Some poker books are built for the age in which they were published. Others, such as Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book, are more universal, evergreen reads. There’s a place for both kinds of book in your poker library.
It goes without saying that if you know poker, then you’ll have heard of Phil Gordon. Having sat across the felt from some of the best in the business, Gordon is an authority on playing poker against big name players.
Not restricted to just tournaments or cash games, the Little Green Book has advice on both and while in other books this makes the content a little wooly, the fact that it’s a little green book and not a massive green book (rejected titles are easy to look back on and laugh about) keeps the tips and tricks concise enough to hit home.
There’s a strong sense of the editing involved, because the writing is really tight and that’s a great thing. There’s not a wasted page in the book, and it is very rare to be able to say that about any book around poker, purely because there are usually a couple of pages that miss any reader of the game.
Gordon’s essential mantra is that anyone can do it, the ‘it’ in this case being to succeed and make money at poker. Referencing Celebrity Poker Showdown, but also 15 years of playing the game, Gordon has whittled it all into this handy tome and with some poker philosophy among the much-needed and simple-to-understand maths, he really hits the nail on the head about so much, including building your own sense of style to your play. Gordon makes you ask yourself: what kind of player do you want to be?
It’s worth pointing out that you shouldn’t get this book if you’re a total novice as some understanding of poker is assumed, but providing you enjoy playing the game and want to get better, this should probably be one of your first literary purposes. It really is that good and that valuable to have in your collection.
There is an audio version which has provoed really popular with players during lockdown and before, as it feels very much like the information in the book keeps your poker engine ticking over. There might be bigger books that are like a car manual, but Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book is a little like engine oil – you shouldn’t go far without it and it makes every journey you take easier.
At 330 pages in length and costing just £7.99 on Kindle at the time of going to press, we can’t recommend Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book highly enough, and the book is available on your e-reader right here.
