Books as self-study poker tutorials
Despite the rapid growth of the technological world, books remain the primary source of educational information for many. To become a solid player, you need to familiarize yourself with as much literature as possible. Learning strategies, techniques, mathematical aspects, and psychological points all allow you to reach a good income over time. It is important to choose a book that is appropriate to your current level. Below are three popular options for beginners.
Poker for Dummies.
The book describes the basic rules and terms, with a transition to basic strategies. The author does not focus only on Texas Hold’em, but mentions other types of poker: Omaha, Stad, Stad High-Low, and even live game features. This makes it much easier if you need to cover several disciplines at once. Overall, the book is designed for users who are unfamiliar or just beginning to learn the basics of poker.
The Little Green Book
Not always useful lessons are contained in large volumes. For example, Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book has a lot of quality advice. The author with the nickname Tiltboy has won more than $3,000,000 in live poker tournaments. He was on the FullTilt Poker room team at its inception and was involved in developing the site’s software.
There’s plenty here: real stories, examples of hands from life, poker theory, strategy and psychology of the game. If you’re tired of collecting information about Hold’em from hundreds of articles on every website, it’s worth reading Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Hold’em.
Harrington on Hold’em
The book Harrington on Hold’em is considered a classic of poker literature. Dan Harrington is a professional who has achieved great success with over $6,600,000 in live tournament cashes. He was inducted into the World Series of Poker Hall of Fame in 2010.
The author did not fit all the material in one book, so it consists of three volumes. The first, “The Strategic Game,” contains a lot of fundamental information about Texas Holdem, as well as the tournaments held under its rules. Dan warns that the book will be most useful to readers who consider themselves MTT players and want to develop in that direction.
“Harrington on Hold’em” may be of interest even to those with no poker experience. The book helps form the right attitude toward the card game and reveals some of its secrets.
The second part, titled “The Ending Phase,” is no less useful. It is designed for advanced poker players who have already mastered the lessons of the first volume. Harrington has repeatedly said that the second part is undesirable to read as a stand-alone book. Only in the order of publication.
In 2006, the final part of the trilogy, The Workbook, was introduced. Dan Harrington co-authored this book with Bill Roberti. They highlighted the basic principles of the game in Hold’em tournaments and presented them to readers in the most accessible form.
While the first two volumes of the work were mostly theoretical in nature, the last one focuses on practical skills. It contains 50 real situations that took place at the tables of prestigious tournaments. The authors thoroughly examined each example and, in addition to the main one, offered several alternative variants of the draw.
Mobile Applications
After reading a few books, you can practice what you’ve learned. You don’t have to start with poker rooms, because they give you bonuses when you sign up. In fact, they urge to play for real money as soon as possible, because they are valid for a certain period of time.
Therefore, it is possible to start beforehand with useful mobile applications. This is relevant for players who do not have much time, have a main job, and do not yet consider poker as a source of additional income.
Learn to Play Poker App.
First on the list of proven poker self-tutorials is Learn Poker from developer Youda Games. The best part is the interactive tutorial, which takes place in four stages. The textual presentation of the material is accompanied by examples of the game:
The basics of poker – rules and terminology;
Combinations – types and seniority;
Tactics – basic concepts of strategy;
Bluffing – principles of effective application.
After passing the four levels, the user is offered to take a test of knowledge of the material. The test is conducted in the format of the game against virtual opponents. The program analyzes the actions and gives an opinion on the level of training. The application is aimed at beginners who are unfamiliar with the rules. It works online and offline.
Learn Poker does not teach you how to play profitably and does not guarantee it, but only gives an initial knowledge of the strategy
Of the disadvantages: in the application there are often commercials – the paid version without them. But they can be avoided by turning off the Internet at the time of training
ATHYLPS
A mobile simulator-trainer designed to master the game and improve your strategic level. ATHYLPS introduces the general rules, table of poker combinations, descriptions, principles of their construction and probabilities of falling out.
Full list of topics:
determining outs;
calculating pot odds;
practice modes;
Statistics on the exercises performed.
The program picks up various examples and tracks the user’s results. The functionality also includes a “Should I take the bet” game. In it, the poker player is offered a set of cards and options for possible answers – it is necessary to determine the highest combination.
The app is constantly being improved, but one disadvantage remains: the version for iOS device users has not yet been released. The second: the first two exercises are free, but for the next ones you have to pay.
Postflop+
Unlike the previous two apps, this poker self-study is designed for expert level poker players. The Postflop+ GTO Poker Trainer is an advanced program for practicing your postflop skills according to the GTO.
The software simulates hands in cash games and tournaments. During training, you can choose the position and type of preflop in different conditions:
standard undrawn pot;
3-bet pot;
A hand with a 4-bet on the preflop;
Blind vs.
Postflop+ prompts you to choose a profitable action – a fold, a check, or a raise of a certain size – and shows the EV based on the GTO strategy.
PC Software for Professional Training
Equilab .
Available free of charge from PokerStrategy, which has made many new players successful professionals. Equilab is recommended for new players just starting to learn the rules. It is installed on your PC and includes useful tools for analyzing hand history.
Equity calculator calculates probabilities of winning against specific cards and opponent’s ranges. The user enters the values of the starting hands himself. The calculator also takes into account the player’s and opponents’ positions.
The scenario analyzer calculates equity for the postflop by going through different card choices for each street. And it also includes the Equity Trainer functionality – a set of ready-made tests to test your knowledge. The user is required to determine the probability of winning in different situations and check the answers with the correct indicators.
Poker calculators can not be used when the gaming clients of the rooms are running. The list of software that falls under the restriction, you can specify in the support
Equilab is oriented to advanced users, studying poker mathematics and improving strategy.
ICM Trainer
The application is developed by PokerStrategy in 2 versions, installed on the PC. The simplified Light program gives access to a course of 10 lectures on the independent chip model. It is designed for tournament players familiar with basic strategy.
In each lesson, you must answer a question on a particular situation by choosing one of two options. A new lesson becomes available after successfully completing the previous one. Most poker rooms do not prohibit opening this version when the game software is running.
The full version includes an extended list of lessons, contains ICM Calculation tool, showing the calculations for the game examples. User can enter his own data for calculations.
ICM Trainer can not be run with open poker room client, it is possible to block the account.