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The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How To Think Like One
 
 
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The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How To Think Like One [Paperback]

David Sklansky (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
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Product Description

The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky discusses theories and concepts applicable to nearly every variation of the game, including five-card draw (high), seven-card stud, hold ’em, lowball draw, and razz (seven-card lowball stud). This book introduces you to the Fundamental Theorem of Poker, its implications, and how it should affect your play. Other chapters discuss the value of deception, bluffing, raising, the slow-play, the value of position, psychology, heads-up play, game theory, implied odds, the free card, and semibluffing.

Many of today’s top poker players will tell you that this is the book that really made a difference in their play. That is, these are the ideas that separate the experts from the typical players. Those who read and study this book will literally leave behind those who don’t, and most serious players wear the covers off their copies. This is the best book ever written on poker.

About the Author

David Sklansky is generally considered the number one authority on gambling in the world today. Besides his ten books on the subject, David also has produced two videos and numerous writings for various gaming publications. His occasional poker seminars always receive an enthusiastic reception, including those given at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

More recently, David has been doing consulting work for casinos, Internet gaming sites, and gaming device companies. He has recently invented several games, soon to appear in casinos.

David attributes his standing in the gambling community to three things:

1. The fact that he presents his ideas as simply as possible (sometimes with Mason Malmuth) even though these ideas frequently involve concepts that are deep, subtle, and not to be found elsewhere.

2. The fact that the things he says and writes can be counted on to be accurate.

3. The fact that to this day a large portion of his income is still derived from gambling (usually poker, but occasionally blackjack, sports betting, horses, video games, casino promotions, or casino tournaments).

Thus, those who depend on David’s advice know that he still depends on it himself.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 276 pages
  • Publisher: Two Plus Two Publishing; 3rd edition (December 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1880685000
  • ISBN-13: 978-1880685006
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #4,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #8 in  Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Gambling
    #7 in  Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Card Games > Poker

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
The beauty of poker is that on the surface it is a game of utter simplicity, yet beneath the surface it is profound, rich, and full of subtlety. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
percent chance your opponent, fair hand for value, fair hands for value, probable bettor, getting sufficient pot odds, immediate pot odds, stopping bluffs, getting good enough odds, getting proper odds, opponent bets, legitimate hand, effective odds, implied odds, initial bettor, bluffing strategy, draw lowball, ante structure, percent favorite, being outdrawn, future bets, mediocre hand, unseen cards, original bettor, opponent folds, two small pair
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Fundamental Theorem of Poker, Las Vegas, Heads-Up On The End, The Free Card, Evaluating the Game, The Psychology of Poker, Golden Nugget, First Position Play, Win the Big Pots Right Away, The Value of Deception, Pure Nuts
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The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How To Think Like One
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The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How To Think Like One 4.5 out of 5 stars (119)
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4.5 out of 5 stars (119 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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131 of 133 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars If It's Not The Best Out There, It's Certainly Very Close., January 29, 2006
By Suzanne (Oklahoma City, OK United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How To Think Like One (Paperback)
Sklansky's The Theory of Poker has generally been reguarded as a classic since its initial release. Along with Doyle Brunson's Super System and Mike Caro's Book of Poker Tells these three book were the the 1-2-3 knockout combo of poker books. Super System covered many main types of poker specifically, Caro's Book of Tells covered much of the psychology of poker, but Sklansky's Theory of Poker was quite different.

Instead of focusing on one aspect of poker, Sklansky decided to focus on the "big picture". Odds, psychology, information, using these things in combination to make the correct decisions is what poker is all about. And with The Theory of Poker Sklansky wrote a book that attempted to teach you how to do just that. Simply stated, if you make more correct decisions than your opponent, and make less wrong decisions, then in the long wrong, you will win. Luck is the thing that keeps beginners and gamblers coming back to try and "hit it big". And it's what keeps those in the know in the money.

That said, this book is not the easiest read for the uninformed. I admit that I was one of those caught up in Poker big boom a few years ago but I have truly fell in love with it since then and have become a true student of the game. I have gone from dead money to a profitable player - and alot of that thanks goes to many of the books I have read by many great authors. In an attempt to categorize them to help beginners like myself choose what's right for them (in order):

Beginners:
Phil Gordon's The Real Deal - A very easy read to get beginners thinking about the game.

Sklansky's Hold'Em Poker - Not much more complicated than Phil's book and offers more good ideas for the novice for getting started.

Caro's Book of Poker Tells - Pretty straight-forward. Even most beginners should be able to grasp the concept of the tells and the psychological aspects of poker. Just beware of others who've read this book.

Intermediate:
Sklansky's The Theory of Poker - Certainly a must have. Will definitely get you thinking critically about the game.

Doyle Brunson's Super System - A classic, but you won't be able to dominate the tables like Doyle used to. And considering all the poker types it covers it's an invaluable book.

Harrington on Hold'Em vol. 1 and 2 - Even though this applies to mostly tournament play, much of this advice can be used in cash games. But if you play many tournaments (like I do) these are invaluable books and I would even put them ahead of Super System.

Phil Gordon's Little Green Book - A great suppliment to The Real Deal. Offers some great ideas and concepts and a pathway into the mind of one of the better Hold'Em players in the world.

Advanced:
Sklansky's Hold'Em for Advanced Players - Simply the best book on Hold'Em written but a pain in the brain to read if you're not in the know. Definitely work your way up to it.

Poker Essays vol. 1-3 by Mason Malmuth - Much like The Little Green Book these offer some great ideas but is more advanced. I still highly recommend them.

There are no doubt many other great books out there I haven't read. But the fact that these books have helped (and I say helped, because it requires much more than just reading books) turn me from dead money to a profitable player is good enough for me to recommend them. I recommend buying them in the order listed if you're new to Poker or reading them in that order if you've already bought several.

