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| Foreword | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Why You Need This Book | |
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| What We Assume about You | |
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| How to Use This Book | |
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| How This Book Is Organized | |
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| Icons Used in This Book | |
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| Where to Go from Here | |
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| How to Play the Games | |
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| Poker Basics | |
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| Poker and the American Dream | |
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| Where Did It All Come From? | |
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| Poker is Good for You | |
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| Before You Put on Your Poker Face | |
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| Planning and discipline | |
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| The object of the game | |
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| Number of players | |
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| The deck | |
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| Poker chips | |
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| The Basics of Play | |
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| Hand Rankings | |
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| Straight flush; royal flush | |
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| Four-of-a-kind | |
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| Full house | |
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| Flush | |
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| Straight | |
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| Three-of-a-kind | |
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| Two pair | |
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| One pair | |
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| No pair | |
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| Low hands | |
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| Betting | |
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| Rules of the Road | |
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| Going all-in | |
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| The forbidden string-raise | |
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| How to raise | |
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| No splashing | |
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| Protecting your hand; cards speak | |
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| Table stakes | |
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| Time out | |
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| Decks and dealing | |
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| The finer points: Etiquette | |
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| What Will Your Opponents Be Like? | |
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| Casual recreational players | |
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| Cardroom regulars | |
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| Professionals | |
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| Proposition players | |
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| Playing in a Casino | |
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| How to get in a game | |
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| Buying chips | |
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| Shuffling and dealing | |
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| How Casino Poker Differs from Home Games | |
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| Tighter than home games | |
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| Players are more selective | |
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| Games are faster | |
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| Essential Strategic Considerations | |
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| What Poker Is and Isn't | |
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| We Were All Beginners Once | |
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| Build a foundation first | |
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| ... Then you can improvise | |
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| Basic Poker Concepts | |
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| Understand blinds and antes | |
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| Know your opponents | |
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| Prepare to win | |
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| A Little Probability | |
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| A short-term simulation | |
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| A long-term simulation | |
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| How many bad players does it take to make a good game? | |
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| Some Poker Perspective | |
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| Why some tactics are important in poker and others aren't | |
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| Frequent decisions | |
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| Costly decisions | |
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| Decisions and subsequent actions | |
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| Poker's single most important decision | |
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| Starting standards | |
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| Hand selectivity | |
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| Be aggressive, but be selective | |
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| Patience | |
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| Position | |
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| Coping When All Goes Wrong | |
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| Gear down | |
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| Narrow the target | |
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| Seven-Card Stud | |
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| If You've Never Played Seven-Card Stud Poker | |
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| A sample hand | |
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| Antes, the Deal, and the Betting Structure | |
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| Betting | |
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| Raising | |
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| Double bets | |
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| Showdown | |
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| Spread-limit games | |
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| Know When to Hold 'em and Know When to Fold 'em | |
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| What Kind of Hands Are Likely To Win? | |
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| The Importance of Lives Cards | |
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| The first three cards are critical | |
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| Position | |
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| Subsequent betting rounds | |
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| Seven-Card Stud in Depth | |
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| Starting hands | |
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| Starting with three-of-a-kind | |
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| Big pairs | |
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| Small or medium pairs | |
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| Playing a draw | |
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| Beyond third street | |
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| When all the cards have been dealt | |
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| Texas Hold'em | |
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| Basic Rules | |
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| Blind Bets | |
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| Hold'em in General | |
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| Hold'em only looks like Stud; it plays differently | |
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| The first two cards are critical | |
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| Position, position, and position | |
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| The flop should fit your hand | |
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| Beyond the flop | |
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| Hold'em in Depth | |
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| Small gaps make more straights | |
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| Gapped cards | |
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| Acting last is a big advantage | |
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| Starting Hands | |
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| The Art of Raising | |
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| You've been raised | |
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| When someone's raised after you've called | |
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| When should you raise? | |
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| Playing the Flop | |
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| Fit or fold | |
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| Flops you're going to love, flops to fold on | |
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| Overcards | |
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| Flopping a draw | |
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| Multiway possibilities | |
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| Playing the Turn | |
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| What to do when you improve on the turn | |
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| What to do when you don't improve on the turn | |
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| Should you continue with a draw? | |
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| Should you checkraise or come out betting? | |
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| Bluffing on the turn | |
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| Playing the River | |
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| Realized versus potential value | |
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| What do I do when I make my draw? | |
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| Top pair on the river | |
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| When the Pot Gets Big | |
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| Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better, High-Low Split (Seven-Stud/8) | |
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| If You've Never Played Seven-Stud/8 Before | |
