Why do some poker players become immensely successful while others fall by the wayside?What is it that separates the successes from the failures?Is there a magic formula? Over the last 12 years, Lance Bradley has been one of poker’s leading journalists and now finds himself at the helm of PocketFives.com as President and Editor-in-Chief. During his time covering the poker world, Bradley has interviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of the world’s best players. This experience has revealed one fascinating trend; contrary to what might be expected, there is no single guaranteed path to success. Each and every poker player featured in The Pursuit of Poker Success has taken their own route to becoming one of the world’s best players. The players interviewed for this book include World Series of Poker bracelet winners, World Poker Tour champions, online poker wizards and some of the best cash game players on the planet. Bradley spoke to each player about the way in which they found success in a game that can be humbling for so many. What worked for them can work for you.

A New York Times bestseller • A New York Times Notable Book “The tale of how Konnikova followed a story about poker players and wound up becoming a story herself will have you riveted, first as you learn about her big winnings, and then as she conveys the lessons she learned both about human nature and herself.” —The Washington Post It's true that Maria Konnikova had never actually played poker before and didn't even know the rules when she approached Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Fame inductee and winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings, and convinced him to be her mentor. But she knew her man: a famously thoughtful and broad-minded player, he was intrigued by her pitch that she wasn't interested in making money so much as learning about life. She had faced a stretch of personal bad luck, and her reflections on the role of chance had led her to a giant of game theory, who pointed her to poker as the ultimate master class in learning to distinguish between what can be controlled and what can't. And she certainly brought something to the table, including a Ph.D. in psychology and an acclaimed and growing body of work on human behavior and how to hack it. So Seidel was in, and soon she was down the rabbit hole with him, into the wild, fiercely competitive, overwhelmingly masculine world of high-stakes Texas Hold'em, their initial end point the following year's World Series of Poker. But then something extraordinary happened. Under Seidel's guidance, Konnikova did have many epiphanies about life that derived from her new pursuit, including how to better read, not just her opponents but far more importantly herself; how to identify what tilted her into an emotional state that got in the way of good decisions; and how to get to a place where she could accept luck for what it was, and what it wasn't. But she also began to win. And win. In a little over a year, she began making earnest money from tournaments, ultimately totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. She won a major title, got a sponsor, and got used to being on television, and to headlines like "How one writer's book deal turned her into a professional poker player." She even learned to like Las Vegas. But in the end, Maria Konnikova is a writer and student of human behavior, and ultimately the point was to render her incredible journey into a container for its invaluable lessons. The biggest bluff of all, she learned, is that skill is enough. Bad cards will come our way, but keeping our focus on how we play them and not on the outcome will keep us moving through many a dark patch, until the luck once again breaks our way.

Excelling at No-Limit Hold'em is a sensation in poker publishing. Renowned poker professional and author Jonathan Little brings together 17 of the greatest no-limit experts in the world to discuss all aspects of the game. These experts include superstars such as Phil Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker, Mike Sexton and Jared Tendler. In Part 1 strategies are analysed for topics such as understanding the fundamentals, satellite play, lower-buy in events, analysing tells and moving up in stakes Part 2 sees a thorough technical breakdown of the game including sections on range analysis, game theory optimal play, short stack strategies, value betting and final table play. As any serious poker will confirm, the technical side is only half the battle and so Part 3 deals with mental toughness, psychology and understanding tilt. Excelling at No-Limit Hold‘em provides all the tools that an aspiring player needs to understand no-limit hold‘em. It is a must buy for anyone who is serious about wanting to improve their poker.

FossilMan’s Winning Tournament Strategies is the ultimate guide to practical tournament play. Greg “FossilMan” Raymer, winner of the WSOP Main Event in 2004, explains everything you need to know to become a successful tournament player. Raymer is not only a big winner at the tables, he also has a unique ability to explain difficult concepts in clear and simple language. Raymer simplfies the learning process by breaking down the complex subject of tournament strategy into the key areas. Chapters on strategy include: the Independent Chip Model (ICM), game theory, poker maths and pot odds, correct bet-sizing, playing the big stack and playing the short stack. However, Raymer does not focus merely on the correct technical aspects of standard NL tournament play. He also discusses many other important tournament formats that often confuse players. These include: * how strategy changes in satellite and rebuy tournaments- * how to play heads-up events and other uncommon formats and the one everyone wants to know about - * how to play the Main Event.

As gambling become ever more ubiquitous, more people are risking their finances, family lives, and health in their desire to be the winner that takes it all. This book brings together an international panel of experts to present a wide variety of perspectives on problem gambling, and test popular addiction and disease models in the field. Early chapters examine the psychology of gambling, before moving on to the pastime’s associated irrational ideas. The seven chapters in the second half are devoted to evidence-based interventions from a variety of clinical orientations. Case examples, Q&A sections, and a glossary add extra readability to the coverage.

Meet Alex and Bobbie, who both like to play poker. Alex is a professional poker player who plays for a living and is a solid long-term winner. Bobbie is a recreational player who plays a decent enough game but mainly wants to have a good time. If you play poker regularly you will meet thousands of players like Bobbie in your games and very few like Alex. Of course one would expect that, in the long run, Alex will perform better than Bobbie. But have you ever wondered EXACTLY what it is that Alex understands better and does differently to Bobbie? This is a rather complex question that does not have a simple answer. In this book, UCLA maths professor Duncan Palamourdas addresses this question via a journey through human psychology, game theory, easy-to-understand mathematics and even philosophy. Topics include: * Understanding the instinctive but unprofitable tendencies of inexperienced players. * How to identify what a mistake actually is in poker – and how to exploit it. * Why poker does not revolve around bluffing. * The great impact of variance in poker and how to account for it. * How to develop a consistent approach that allows you to play like Alex and not Bobbie.

How hard are you prepared to work to improve your No Limit Hold’em? The Education of a Modern Poker Player documents the efforts of a serious amateur as he pursues his ambition of rising through the stakes from NL10 ($10 game) to NL100 ($100 game) and beyond. John Billingham is an English maths professor, and a keen player of games. In the summer of 2009 he discovered online poker and was hooked. A year later he decided to trick a couple of impressionable young poker pros, Austrian Thomas Tiroch (TwiceT) and Romanian Emanuel Cinca (EmanuelC16), into teaching him how to play poker on the promise of writing a book with them. Little did he know what he was letting himself in for. The Education of a Modern Poker Player is the product of JB’s cunning plan, and documents his progress from being unable to beat NL10 to establishing himself on NL100. Over the course of this entertaining book, TT and Manu explain how to beat these small stakes games, aided and abetted by JB, and illustrate all the important concepts with real example hands. There is a particular focus on Fast Fold Games, such as Rush and Zoom, in which JB eventually became a specialist, and practical explanations of how to take advantage of weak players in this format. The Education of a Modern Poker Player includes: An extensive set of real example hands Practical advice on strategies to beat 6max No Limit Hold’em A basic strategy for Fixed Limit Five Card Draw Clear explanations of the Mathematics of No Limit Hold’em Specialist advice on Fast Fold Games (e.g. Rush and Zoom)