In what order should I read these books? Any must-reads missing?

[p2fgf]

Hello. I've been playing NLHE for a few years, and recently started dabbling in Omaha, Stud, and Razz. I hold my own at 3/6, 4/8, and 6/12 limit holdem at Canterbury, but that isn't saying much. My online game is full of leaks, from cash games, MTTs, bankroll management, and of course tilt. In an effort to educate myself and further myself as a student of the game, I purchased a nice lot of used books on ebay for a great price (14 books/$90 shipped). Can you guys suggest an order in which it would be best for me to read these, keeping in mind I've already read Super System and SS2? Here are the books:

Harrington on Hold'em Volume 1, 2 and 3: Dan Harrington
Professional No-Limit Hold'em Volume One: Matt Flynn, Sunny Mehta, Ed Miller
Farha On Omaha: Raisy Daisy himself
No Limit Hold'em Theory and Practice: David Sklansky, Ed Miller
Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players: David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players: David Sklansky
Small Stakes Hold'em: Ed Miller, David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth
Caro's Book of Poker Tells: Mike Caro
The Psychology of Poker: Alan Schoonmaker
The Theory of Poker: David Sklansky
Zen and the Art of Poker: Larry Phillips
The Tao of Poker: Larry Phillips

Also, are there any must-read titles missing from that list, and if so where should they be incorporated in the reading list? Thanks for the help guys, cheers.

[SunyD]

There should really be a sticky in this forum on..

1. Highly recommended books
2. Order of reading

[fraac]

Probably follow whatever you enjoy. This isn't school.

[JackCase]

No one can answer this question better than you can. Read book reviews and discussions here and on other sites. Read the strategy forums, especially the FAQs. Determine what book is best for you at your current level of skill and play. If you know that you have leaks, you should study (not read) the most appropriate book or books for that subject.

You should not "dabble" in other games. If you want to learn a game, study it and play it exclusively for at least 2-4 weeks. then take a break and go back to your main game.

Do not sit down and read all these books. Find the best one for you now, and study it. Read it, play a bunch, concentrating on what you got out of the book, and then reread it. Play some more, and go back and reread the parts that you now think you need to study some more. When you think that you have seen noticeable improvement in your game, go on to the next book.

[mike1601]

dont read Zen and the Art of Poker: Larry Phillips
it's a waste of time....

[phydaux]

What game do you play mostly on-line - NLH MTTs, NLH SnGs, NLH cash games or limit/Omaha/Stud/Razz?

Tell us what game you want to focus on, and we'll give you a study plan.

[lfairban]

A reply for the hard to respond to question:

I have read over half of these books. Study is more important than reading. I didn't understand SSHE until I had been through it three times. It might be useful to do a quick read of many of the technical books so you know what is in them and then refer back as needed, when you want to concentrate on a particular area.

You received a very diverse group. The non-technical ones are Zen, Tao and POP. They will help you with Tilt, if you can disciplin yourself to follow the advice.

I'd start with SSHE, probably the best limit book around, because of the information on flop texture reading and counting outs. HAP is much older, harder to read and a bit dated. Postpone that one until later.

For No Limit, NLHT&P is great, keep it high on the list followed by Vol. 1 HOH which is also somewhat applicable to cash NL games. Haven't read PNLHE but I hear it is good.

TOP is classic, and contains concepts applicable to all forms of poker believe it or not. Take some time reading this one.

TPAP is tournament advice for people proficient at cash games and expounds on the additional concepts applicable to tournaments.

HOH has tons of problems to work through, take a while to learn this material.

I can't comment on Sammy's Omaha book as I have not read it, but I intend to.

As for bankroll management, there should be some threads here, but I can't remember where exactly. The formulas are pretty simple.

[Boise123]

[ QUOTE ]
Tell us what game you want to focus on, and we'll give you a study plan.

[/ QUOTE ]

What would your study plan be for NLH, MTT's
Thanks

[fraac]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Tell us what game you want to focus on, and we'll give you a study plan.

[/ QUOTE ]

What would your study plan be for NLH, MTT's
Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]
My study plan for NLH MTTs is NLH MTT HHs.

[FishBiscuit]

[ QUOTE ]
The non-technical ones are Zen, Tao and POP. They will help you with Tilt, if you can disciplin yourself to follow the advice.


[/ QUOTE ]

POP is mostly about the different types of players (i.e. LAG, TAG, etc) and what makes them tick...it's an excellent (and underrated) introductory guide to profiling your opponents and exploiting their weaknesses.

I would put it in the middle (or higher) of your overall list as it would be one of the first steps towards going beyond the basics and playing your opponents rather than just your hand.

FB