***UPDATE***
It's been more than a year since I wrote this review, and since then there's been a wealth of new poker literature out there.

Among them, Sklansky's No Limit Limit Hold'em: Theory and Practice is the most invaluable. It is akin to this wonderful book, but focuses on No Limit specifically. It belongs in the "super-advanced" section, but it has been the book that has raised my game to the next level.

Also in that advanced category, "The Mathematics of Poker" delves into the complicated math behind the game, and while it is not exactly a practical book, it may introduce the math inclined to an insightful look behind the math that rules the game.

Joe Navarro's "Read em' and Reap" is now the definitive book on poker tells. It was written by a career FBI agent who specializes in reading people. It not only gives you the tells, but goes into the deepest psychologies of what makes people reveal these tells.

Both Phil Gordon's Little Blue Book and Harrington vol. 3 tournament book are invaluable additions to each's library. Harrington vol. 3 especially for its breakdown of famous hands, and the thinking behind them. Weighing the Odds in Hold'em Poker is another superb Limit book, and has become perhaps my biggest aid when playing Limit. Doyle's Super System 2 is a valuable addition to vol. 1 if you wish to read up on various other games besides Hold'em.

I wish the best of luck to everyone at the tables - there's still enough fish to go around!
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135 of 138 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Poker's best textbook for general concepts, September 5, 2002
By John M. Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How To Think Like One (Paperback)
"Every time you play a hand differently than you would have played it if you could see all your opponents' cards, they gain; every time you play a hand the same as you would have if you could see all their cards, they lose." [This is an excerpt from what Sklansky humbly termed the fundamental theorem of poker.]

Statements like these will probably leave the average player, new to reading about his or her game, somewhat puzzled, but this is the main value of this book. It gives you a set of terms to describe conditions and actions in a poker game, and then tries to make you think about what you do and why. In the beginning, Sklansky says that this book does not try to answer, "What do you do in this particular situation?," but "What do you consider in this particular situation before determining what to do?"

It uses examples from every form of poker found in a casino, but it does not deal with any one form in particular. For this, a few good choices include the 'Advanced Players' series from Two Plus Two Publishing, and 'Super/System' by 1976-1977 World Series of Poker Champion Doyle Brunson and his collaborators. Sklansky's object is to show that winning poker comes down to correct determination of your odds given cards seen and unseen, the size of the pot in play and the effect of less tangible, psychological factors on the odds set by the first two elements.

It's not the easiest reading, but the language therein will be used by most serious players of the game in discussions away from the table. Get 'Poker for Dummies' by Lou Krieger and Richard Harroch first, as well as a basic text for your favorite game, like 'Winning Low-Limit Hold'Em' by Lee Jones. After a few months of play, open this book to reevaluate your game and what you thought you understood about poker.

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78 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, July 30, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How To Think Like One (Paperback)
I prefer later titles by this author but the valuable information in here should not be bypassed. Contained in ALL their titles: The best advice backed up with easy to understand examples. Contains the least amount of dubious advice of any poker text. Skylansky and Malmouth will effect a huge difference in your poker fortunes. No matter how good a player you are you are a "clueless newbie" until you have mastered the knowledge offered by David and Mason. Once caveat: Keep in mind that in general their advice is directed towards your playing in a game with tight aggressive skilled players. These authors no longer play in low limit games and to some extent have lost touch with the type of player the low limit playing reader faces.You should add another title to your shopping basket here to read that addresses games with loose bad players in it so as to obtain a proper strategic approach to all situations. A good poker book teaches you how to think about situations more so than what to do in specific situationAny text by the team of skylansky malmouth is worth it's weight in gold. Look for a revision of some of their classic texts, subtitled- "year 2000 or 20c. update"
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Insight on How the Pros Play
Gave me a good understanding about how the pros play and some ideas for my own play. Some concepts take a while to grasp. Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Lisak

5.0 out of 5 stars On of the best books every written
This is not an easy to read book. This is pure theory on poker in general and is not focused on a specific type of poker. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars The theory of poker
This is the book for those who want to play a profitable poker. With all its tips and concepts it's almost impossible don't love this book. Take it with everywhere you go.
Published 10 months ago by Daniel A. Marques

4.0 out of 5 stars Good theory book, at least for fixed limit games.
The Theory of Poker is very good in theory. The "fundametal theorem of poker" is a very good one. But the book was first published several decades ago and it shows. Read more
Published 11 months ago by NoWireHangers

5.0 out of 5 stars as advertised
everything was great with my purchase... the book was in good condition as advertised, and it was shipped in timely fashion. recommended seller
Published 15 months ago by Jeffrey P. Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars Won't change your game overnight, but a must read
As many have noted, the general idea of what Sklansky tells you isn't revolutionary. It's downright simple. Read more
Published 16 months ago by beachcards

1.0 out of 5 stars Not recommended
This book might have been very good ages ago, but we there are a lot of better poker books by now. I found nothing new after browsing through the whole book, and it was also very... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Ruslan Fazlyev

3.0 out of 5 stars Not enough explanation
For understanding strategy this is a good book. Good depth on bluffing, drawing out bluffs, etc. But if you're looking for an explanation on how to compute odds or "do the math"... Read more
Published 20 months ago by J. Linnehan

5.0 out of 5 stars Theory of Poker by David Sklansky
Great book. Covers all sorts of situations very clearly, and shows the mathematical side of the game as well. Would recommend this to any skill level.
Published 21 months ago by MB

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for the thinker
This book helps a particular type of player and hurt others. The information is great for anyone that can use Sklansky's work as a springboard to deeper thought, but can lead... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mark C. Upshaw

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