Best Holdem Strategy Guides

So you’re looking for new ways to improve your poker game. Maybe you are willing to invest some money, but you don’t quite know where to start. T hen search no more, because you’re definitely in the right place. We at PokerTube know how difficult it is to pick a good and up to date poker strategy book from the hundreds and hundreds out there and that’s why we’ve decided to give you a helping hand.

No, no, not pocket Aces, but as soon as you start reading at least one of our Triple A Holdem strategy choices, you’ll realize that you don’t quite need those Aces to win a whole lot of money. All you actually need is a sound strategy and the ability to read your opponent… plus a Poker Mindset. Whether you are a tournament player or a cash rookie, the following list is for you. Start reading our on-point reviews, pick your favorite(s), read it thoroughly, apply the guide(s) at the poker tables, and cash in. Are you ready? Let’s start then:

Easy Game - Andrew ‘BalugaWhale’ Seidman

If you love the shorthanded cash games but you’re fed up with constantly grinding the micros for hamburger dollars, this book might get you over the hump. In the ‘Easy Game’, Andrew Seidman uses his coaching talents to perfection and creats an easy-to-read book for both the beginners and the intermediate 6-max cash poker players.

Are you familiar with the general poker rule that says any type of turn aggression should be treated very carefully (as the aggressor most probably has a very strong hand)? Guess who stated it first. Indeed, it was Seidman in ‘Easy Game.’

And that was just an example. Using his vast experience playing online, ‘BalugaWhale’ explains all the basic concepts in the first volume and all the more advanced concepts in volume two. He gives all the right reasons for choosing a certain type of hand preflop and he also encourages every beginner to start with the basic question whenever he bets or raise: Why do I bet? For Value? As a bluff? Or am I just capitalizing on the dead money in the pot?

Don’t get discouraged if you look at the book’s publishing date (the first two volumes were released in 2009). Seidman released a third edition, a more up-to-date one, in which he reconsiders some of the concepts explained in the first volume - like capitalizing on dead money - and introduces new ones, including Game Theory Optimal and balancing, advanced fold equity, and bet sizing. Its good enough even for the tougher games in today’s online niche.

Bobbo’s Bible Of No Limit Holdem - Robert ‘Bobbofitos’ Eckstut

If you want to take your game to the next level and be able to compete at the higher stakes, ‘Bobbo’s Bible of NLHE’ is the next phase in your poker training. Still considered to be one of the most valuable books for the low to mid 6-max cash regular, this ‘Bible’ contains complex strategies based on the fundamental play.

‘Bobbofitos’, a successful high stakes player back in the days before theBlack Friday of Poker happened, explains in the book his philosophy and how he approaches the game. He starts with some apparently basic concepts like equity and why we are aggressive, and then breaks Holdem apart into several pieces to make it easier for the reader to understand the minutiae. He starts from preflop and ranking the preflop hands into tiers to flop play and bet sizing, turn play, pot control, and river value betting.

The Bible also contains quizzes and exercises in order to get an idea of what and how you should think when you play a mid-stake shorthanded cash game against tough, thinking regulars.

Again the book isn’t that updated: it was released back in the days when Americans were still playing on PokerStars which was competing head-to-head with Full Tilt. Obviously the online games were much softer and the approach of the poker regular was slightly different. Be sure to take the advice in the Bible with a grain of salt first and foremost but, at the same time, pay attention to how an advanced poker mind thinks about the game. This type of thinking could eventually get you a lot of money, even in today’s games.

Let There Be Range - Tri ‘SlowHabit’ Nguyen and Cole ‘CTS’ South

Several years ago, one 2+2 user completed an incredible challenge. ‘Giev money??’ started his own Poker Goals & Challenges thread with the idea of making $1 million from the shorthanded high stakes cash games. The thread went viral and is currently the most popular PG&C topic of all-time and ‘Giev money??’ actually reached the million-dollar-mark. Asked by a fellow user what poker book had the most influence to his game, the millionaire responded plainly: Let There Be Range.

Written by two high stakes players in Tri Nguyen and Cole South, Let There Be Range quickly became one of the most coveted holdem strategy books in recent history. Yes, the valuable tips for crushing the mid and high stakes shorthanded cash games effectively played an important part, but the price of the book also had a role. The book initially cost $1,850 when it was released and the price was definitely no joke. As expected, it was targeted for the players who were already crushing their regular mid-stake games but wanted to reach the top of the ladder and play against the cream of the crop.

As the information became widespread and the cash games also evolved, Let There Be Range decrease in value to the point that it can now be purchased for around $400 (used). The tips however remain priceless. It’s definitely not a big book, it’s actually condensed, but in it you can find very important lessons that high stakes players still use today.

Nguyen starts the expensive lesson by explaining common mid-stakes leaks and introducing some creative lines of exploiting the opposition. South talks about exploitability in general, polarization and the river: ‘the difference between men and boys.’

Overall, if you are playing the low/mid-stakes cash games, Let There Be Range can be a valuable guide - given the right price of course - to move up and play with the big boys.

Sit ’N Go Strategy - Collin Moshman

But what if you aren’t interested in the cash games and actually prefer tournament play? Where do you start? Well, to get a sense of what tournament play actually means, you can start with Collin Moshman’s classic ‘Sit ‘N Go Strategy.’

