Playing Poker

Playing poker is the subject of the book and the theme of the book. The book doesn't teach people how to play poker, it teaches people who play poker, how to play poker correctly. Sklansky's purpose is to teach people how to think properly when they play poker. He tries to change the player's outlook on the game, so that the player learns to think like a professional thinks.

The book is full of examples of various hands and how to play them. Sklansky doesn't just give the reader rules to follow, although the player can find the game rules in an appendix. He explains why the player should do things the way he suggests. The explanations are usually somewhat mathematical in nature but are explained in simple terms, and they cover a variety of situations. They show the player why he does better in a mathematical...