The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Texas Hold'em

Super book - better in some ways than the Lee Jones classic, because it's so much more up to date. You'll get the latest concepts in play - stuff you find elsewhere in books by Sklansky, Malmuth, Ed Miller, etc. - but adapted to the level of a newbie. Plus very clearly written. As for the nasty little review posted by the anonymous fellow who loves Ken Warren so much - two points. First, a friend of mine picked up the first edition a few months ago (he's the one who turned me on to the book, by the way), and yes, there were a few howling typos. However I picked up the second edition, and these have largely been corrected. Second, the Ken Warren books belonged to an earlier era of hold'em education - and not a very good one. Beginners like the Warren books because they seem easy to understand, but what they don't realize is the tremendous amount of misinformation they're being given. Mason Malmuth, in his review of "Ken Warren Teaches Hold'em," puts it this way: "Even though this is a big book that covers many topics, much of it is quite confused once you get past the filler material. In summary, for the new player, I'd recommend this book as number one, the Lee Jones book as number two. Once you get beyond beginner stage, try the Ed Miller book - absolute dynamite. An advantage to start with the "Pocket Idiot's Guide to Hold'em" is that many of the key concepts are the same as those further refined in the Miller book.