Poker For Dummies®, Mini Edition (Dummies Mini) [Kindle Edition]

If you are brand spanking new to poker and don't know anything like hand rankings, betting, bluffing than this is the book for you, but if you have a general idea of how to play get a different book this one covers mostly the basics.

Although it's titled "Poker For Dummies", the title is somewhat misleading since it actually only discusses Texas Hold'Em. Described as a "Mini-Edition", it's quite short, only 42 pages in length, and is priced accordingly at $.99. I read through the entire book the first time in just an hour or so. However, I've since spent many hours re-reading and studying the wealth of valuable information contained in this short volume.

I highly recommend this book for beginning players, including both true beginners who've never played and those who may already begun casually playing and are now interested in learning basic strategy and improving their level of play. Most intermediate players will also benefit from reading and following the advice contained in its pages to reinforce their understanding of the fundamentals of the game and pick up a few valuable tips to improve their play.

The book is well-written and the explanations are clear and concise. The beauty of this book is that it's so short and to the point yet is fairly comprehensive. All the basic rules and strategy of the game are covered. If you master and apply the principles explained in this book you'll be well on your way to becoming a better player.

Unless you're already an expert player and are consistently winning, this book is well-worth purchasing and reading. You'll almost certainly pick up tips to improve your game. For beginning and intermediate players, this is the best basic introduction I've come across and should be the first book you read to understand the game and improve your play.

There's another truly excellent book in the Dummy's series about Texas Hold'Em which I also recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Holdem-For-Dummies-ebook/dp/B004QWZO1S/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1366977647&sr=1-1

It's a much more detailed, comprehensive guide to the game with a great deal of advanced explanation and tips for taking your game to a higher level but it still covers the basics and is extremely valuable for players at all levels, including beginners. However, I encourage you to read this mini-edition first. It will give you a solid foundation in the basics of the game without overwhelming you with information you're probably not yet ready to master. For $.99 you can't go wrong. Buy this book and read it. It's great!

I'd also like to mention the obvious. You'll never actually learn to play Texas Hold'Em just by reading books. You need to actually begin playing and practicing, preferably against players who are better than you. Playing home games with friends and family isn't usually the best or fastest way to improve.

If you have an e-ink Kindle with 5-way controller, there's an excellent Hold'Em game from Electronic Arts priced at only $3.99:

http://www.amazon.com/EA-Texas-Holdem/dp/B00499R2TU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1366979177&sr=1-1&keywords=ea+poker

It's a great game and will give you hours of entertainment and will help you build your skills. Unfortunately, it isn't available for the Paperwhite but works great with the 5-way controller on the Basic or DX.

If you have a Fire or android tablet, there are numerous Texas Hold'Em game apps available, both free and paid. The one I use is this:

http://www.amazon.com/Gemego-Ltd-PlayTexas-Free/dp/B00AJN9TBE/ref=sr_1_1?s=mobile-apps&ie=UTF8&qid=1366980857&sr=1-1&keywords=playtexas+hold%27em+poker

It's free and works great.

If you want to practice on your PC, there's a great free program which can be downloaded here:

http://www.ddpoker.com/home

Lastly, there are numerous online poker sites that allow you to practice and play for free. I don't use any of them so can't recommend one but it's easy to search for them and find one you like. Most are online games but, in the beginning, I suggest that you look for one that allows off-line play against AI (computer-generated) opponents.

I choose this rating, because i think the book is perfect! Very simple to understand, organized and without personal opinion as some authors do to sell you even though you've already purchased the book. What i liked were the various charts that you can highlight easily in your kindle or write down in a small tablet as you practice perfecting your game in poker. What i disliked-how and when it ends. I was eager and hungry for more, but perhaps i was greedy. Anyhow, i recommend this read for anyone beginning poker our perhaps someone who may be rusty and needs a pick up out refresher course. Absolute MUST HAVE!