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The Ultimate Poker Books For Tournaments
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I love poker tournaments because of the rivalry, strategy, and adrenaline. There is no better place to check your poker skills against famous poker players, and there is no greatest thrill than winning a Multi-Table Tournament.
If you enjoy tournament play (I suppose you are since you are reading this post), I have selected for you the best tournament poker books.
Is there only one type of poker tournament?
Definitely not!
When players hear the word ‘tournament,’ they always think about a simple MTT (Multi-Table Tournament). However, there are more variations of poker tournaments!
That’s why I have divided the books into four categories:
I hope you find here a poker tournament strategy book that will move your game to the next level!
One more thing. Bookokpoker is an independent blog. I don’t get paid for it.
So, if you decide to get any products, please do it via the affiliate links on my website. I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. It will help me to create more valuable content for you. Thank you!
5 Best Multi Table Tournament Poker Books
What is a Multi-Table Poker Tournament (MTT)?
MTTs are online and live games of poker that typically have anywhere from 20 to thousands of players competing at once.
The prize pool is usually defined by the number of entrants, and the top three places typically take home the lion’s share of the prize pool.
Harrington on Hold' Em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. 1
With “Harrington on Hold’em Volume II,” Action Dan has accomplished the seemingly impossible.
He and Bill Roberte composed a sequel that is so excellent that it is difficult to tell the difference in quality between the two books.
The sequel is as good as the first book!
What is ‘The Endgame’ about?
Vol. 2 continues the excellence of Harrington’s series by moving away from the conservative approach taken in the first book, which is perfect because you must learn to walk before you can run.
‘The End game’ guides you on how to play in the latter stages of a tournament when the number of the remaining players is smaller, the blinds considerable, and significant money is within sight.
Dan Harrington will teach you how to:
make moves,
handle tough inflection point plays (a point where your playing style must switch because of a difference in your M (how many hands you can play before you’re blinded out),
handle the game when there are a few players remaining,
play heads-up,
play the middle to the last stages.
Harrington has written a book that even professional and advanced poker players will benefit from.
The most exciting parts of the book
One of the book’s most interesting parts is the already mentioned ‘concept of M’ and knowing why it is vital to understand where your stack is in relation to the blinds’ level.
Another crucial thing is that you will learn that almost any hand is worth playing when you play heads up.
Recommendation
I can recommend this book to any good poker player who isn’t and won’t be my opponent.
Jokes aside, if you are a MTT beginner and want to move your game to the next level, this is one of the best poker books ever written. However, ensure you read Vol. 1 before starting with Vol. 2.
The book is written in a basic question-and-answer format. This gives the reader time to deliberate before continuing.
Negatives
One-sided opinions.
It is targeted toward a particular group of players.
Repetitive.
‘Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker’ is the third edition of Jonathan Little’s book series on poker MTT strategy.
Jonathan Little wrote this instructive poker strategy book back in 2013. He focuses mainly on teaching the readers how to implement the strategies and fundamentals described in the first two books.
Jonathan has earned more than $5,000,000 in no-limit tournaments. Little is an excellent tutor and poker coach, as well as one of the top professional poker players in the world right now.
Seven-Card Stud, as well as Omaha strategies, are included in the book
Real examples are included.
Negatives
A considerable portion of the book concentrates on the Limit game.
There aren’t enough hand examples.
Not enough advanced strategies.
Too much Phil’s ego.
Someone can love or hate him, but one thing’s certain — no one can stay indifferent when Phil Hellmuth is playing poker.
His versatile style of play has made him an essential figure in the poker world, which is why his book ‘Play Poker Like the Pros’ has drawn much attention.
Plenty of knowledge that helps the readers visualize the hands
Insight into Hansen’s aggressive and conscious style of play
Many valuable tips and tricks
Affordable
Negatives
His style could be too aggressive for some players
Citadel Press issued Every Hand Revealed in 2008.
It is a personal and organized 370-page long narrative of Gus Hansen’s procession to winning the Aussie Millions in 2007 and the prize of $1.2 million.
You won’t get far in poker if your playing style is not aggressive, and Gus Hansen’s undoubtedly is.
The Great Dane, as he is also referred to, has left the key to his brilliant poker mind ajar in his book ‘Every Hand Revealed.’ This book will take you through every single hand of the 2007 Aussie Millions he won by surviving 747 players.
Jonahan's little poker coaching platform covers a massive amount of poker content for all types of players. The profiles of the trainers are really impressive and include names like Matt Affleck, Alex Fitzgerald, Lexy Gavin, Tristan Wade, James Romero, Aram Zobian, Chad Holloway, Ed Miller, Elliot Roe
★★★★★
More details +
Content Quality
10
Content Quantity
10
Interface
9.4
Content Uniqueness
9.4
Teaching Quality
9.2
PROS:
World-class Coaches: Learning from pros like Jonathan Little is a rare opportunity
Diverse Course Selection: The wide variety of courses ensures something for everyone
Active Community: Engaging with fellow poker enthusiasts adds a valuable dimension to your learning
Regular Updates: The commitment to keeping the content fresh ensures you're always learning new strategies
CONS:
Pricing: While the quality justifies the cost, it might be on the higher side for some players
The Tournament Masterclass Expert Course is an MTT poker course for advanced players. Created by one of the best online sit & go and tournament players Benjamin 'Bencb' Rolle.
