Poker For Dummies

Poker For Dummies is a comprehensive guide to America's national card game, whose popularity continues to grow. Across the nation, you can find a game in progress everywhere, whether on replicas of 19th-century riverboats, on Native American tribal lands, at home with family, or online with opponents from around the world.

Despite its origins in seedier environments, poker is now enjoying a renaissance. Whether you've never played poker before and don’t know what a full house is, or you’ve played for years without significant success, Poker For Dummies covers the basics and offers strategies to help you leave the poker table with winnings, not just lint in your pockets.

If you're a poker expert, you can still benefit from this guide. Some of the suggestions may surprise you, and you can learn from anecdotes shared by professional players like T.J. Cloutier and Stu Unger. Discover what it takes to start winning hand after hand by exploring strategy, understanding antes and betting structure, knowing your opponents, and grasping the odds.

Poker For Dummies also delves into the following topics and more:

• Poker games such as Seven-Card Stud, Omaha, and Texas Hold'em
• Setting up a game at home
• The do's and don'ts of playing in a casino
• Improving your play with Internet and video poker
• Deciphering poker sayings and slang
• Ten ways to read your opponent's body language
• Playing in poker tournaments
• Money management and recordkeeping
• Knowing when and how to bluff

Poker might seem like a simple game where anyone can play well, but the reality is quite different. Mastering the rules can be quick work, but becoming a winning player takes considerably longer. However, anyone willing to make the effort can become a good player. Success in poker, much like in life, comes from facing challenges head-on, rising earlier than your competition, and working harder and smarter than others.

This edition includes a foreword by Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 World Series of Poker Champion.