Posted By: hdouble
"If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."
--Isaac Newton

Too much work makes HDouble a dull boy. Unfortunately for this blog, the office grind doesn't inspire new poker wisdom like the grind at the tables. So I thought now would be a good time to pause in my musings and stand on the shoulders of earlier poker wizards, and give you...

THE TOP TEN POKER READS ON THE WEB

Forget Sklansky and Malmuth for now. There's some inspired writing out there on the web, writing that forces you to change your thinking about poker.

Tactics and Simulation:

• Abdul Jalib's Preflop Strategy: Abdul's guide to starting hands was honed by simulation after simulation with Turbo Texas Hold 'Em, and represents the foundation upon which I built my game. Although much of his advice on "balancing hands" preflop is unnecessary in the ever-changing games of online poker, this article remains the best advice on Hold 'Em you can find anywhere. Beginners be warned: the article requires careful study and an intermediate knowledge of the game before diving into.
• Abdul Jalib's Theory of Sucking Out: After you've mastered preflop strategy, you can learn how to suck out with the best of them from Abdul's second best essay, which focuses on how to play draws after the flop.
• A New Guide to the Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em Poker: This guide to preflop play was developed at Carnegie-Mellon by a group of sharp computer scientists with a deep understanding of poker and simulation. The guide shows the error in Sklansky-Malmuth hand groupings, and forces the reader to think hard about hand strength preflop.
• Blind Defense: This 2+2 post from an anonymous poster uses Turbo Texas Hold 'Em simulation to explore optimal blind defense. Andrew Prock once remarked that blind defense "separates the men from the boys," and this post gets the intermediate player thinking towards expert play.
• Ed Miller on Low Limit Hold 'em Tactics: Ed Miller (of Small Stakes Holdem fame) shows how much tight play can cost you in loose games. For players trying to beat the low limit holdem games, this article is a must read.

Psychology and Philosophy:

• Izmet Fekali's Playing With the Fish: AKA "FAQ on How to Play Texas Hold'em in Loosest Games" shows off the wisdom and flair of the inimitable Izmet Fekali. Izmet's site boasts a collection of loose-game wisdom built over many years of play, and includes one of my favorite quotes:
  

  "Optimal hold'em strategy is a defensive one. You make yourself unbeatable, you let your opponents bang their heads & weapons against your fortress walls. They are not playing optimally against you (they are either trying to find cracks in your armor and are zigging and zagging around or they are simply stupid and don't have a clue how to play) and must therefore be losing money to you."

• Is There an Ideal Poker Personality Profile?: Dan Mezick explores the role of personality in the success of a poker player, suggesting that introversion may be the secret ingredient of the top poker professionals.
• Sergeant Rock's "How do you win" series:
RGP regular Sergeant Rock offers his unique advice on what separates the great players from the good players at the table in this four-part series, including another of my favorite quotes:


The most basic thing you gotta do to beat a poker game is...

"Play Differently Than the Other 9 Guys."

...and I like to call this the Delta Factor. May sound silly, or too elementary, but basic truths are sometimes like that. Suppose that you play *real well* but are in a game where everyone else plays EXACTLY like you do. If there were no rake, then everyone would break even. Since there generally IS a rake, then everyone would lose in such a game.

• Part I: Delta Factor
• Part II: Treebark
• Part III: Beware the OTBS
• Part IV: Luck
• David Ross: A Year in the Life of an Online Pro: David Ross was the first online pro who documented his development as a player, including detailed descriptions of his fluctuating bankroll and the psychological effects that these fluctuations had. Ross' weekly 2+2 posts illustrate the mental challenges facing a professional poker player, and shows why the job of "poker professional" goes along with the quote, "it's a hard way to make an easy living."
• The Best Trip Report Ever: The Tiltboys famous trip report reminds us how fun poker should be, and is a must-read for inspiration before any trip to Vegas. Beneath the humor and hijinks lies a philosophy of life and poker that we all can learn from.

And although it may not contain as much wisdom as the works cited above, I have to include a shameless plug for The Poker Tracker Guide, which can get you started on the path towards statistical mastery in online poker.

Poker is a game of personal battles, but we can face these battles armed with the wisdom of the great warriors before us.

Posted by hdouble at October 23, 2005 10:19 PM

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