★★★★★
More details +
$1,297.00$1,147.00
I have assessed The Tournament Masterclass - Expert Level Course by Raise Your Edge based on the below criteria. This is my honest rating of this course. Feel free to add your ratings at the end of this review.
Content Quality
10
Content Quantity
10
Coach Authority
10
Interface
9.1
Content Uniqueness
10
Teaching Quality
8.8
PROS:
Access to a world-renowned poker pro as an instructor.
Discover the thought process of one of the greatest online tournament players.
Range viewers - tool access.
The course material is consistently refreshed to incorporate new information and best practices.
Detailed and well-organized.
Structured coaching method.
Homework assignments.
Access to the Discord community.
Video tracking feature that enables you to resume watching the videos where you previously left.
Ready ranges (regularly updated) for most of the situations you will face in MTT.
Exploitation of specific tournament structures and opponents.
Includes interactive elements like quizzes and hand reviews.
Lifetime access.
CONS:
Some videos are lengthy, lasting over ninety minutes.
The Tournament Masterclass Apprentice Course is a Multi-Table-Tournament poker course for intermediate and advanced players. Created by Benjamin 'Bencb' Rolle.
★★★★★
More details +
$697.00$617.00
I have assessed The Tournament Masterclass - Apprentice Course by Raise Your Edge based on the below criteria. This is my honest rating of this course. Feel free to add your ratings at the end of this review.
Content Quality
10
Content Quantity
10
Coach Authority
10
Interface
9.1
Content Uniqueness
9.9
Teaching Quality
8.8
PROS:
Ready ranges for most of the situations you will face in MTT (regularly updated).
Exploitation of specific tournament structures and opponents.
Covers preflop and post-flop play, bet sizing, hand ranges, ICM, and more.
Includes interactive elements like quizzes and hand reviews.
Regular updates.
The coach (Bencb) is a top mtt poker player and poker coach.
Lifetime access to the materials.
High-quality materials with clear audio and video.
CONS:
A big part of the content is locked and requires an upgrade to the Expert Masterclass.
The course is designed for experienced players, and beginners may find some of the content to be too advanced.
The Poker Tournament Edge is a MTT training site with a large number of video content (mainly hand reviews), strategy articles, and podcasts.
★★★★★
More details +
$29.00
I have assessed Tournament Poker Edge based on the below criteria. This is my honest rating of this training site. Feel free to add your ratings at the end of this review.
Content Quality
5.9
Content Quantity
9
Coach Authority
6.8
Interface
7.1
Content Uniqueness
5.9
Teaching Quality
7.5
PROS:
Affordable pricing
In-depth hand analysis (some of the coaches)
TPE University's comprehensive course
A podcast just about MTTs
200+ articles
CONS:
Some of the information is old and out of touch.
The vast bulk of the videos is just hand evaluations.
There is no mobile app available.
Outdated content.
Top 2 Books To Improve Your Sit And Go Poker Strategy
What is a SNG poker tournament?
Sit and Go is a single-table form of poker. Most of the time, starting with six, nine, or ten players and paying prizes for the top three finishers.
This type of poker game is typically used in online poker rooms and is becoming increasingly popular in live poker rooms.
In bounty and knockout tournaments, each player has a bounty on their head, and if they are eliminated from the tournament, the player who eliminated them receives the bounty.
We can divide the bounty and knockouts into three main types (although there are more):
Normal bounties – 20% or 25% of each buy-in goes to the bounties.
Progressive PKOs – the value of your bounty grows each time you eliminate a player.
Super KOs – where the prizes are split 50/50 between the regular rewards and bounties.
PKO Poker Strategy: How to adapt to Bounty and Progressive Knockout online poker tournaments
includes some fundamental concepts for Holdem in general
well written
targets a niche where not many players adjust their game
Negatives
not for total beginners, although it could be a positive as well
Bounty and Progressive Knockout are additional NLH MTT variants that are becoming increasingly popular.
This is the second book on this list by Dara O’Kearney and Barry Carter. PKO Poker Strategy covers the following subjects:
essential adjustments in PKO play,
methods for deciding on calling ranges,
information on why you should never register late,
specific PKO mindset concerns,
details on how to adjust when the pay jumps become significant,
when to use standard MTT strategy
and much more.
Each chapter begins with a GTO framework and clarifies how you should shift off course as the table dynamics change.
Thanks to the authors’ writing style, the math you must perform at the PKO tables becomes easy to understand.
They adapted a logical structure, and their writing is clear and concise.
This book includes many examples, charts, and tables.
One of the most important lessons that you will learn is how to make money by knocking other players out rather than focusing on winning the Bounty and Progressive Knockout online poker games.
Recommendation
I can recommend PKO Poker Strategy to these players who already have a good understanding of poker. If you want to be a winning player at Bounty and Knockouts, this is the best book to get.
I am a semi-pro poker player and have been playing since 2010. I specialized mainly in satellites for a long time. Nowadays, I play cash because it is hard to commit a few undisturbed hours to a tournament with my recently born son :)
