# Which book on poker technique should I get for my 14-yr old nephew? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 30, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971 "2014-11-30T20:13:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/1 "2014-11-30T20:13:22Z")
See hed. He’s smart, can concentrate, and loves to play; he has to start wising up on the numbers. His father was a hedge fund manager, and has absolutely no problem with this. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/2 "2014-11-30T20:16:04Z")
Poker, or THE? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/3 "2014-11-30T21:05:22Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Poker, or THE? 😕 THE? You know, poker poker (as you can tell I don’t know the game). He plays the one with four (five?) cards, and something called the river, but I want him to learn the other poker games. To start thinking with statistics. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/4 "2014-11-30T22:12:07Z")
Poker is a spectrum of games, divided roughly into individual-hand and common-hand games. Until maybe ten years ago, individual-hand games (five card stud, five card draw, seven card stud) were the overwhelming meaning of “poker” and what most people played outside of the small professional circles. Mostly because of the rise of poker as a spectator (=TV) sport, the glitzier, ramped-up (with “rivers” and “flops” and “blinds”) faster-moving common-hand games like Texas Hold 'Em (=THE) have almost completely replaced the more general notion of poker, and the indie-hand games, in both play and discussion. Nearly all forms of poker share the same winning hands and basics of play, but the difference in play, strategy, tactics and so forth between indie- and common-hand games is vast. For traditional games, you can’t beat John Moss’s _How to Win at Poker_. However, since you’ve made it sound like he means the more popular common-hand form… any very large bookshelf of “how to win” and “strategy” books should contain a volume suitable for him. BTW, no form of poker is about “the numbers” - relying on odds and so forth is a minor point of play. THE etc. are even more driven by player to player psychology and skill at bluffing and reading the other players than traditional poker. Being the mathematical genius son of an investment banker won’t make him a WSOP player, not by itself. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/5 "2014-11-30T23:11:18Z")
Texas Hold’em has taken over from all other forms of poker, so that’s the variant to learn. Although it’s not a teaching book, I found Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen to be a fascinating read. Hansen is a world-class player and the book tells the full story of how he won a million dollars at an Australian tournament. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/6 "2014-11-30T23:48:00Z")
How serious does he want to get? He and his pops realize that poker isn’t much fun unless it’s played for money, right? (or the bragging rights at the SDMB—but most free poker sites are worth what you pay, IMHO.) The first book I recommend from a theory standpoint is David Sklansky’s, [The Theory of Poker.](http://www.amazon.com/The-Theory-Poker-Professional-Teaches/dp/1880685000) That will teach him how to look at the game mathematically, and is useful for all forms of poker, not just Hold 'Em. If all he wants to do is play NHLE or the like, then there are plenty of books out there to choose from. Oddly, Phil Gordon’s latest, [A Little Gold Book](http://www.amazon.com/Phil-Gordons-Little-Gold-Book/dp/1451641591), is actually pretty good. Really, most of the best discussion is online. I like 2+2, others like deuces cracked, and I’m sure there are others. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/7 "2014-12-01T05:04:31Z")
Done and done. Both. Thanks. Yeah, the kid’s a greedy little devil. When I’m dead and gone and he’s in the poorhouse he can find out how it started. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/8 "2014-12-01T13:05:24Z")
I’m going to second **Gray Ghost’s** recommendation of The Theory of Poker. It’s the best volume I’ve read for an explanation behind most of the basic (and some advanced) concepts behind the game. It’s dry and definitely would require a strong interest in the game from a 14 year old, because it’s not going to entertain him on its own, but it establishes an excellent base from which to understand the game. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/9 "2014-12-01T13:32:20Z")
Thinking back 40 years, the 14 year old me woulda loved _The Illustrated Guide To Strip Poker._ ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/10 "2014-12-01T13:48:24Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Thinking back 40 years, the 14 year old me woulda loved _The Illustrated Guide To Strip Poker._ Or Ricky Jay’s _Cards as Weapons_ - a twofer. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/11 "2014-12-02T21:22:19Z")
Better to get him a copy of “Guys and Dolls” telling him to pay particular attention to the quote: “One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not accept this bet, because as sure as you stand there, you’re going to wind up with an ear full of cider.” ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Dracula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/54ee81/32.png) [@Count\_Dracula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Dracula)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/12 "2014-12-02T21:24:37Z")
A 14 year old should be launching zits at the mirror and checking out Playboy magazine - not playing poker. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/13 "2014-12-02T22:19:39Z")
> [@denquixote](#): > > Better to get him a copy of “Guys and Dolls” telling him to pay particular attention to the quote: > “One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not accept this bet, because as sure as you stand there, you’re going to wind up with an ear full of cider.” Quoted by Dar Ortiz at the end of his book on scams. I love it. I think it was a couple of knowing references by Heinlein that clued me about players who knew nothing but the odds and could be taken to the cleaners by players who understood the game. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/14 "2014-12-02T22:43:19Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I’m going to second **Gray Ghost’s** recommendation of The Theory of Poker. It’s the best volume I’ve read for an explanation behind most of the basic (and some advanced) concepts behind the game. It’s dry and definitely would require a strong interest in the game from a 14 year old, because it’s not going to entertain him on its own, but it establishes an excellent base from which to understand the game. I third this - not only does it teach poker, but it is sort of an introduction to game theory - so it kinda teaches you how to think about problems. I agree you’d have to be a little motivated, but I don’t recall it being super advanced. I think a bright 14 year old could understand it, but he would have to want to understand it. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/15 "2014-12-03T05:40:29Z")
The correct answer is “Getting Started in Hold Em” by Ed Miller. The other books mentioned so far are great but are unsuitable for the beginner. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/16 "2014-12-03T14:25:19Z")
It occurs to me that most 14yo boys are already skilled at hold 'em. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/17 "2014-12-05T02:00:04Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Quoted by Dar Ortiz at the end of his book on scams. I love it. > > I think it was a couple of knowing references by Heinlein that clued me about players who knew nothing but the odds and could be taken to the cleaners by players who understood the game. I’m not sure exactly who first invented the quote, but my favorite axiom regarding poker is ‘When you sit down at the poker table, if you haven’t worked out who the sucker is - it’s you’. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-book-on-poker-technique-should-i-get-for-my-14-yr-old-nephew/705971/18 "2014-12-05T02:37:09Z")
Doyle Brunson’s “Super System” was the Bible for beginning players for many years. IIRC it covers both limit and no-limit variations of hold 'em.