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| Antes, the Deal, and the Betting Structure | |
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| Betting | |
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| Betting order | |
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| Raising | |
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| Position | |
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| Double bets | |
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| Showdown | |
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| Know When to Hold 'em and Know When to Fold 'em | |
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| What Kind of Hands Are Likely To Win? | |
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| The importance of live cards | |
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| Starting Standards: The first three cards are critical | |
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| Playable Hands | |
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| Seven-Stud/8 in Depth | |
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| Beyond third street | |
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| When everyone has low cards showing | |
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| Do big hands equal big profits? Not always | |
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| Jamming the pot | |
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| When you hold the only low hand | |
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| How Seven-Stud/8 Differs From Seven-Card Stud | |
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| Hidden Hands | |
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| Driving and Braking | |
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| When All the Cards Have Been Dealt | |
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| Omaha | |
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| Playing Omaha/8 for the First Time | |
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| Blind bets | |
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| The deal and betting structure | |
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| A sample hand | |
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| Knowing When to Hold 'em and When to Fold 'em | |
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| Position, position, and position | |
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| The flop should fit your hand | |
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| Omaha/8 in Depth | |
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| Starting hands | |
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| Getting good at hand selection | |
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| Acting last is a big advantage | |
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| Looking for a flop | |
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| The unpleasant experience of being quartered | |
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| Beyond the flop | |
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| What to Do When You've Been Raised | |
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| Flopping a draw | |
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| Playing the Turn | |
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| How do my opponents play? | |
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| What in the world could my opponent be holding? | |
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| Where do I sit in relation to the other bettors? | |
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| How much will it cost to see the hand through to its conclusion? | |
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| Playing the River | |
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| When you make the best high hand | |
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| When you have the best low hand | |
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| Exploring Omaha High-Only | |
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| Home Poker Games | |
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| Setting Up a Home Game | |
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| Rules | |
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| Dealer's choice | |
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| Betting stakes | |
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| Wild cards | |
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| Time limit | |
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| Food and drinks | |
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| Paying up | |
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| Game Options | |
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| Seven-Card Stud | |
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| Texas Hold'em | |
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| Omaha High | |
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| Omaha High-Low, 8-or-Better | |
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| Pineapple | |
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| Five-Card Draw | |
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| Lowball | |
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| Five-Card Stud | |
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| Baseball | |
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| Black Mariah | |
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| Indian Poker | |
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| Razz | |
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| Crisscross (or Iron Cross) | |
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| Poker Etiquette in Home Games | |
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| Do... | |
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| Don't... | |
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| More Information on Home Games | |
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| Advanced Strategy | |
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| Bluffing | |
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| What Is Bluffing, Anyway? | |
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| Different Kinds Of Bluffs | |
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| The Importance of Bluffing | |
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| Keep 'em guessing | |
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| The threat of bluffing | |
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| The Bluffing Paradox | |
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| Not All Bluffs Are Created Equal | |
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| Bluffing on the end with a hopeless hand | |
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| Bluffing with more cards to come | |
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| Bluffing and Position | |
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| Bluffing More Than One Opponent | |
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| Bluffing Strategies | |
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| Money Management and Recordkeeping | |
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| What Is Money Management Anyway? | |
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| Does money management make sense? | |
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| Should you quit while you're ahead? | |
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| Should you quit when you reach a stop-loss limit? | |
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| The Truth About Money Management | |
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| Having a positive expectation | |
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| Game selection and money management | |
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| The Importance of Keeping Records | |
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| What kind of records should I keep? | |
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| How to keep records | |
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| Keeping up with recordkeeping | |
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| How to Figure Your Win Rate | |
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| All averages are not created equal | |
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| Standard deviation for the mathematically challenged | |
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| How the standard deviation works | |
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| Using standard deviation to analyze your poker results | |
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| How to Reduce Fluctuations in a Poker Game | |
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| How Big Should Your Poker Bankroll Be? | |
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| A fool and his money... | |
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| How professional players maintain their bankrolls | |
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| Moving Up to Bigger Limits | |
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| Computers, Casinos, and Cardrooms | |
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| Poker Tournaments | |
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| Why Play Poker Tournaments? | |
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| The thrill of victory | |
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| Learn new games inexpensively | |
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| The game is "pure" | |
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| Take on the champs | |
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| Poker Tournament Basics | |
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| Buy-ins and fees | |
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| Betting structures | |
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| The prize pool | |
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| Satellite tournaments | |
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| The Relationship Between Blinds and Betting Structure | |
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| The escalating blinds | |
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| The end game | |
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| Be extremely selective; be very aggressive | |
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| Key Mistakes Made in Poker Tournaments | |
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| Trying to win too early | |
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| Defending your blind too much | |
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| Playing too tight | |
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| Playing a marginal hand after the flop | |
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| Being unaware of other players' chip stacks | |
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| Tournament Tips from a World Champion | |
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| Cutting a Deal at the Final Table | |
