matt Matros's path from home games to third place at the 2004 WPT Championship, with strategy taught along the way.
The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King
Published 2005
Michael Craig's story of banker Andy Beal's heads-up matches against top pros at the Bellagio.