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Entertaining Poker Book Reviews |
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Written by Marty
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Monday, 23 March 2009 14:55 |
I've read a lot of stuff that ranged from well-written (Positively Fifth St) to what was probably penned by a low-functioning retard (Banker, Professor, and Suicide King). What other poker books out there are decent. No instructional books, please. The best one for entertainment by far right now is John Vorhaus' Under The Gun. It combines the thrill of poker and the drama of top rated movie.
All in? Take me to the River? Big(ger) Deal? "The Biggest Game in Town" by A. Alvarez. a classic, and a great tribute to Jack Strauss.
also, you should read any posts by King Niche in BBV. he's destined for greatness.
I actually enjoyed biographies by Chris Moneymaker (it actually wasn't too bad from an entertainment standpoint) and Matt Matros 'The Making of a Poker Player'. These books give a sense of what it was like just before the poker boom and in the early stages of it.
The Biggest Game in town was great. Big Deal and Bigger Deal were good, although at some points when he was describing the tournaments he was in I found it boring. It was better when he talked about the other players imo. I enjoyed Matt Matros' book as well. Same for The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King. Doyle Brunson had one that was pretty good as well. I can't remember the title though.
Play Poker to Win by Amarillo Slim is a mix of strategies and cowboy humor, some of the games he uses for examples are a riot, The Championship Table at the WSOP by Tom McEvoy and a couple of co-authors is a collection of stories about the WSOP covering the first 34 years, and Poker Nation by Andy Bellin is a good read too.
THE MAN BEHIND THE SHADES, a biography of Stu Ungar is well worth reading. (It was also published as ONE OF A KIND. Exactly the same book, different title. One was the US title, the other the UK title. Can't remember which was which.) Positively Fifth Street by James McManus is great. I also get a kick out of Super/System, where Doyle talks about losing $$$ at the dog track, and how he doesn't like women at the poker table. The fonts are great too.
No matter what you think about Phil Gordon, I thought "tales from the tiltboys" was a pretty funny read. Right now I'm reading "Diary of a mad poker player" by Richard Sparks and I find it entertaining... although I'm still pretty early on. It depicts a small stake dude's journey while trying to win a seat to "the big one", the WSOP ME. So far it's relatively entertaining and funny.
The Education Of A Poker Player by Herbert O Yardley 1958. Yardley was a cryptographer for US government and sometime novelist. The book concerns itself with how he learnt about poker and life at the beginning of the twentieth century in small town Indiana. This book created a generation of poker players. Ian Fleming (the creator of James Bond 007) wrote a forward for it when it was first published in the United Kingdom.
I beg to differ. This book 'Unlocked Secrets of Texas Hold'em' is the sort of thing you would give to your opponents to keep them deluded about how to actually play the game. The strategies it contains are hilariously off the mark. It's all presented in a 'me pappy told me' kind of way that is actually pretty entertaining.
Unfortunately it appears to be out of print. Championship No-limit and Pot-limit Hold'em by Tom McEvoy and TJ Cloutier is like 80% nitty/bad poker advice and 20% "Tales from TJ," a collection of insane stories with no point from TJ's days as a road gambler. highly recommended for the 20% alone. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 23 March 2009 14:57 |
