PokertardThe best lessons from the poker books

Back in the post about Pot Odds, we discussed knowing the odds of making your hand in relation to the size of the bet you are facing and the size of the pot to be won. But, how do you know the odds of making your hand?
1. Count the number of cards that will give [...]

David Sklansky’s Theory of Poker is considered a seminal book for the discussion of mathematics and statistics in poker. He introduces the concept of Expectation as applied to gambling, but really it can be applied to any risk-based transaction from the stock market to the lottery.
The basic example he uses of a coin-flip makes it [...]

Without a doubt, the best and easiest text to read on tournament play is Dan Harrington’s Harrington on Hold ‘em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. 1: Strategic Play. In this book, Harrington lays out how to “think” during a tournament - understanding that your strategy is constantly changing as elements around you change. [...]

Without a doubt, the best explanation of the term pot odds for a beginner is from Lee Jones’ Winning Low-Limit Hold’em. In simple terms he discusses the following:
Probability and odds: Jones discussion centers around knowing how many cards are left in the deck that will complete your hand.
Pot Odds: Once you know the odds that [...]