What is the “poker bible”?
Suppose you know you will be stranded on a deserted island and can take only one poker book with you. What would you take?
The question is of course hypothetical: you are not likely to find yourself in this situation. Yet, it is interesting to think it through. Which book is likely to maximize your understanding of the game? What is the ultimate “poker bible”?
David Sklansky’s “The Theory of Poker” comes close for many players, and with a good reason. Never mind Sklansky’s poor writing. The book is filled with insightful discussion of the most important considerations such as expectation, hourly rate, the fundamental theorem of poker, the ante structure, free card, pot odds, effective pot odds, implied pot odds and reverse implied odds, deception, semi-bluffing, raising, check-raising, slow playing, loose and tight play, the importance of position, reading hands, psychology of the game…etc.
You name it. The list could go on. Every single important aspect of the game is covered. The book addresses the game in a sophisticated way:
“Beginning poker players sometimes ask, ‘What do you do in this particular situation?’ There is really no correct answer to that question because it’s the wrong question. Rules of thumb that say to fold one hand, call with another, and raise with yet another simply won’t get a poker player beyond the beginning stages. The right question is: ‘What do you consider in this particular situation before determining what to do?’” (The Theory of Poker, xi).
Poker is a game of incomplete information that requires a careful consideration of many factors. Sklansky succeeds in not only elucidating them but also in showing how they relate together. Some factors are more important than others, but no single factor is usually the sole determinant. Good poker is a matter of thorough rational analysis backed up by solid, tested principles.
In one interview, Greg Raymer, the winner of the 2004 WSOP Main Event, stated he would not be able to win without Sklansky’s Theory of Poker. You can’t go wrong by checking it out for yourself.