Poker Books
If you had to recommend one poker book to someone starting out today, what would it be?
2 Replies
Start with no limit hold em theory and practice by sklansky
"Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker" by James McManus.
Cowboy's Full is mostly a great read, and there's a lot of interesting things to be learned about poker history. McManus has a gift of entwining and weaving the game of poker within some of the most significant events in American history. Rich in his storytelling it’s full of interesting tales encompassing the long history of poker and its characters that many people, including avid poker players, probably haven’t a clue about.
All this so long as you can get past the author's non-related political rants including wasted page after page about WMDs and the Iranian Arms race, blah, blah, blah. Some of the author's poker comparisons to historical events are a big stretch by any measurement. The author should have stuck to the subject matter -- poker history -- rather than subjecting his readers to personal political viewpoints where they are not needed or appropriate.
One section includes six pages of mostly politics and too little poker, all of which would have been better suited in a book entitled “My Rants on Politics" by James McManus. It's a shame a 5-Star book is tainted by such nonsense.
One thing’s for sure, by reading this book you'll learn a lot about the history of this great American game and the people who have played it. As an unwelcome bonus — you’ll know what side of the political spectrum McManus resides in. All at hopefully no additional charge.