Yes, the book is outdated. SNGs have evolved much since the release of the book but it can still help you beat the micros. By reading ‘Sit ‘N Go Strategy’, you will learn how to think like a tournament player and how to use ICM properly (especially in the single table tournaments). You’ll learn why flipping early with 75-big-blind-deep stacks isn’t such a good decision, why the tournament players tune up their aggression as the blinds go up, and why you should call with any two if you have more than 2-to-1 pot odds. Familiar with the Stop ‘N Go line? Collin Moshman explained it in fine print for the very first time in the ‘Sit ‘N Go Strategy.’

The book also encourages the reader to start things off tight when playing SNGs. This may be obsolete in today’s games, as good players are much looser in their attempts to exploit fish and play many pots against them, but at micros most of the regulars stick to that general rule: start tight and loosen as the blinds go up. So don’t be afraid to use the tips in the book if want to start playing the micro STTs but at the same time, be prepared to adjust your game as you move up stakes. At the higher stakes, playing Moshman strategy will make you very exploitable and you may end up losing lots of money.

Heads-Up No Limit Holdem - Collin Moshman

Besides the ‘Sit ‘N Go Strategy’, Collin Moshman also wrote another classic targeted mostly for the Heads-Up SNG players. Again, many concepts are outdated, but you can learn the very basics of playing HUSNG and start building up your poker bankroll.

What make both Moshman books special and truly classics are the language and the way advanced concepts are explained. The very beginner with a basic understanding of poker and math can read ‘Heads-Up No Limit Holdem’ with ease without stumbling upon complex poker concepts that aren’t thoroughly explained. Moshman does a very good job in arguing why someone needs to basically play every poker hand in position in the HU play and why aggression and bluffing are crucial for every wannabe winning player. To also show the importance of having a plan without worrying much about one’s holdings, he gives an example in which he played a Holdem HUSNG without seeing his hole cards.

All of his decision were math-based and opponent-dependent, having in mind the general tendencies an average poker player has when he’s at a poker table playing with weak, medium, or strong holdings. And guess what? He actually won that particular Heads-Up match giving hope to all programmers out there that the Heads-Up format can actually be beaten by an AI. Since then, a lot has changed with different bots coming and going and different, more complex strategies being applied at the poker tables. Yet the Moshman HU strategy still remains a very solid foundation for all aspiring HUSNG players. And yes, no AI bot has come close to beating the Heads-Up No Limit Holdem format...yet.

Kill Everyone - Lee Nelson, Tyson Streib, Steven Heston, Joe Hachem, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier

Indeed, all the Moshman strategy guides can be valuable when it comes to SNGs but what about actual multi-table tournaments? Many legends have written books about different ways to manage a stack in a poker tournament yet most of those books are written in the 90s and early 2000s. What about more recent books that can fit in with today’s tournament standards?

Fortunately for you, there is at least one written some time ago but still applicable today. It’s the book that introduced to the masses the whole new loose aggressive early type of approach in poker tournaments.

Since the ‘Sit ‘N Go Strategy’ days, we all have known that the best approach in the early stages of a tournament is to play tight. Preserve your stack for later when the chips are more valuable ICM-wise. That was the old-school approach. ‘Kill Everyone’ let everyone know that there is a new school strategy of accumulating chips right off the bat. It also defines fear equity - a brand new concept available when there is a very loose aggressive guy at the table - and explains the endgame strategy - as well as the Nash Equilibrium, prize pools, and equities.

ElkY- a very successful tournament poker player online - also shares his view on the matter and gives some interesting tips about how to think like an online pro. The book ends with dummy solutions on pushing/calling hands and on how to approach the Far From the Money stage optimally. Easy Game? Definitely!

The Poker Mindset - Ian Taylor and Matthew Hilger

And we can’t finish our list without also recommending a motivational book targeted for the wannabe poker pros. There are many out there today, but the very first were Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo and The Poker Mindset by Ian Taylor and Matthew Hilger.

To become a professional, you need a special mindset, one that can truly understand what happens beyond our emotional, flawed thinking. That’s why ‘The Poker Mindset’ exists, to force our prejudices to the surface and to destroy them using logic. It all starts with accepting the poker realities: thinking long-term, checking the ego at the door, making rational decisions, and constantly looking for ways to learn and improve.

The book also looks into the emotional and logical side of a downswing and how we tend to overreact when we are faced with a losing streak. You know the old ‘I never win with pocket Aces’ or ‘whenever I have pocket Jacks, an overcard is bound to happen?’ The thing is, ladies and gents, that cards have no memory and neither has the RNG. Just because you won 10 times out of 10 with bullets doesn’t mean you are very likely to lose the next time with Aces. Think of a new poker hand as a reset button. The hand starts from scratch with no prior memory of giving you a bad beat or suckout. That’s what a person with a healthy poker mindset is able to understand.

And you know what else? It talks about tilt. What makes us prone to tilt and how we can detect and combat this nasty state of mind? What is tilt in the first place? You can find all these answers and more in ‘The poker Mindset’. Ready to become a poker pro? Then you better not miss motivational guides like this gem by Ian Taylor and Matthew Hilger.

Do you have any other strategy guides recommendations? What’s the best poker strategy book you’ve ever read? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.