Published on February 14th, 2020 | by Bibhuranjan

The Best Books to Increase Your Mental Game of Poker

Playing poker is a competition on many fronts, you are confronted with emotional turmoil and mental frustration throughout the game. This requires you to maintain a calm demeanor and keep control of all your faculties while playing with little emotion lest your opponents manipulate you.

This makes it necessary to find a way to learn how you can keep calm and stay in control of all these things. Also, you may not know a lot of the things you have been doing that have given your position away to opponents on multiple occasions. In the books listed below is a wealth of knowledge in different strategies to play the game.

All these strategies rely on common underlying logic, you must intentionally build your mental strength and concentration to elevate your game. In this way, you will play in a plane only accessible to yourself. Lastly, because these books are about teaching yourself and learning from the various games and drawing lessons, you can apply the ideas to your game with practice.

The Mental Game of Poker by Jared Tendler M.S with Barry Carter

The first book on the list has an obvious title. The book is written by mental game coach Jared Tendler who has given thousands of people guidance on things they can do to improve their mental game with actual results. The book is a step by step guide on the dos and dont’s while playing poker.

It specifically highlights all the little things that you do while playing that end up showing your opponents exactly what kind of hand you are playing. Some of these things include tilt, motivation, how you cope with changes in the game and your emotional control as well as your confidence.

It is important to understand all these influences and how you can manage them and handle yourself in a different situation.

The Mental Game of Poker 2 by Jared Tendler M.S with Barry Carter

In the second book, Jared and Barry dive into the complexities and mental side of strategy. The idea is to get all the skills in the first book mastered to the letter, and then coming on to develop that skill into second nature. In doing that, you keep your mind in a constant high and remain in the zone at all times.

If you play poker often, you know that being in the zone is one the best ways to increase your chances of winning, your bluffs are on point, you master the right calls to make, know when to apply them and not to make any mistakes. The book aims to sharpen your focus and mental endurance to keep your head in the game at all times. This is a standalone book that can be read in isolation without reading the prequel.

Hold’em Wisdom for All Players by Daniel Negreanu

Every poker enthusiast has heard of the famous Daniel Negreanu at one point or another. At the very least you have watched a video of him on YouTube and had your mind blown away as he accurately reads his opponents. If you have, then you will enjoy his book, even more, it’s conversational, educative, and gives you a sneak peek into his not so mysterious talent.

Daniel shares the tips on how to maintain your cadence throughout the game and make the right bets. You will learn how you can get a better feel of the game and get in the zone so to speak.

When you understand the game and the mental position of your opponents you can generate more confidence and play better. According to Wikipedia, he is one of the most accomplished professional poker players in the world.

Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen

If you could have a power-up for poker games, I bet it would be the mind-reading or x-ray vision. We all want to know what hand our opponent has. Gus Hansen sets out to show you exactly how you can find out what everyone at the table has.

No, this book is not about how you can read your opponent’s cards. It is an unconventional approach by a world poker tour champion. It is a new perspective guiding his thought process form his first hand to the last game he plays.

Using the strategies learned in this book, you can apply them to both physical and online poker. You can find some of the best poker offerings on OnlineCasinoGems to test out your new skills.

Harrington on Hold’em, by Dan Harrington

Arguably the best-selling poker book in history, this book is single-handedly responsible for spurring many poker talents as well as significantly increasing the difficulty of the game. Harrington is a world champion, an independent thinker, and an inspirational player. His books and two consequent sequels have received critical acclaim and offer a wealth of knowledge to both amateurs and professional players alike.

This book has a wealth of tips and tricks for winning big in poker. As seen on Gambling News Magazine, there are quite several tricks, check them out here.

The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky

This book is a masterpiece in strategic thinking and offers the most accurate and tactical approach to the game. The book teaches how to face each unique situation and interpret it before deciding your options for action. It is unlikely to be a fan favorite if you are not up for a bit of a technical read.

However, the book is invaluable for playing the best poker in your life. If you play video poker and have used various strategies, this book will help you understand why some of those strategies will never work and why some work yet they are very simple.

Video poker used some of the most basic and optimal strategies. The Theory of Poker creates an understanding of the reason behind strategies and will help you develop your winning formulas.

Mental Lessons for Life

The lessons you will learn for playing poker in some of the listed books are derived from game theory and could be applied to many other spheres of life. According to the La Cross Tribune, poker lessons can be very helpful in other aspects of education and sports.

Tags: books, gambling, poker

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.