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| The fairest way to cut a deal | |
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| When the chip count is identical | |
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| Issues with Payoff Structures | |
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| The ethics of deal making | |
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| Expanded payoff structures | |
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| Where to Find Information about Tournaments | |
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| Video Poker | |
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| The Basics of Video Poker | |
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| Getting started | |
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| Playing hands | |
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| Video Poker versus Regular Poker | |
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| Jacks-or-Better Video Poker | |
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| Deuces Wild: The Best Game for Beginners | |
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| Tips for Becoming a Better Video Poker Player | |
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| Seven Mistakes to Avoid in Video Poker | |
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| Further Readings | |
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| The World Series of Poker | |
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| How It All Got Started | |
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| 1970: The First World Series of Poker | |
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| High-Roller Tournaments Made Affordable | |
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| No-Limit Texas Hold'em--the Cadillac of Card Games | |
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| Let's Get Ready to Rumble: The Latest Battles at the World Series of Poker | |
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| Stu Ungar: The Comeback Kid | |
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| Scotty Nguyen: An American dreamer | |
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| The Computer: Your Shortcut to Poker Mastery | |
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| Choosing the Right Computer for Poker Study | |
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| Getting by with a used computer | |
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| Using a Computer for Interactive Poker Practice | |
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| An Interactive Self-Study Course | |
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| Interactive Poker Software Programs | |
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| Finding the best software | |
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| Using the offerings from Wilson Software | |
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| Internet Poker | |
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| Internet Play-Money Games | |
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| But it isn't real poker, is it? | |
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| What the games are like | |
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| How these games help you to improve | |
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| The Best Internet Play-Money Sites: Internet Poker Casinos | |
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| Getting started | |
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| Finding games | |
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| Looking for serious play-money games | |
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| Participating in the Future of Poker at rec.gambling.poker (RGP) | |
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| Finding RGP | |
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| Benefiting from RGP | |
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| Virtual Poker for Real Money: Internet Cash Stakes Games | |
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| But is it legal? | |
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| Our advice to you | |
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| More Poker Fun | |
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| What's Behind the Sayings, Terms, and Myths | |
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| Poker Sayings | |
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| Poker Slang | |
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| Poker Myths | |
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| Learning More about Poker | |
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| The Zen Poker Process | |
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| A Learning Plan | |
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| Read beginner-level books | |
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| Read the magazines | |
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| Use your computer | |
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| Play poker | |
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| Think about the game | |
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| All Kinds of Poker Books | |
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| Books for beginners | |
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| Books for advanced players | |
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| Other recommended books | |
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| Beyond the Written Word | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| Ten Ways to Read Your Opponent | |
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| Shaking Hand | |
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| Jittering | |
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| Shrugs and Sad Voices | |
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| Changes in Breathing | |
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| Misdirected Bets | |
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| Extra Emphasis | |
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| Looking Away | |
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| Staring at You | |
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| Reactions after Looking at Their Cards | |
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| Reaching for Chips | |
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| A Final Word | |
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| Ten Poker Legends | |
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| Stu Ungar | |
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| Johnny Moss | |
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| Jack "Treetop" Straus | |
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| Benny Binion | |
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| "Amarillo Slim" Preston | |
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| Doyle Brunson | |
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| Johnny Chan | |
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| Phil Hellmuth, Jr. | |
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| Scotty Nguyen | |
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| Huck Seed | |
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| Honorable Mentions | |
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| Ten Keys to Success | |
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| Be Aware of Your Strengths and Weaknesses | |
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| Act Responsibly | |
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| Think | |
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| Have a Plan | |
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| Set Deadlines | |
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| Be Realistic | |
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| Expect Difficulties | |
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| Build on Small Accomplishments | |
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| Persist | |
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| Have Fun | |
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| (Almost) Ten Things to Consider Before Going Pro | |
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| Poker Isn't Like Most Jobs | |
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| Considering Your Own Results | |
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| Playing When You're Not at Your Best | |
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| Keeping Good Records | |
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| Deciding Where to Play | |
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| Using Statistics to Predict Your Expectations | |
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| Assessing Your Risk Tolerance | |
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| No Licensing Required | |
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| Following Good Examples | |
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| Asking the Right Questions | |
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| Ten Ways to Improve Your Poker Today | |
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| Know Your Numbers | |
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| Know Your Opponents | |
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| Keep Your Ego Out of the Game | |
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| Keep Records--Even When It Hurts | |
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| Choose the Best Game | |
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| Commit to Excellence | |
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| Practice with Computerized Software | |
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| Read the Newsgroup | |
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| Analyze Your Game--and Your Opponents' | |
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| Concentrate on Things That Matter | |
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| Read All the Books | |
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| Ten Real-Life Poker Lessons | |
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| Being Selective and Aggressive | |
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| Safety at All Costs Can Be Costly | |
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| Knowing Your Opponent | |
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| Timing Can Be Everything | |
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| Deciding If the Prize Is Worth the Game | |
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| Reaching for Objectives | |
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| Being Responsible | |
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| Painting Yourself into a Corner | |
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| Thinking Outside the Box | |
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| Realizing When Discretion Is the Better Part of Valor | |
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| Index | |
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| Back of Book | |