The Mathematics of Poker
by Bill Chen, Jerrod Ankenman
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Book Reviews of The Mathematics of Poker
Book Review: Tough read, but worthwhile
Summary: 4 Stars
Bought this book to understand the finer aspects of the math behind poker. Knowing that Bill has won a couple of WSOP bracelets led me to be confident that the book was worthwhile.
My statistics knowledge is quite rusty, so the reading is slow-going for me to this point. My eyes have honestly glazed over quite a few times in the early going...
Vanessa Russo, an up-and-coming poker pro, basically endorsed this book on one or more occassions on TV, citing the value of reading the latter chapters of this book. Admittedly, she teaches a poker course on Game Theory, so the material probably comes easy to her :)
Book Review: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK
Summary: 1 Stars
This book is ridiculous. It does not deal with "poker math" (hand winning percentages, odds and outs, etc). Instead, it goes into a bunch of limit formulas that deal with expected value and ways to mathematically figure out if your opponent is bluffing, etc. It really takes poker math to a ridiculous level. As an intermediate poker player, this book is not a necessary part of a poker player's library. There's nothing in this book that cannot be found with a little research online or by reading a different book...perhaps one of Dan Harrington's tournament books (awesome read), or something by David Sklansky if you want poker math.Book Review: A Textbook for Understanding Poker Maths
Summary: 4 Stars
Chris Ferguson states that if he ever teaches a poker related math class he'll use this book. That observation really fits what this book accomplishes. The book is very much like a text book. A fair amount of study is required to fully understand what's in this book. Most of the information is quite terse and, like other reviewers have mentioned, you get out of it what you put in. If you're looking for specific advice for specific poker situations then this isn't for you. If you do want to gain a deeper understanding of the maths behind poker, with some effort, this book will help with that.Book Review: A Must Have For Serious Students of the Game
Summary: 5 Stars
For the first time, poker strategy and analysis advances past the simple mathematical concept of pot odds to incorporating more subtle and sophisticated mathematical tools to refine your game. As with the best poker books, this is a book that will require repeated readings to fully absorb. The book covers basic game theory, applications to poker strategy, optimal play in poker, managing risk to one's bankroll, and misc. topics including tournament play concepts.
That these concepts work is evident by the fact that the authors cashed in 7 WSOP 2006 events and won 2.
Book Review: Save your money
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this book thinking it was going to contain analyses of poker. It does not. Let me repeat that. IT DOES NOT. What it does contain are analyses of simple poker-like games, the optimal strategies of which are easily determinable by anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of game theory. The authors, after wasting your time with simple, near obvious results then proceed to draw no useful conclusions applicable to the real game of poker as played for real money in the real world. But if you think having it on your bookshelf will make your poker library complete, then buy one today.