Table of Contents (from the book)
Elements of Poker is, flat out, the best book ever written about poker. — Arthur Reber
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About This Book 1
The Band and Crew 16
I. Universal Elements 25
1. A-Game 25
2. B-Game 25
3. C-Game 25
6. Sets, Sessions, and Breaks 34
7. Reciprocality 34
8. Quitting Reciprocality 35
11. Keeping Score 39
12. Accounting for the Rake 40
13. The Price of Poker Does Go Up. 42
15. The Profit Premise 44
16. How to Get Respect 45
19. Decisions 49
21. The Gray Area 52
23. Tilt Reciprocality 56
24. Hard Tilt 57
25. Soft Tilt 57
26. Winning, Losing, and Breaking Even 57
27. Betting Reciprocality 58
28. On the Importance of Position 62
30. Position Reciprocality 62
31. Firstlessness 63
32. Suitedness and Connectedness 64
33. Gobsmacked 65
35. The Rating Game 67
37. Tight and Loose 71
38. Passive and Aggressive 72
39. Adaptiveness 73
40. Inevitability 73
41. Emotions 73
42. Poker Addictions 74
43. Entitlement 75
44. Fears 75
47. Going Pro 77
49. Low-Hanging Fruit 81
50. Discretion 81
51. Object of the Game 82
II. Table Poker 85
Information
53. Information Reciprocality 86
55. Constructing Your Poker Face 90
56. Hands on Face 90
58. The Hierarchy of Fear 91
59. Reading the Players 92
Mechanics
60. Get Set 93
62. How to Look at Your Cards 97
63. How Not to Stack Your Chips 97
64. Changing Seats 97
65. Tempo 99
68. When to Announce Your Action 101
After the Betting
71. Flowchart of a Hold'em Hand 105
76. Fastgrabbing 112
78. Showing Bluffs 116
80. Shameless Showdowns 119
The Poker Room
81. Homefield Vantage 124
83. Make Your Intentions Known 125
85. Don't Push the Button 127
86. The Dealer Made a Mistake. Should I Speak Up? 129
87. Moving Up to Mid-Limit at Table Poker 131
88. Culture 131
89. A Reminder about Dealers 132
III. Internet Poker 135
91. Finger Tilt 135
94. Notes to Self 136
95. Comparing Internet Poker and Table Poker 136
IV. Cash Games 139
97. Take the Blind or Post Behind? 140
98. Chopping the Blinds 144
99. Buy the Button 146
V. Tournaments 149
102. The Bubble 150
106. Things to Know 172
VI. Hold'em 177
109. The Preflop Positions 177
110. The Hijack Seat 179
112. The Postflop Positions 190
113. Blinds and Buttons 192
VII. Limit Hold'em 197
117. Open-Raising and Open-Limping 199
120. Game Selection (Limit) 206
121. Stack Size Matters (Limit) 206
VIII. No-Limit Hold'em 209
122. Stack Size Matters (No-Limit) 210
124. How to Lose a Big Pot 214
125. Seat Selection and Game Rejection Based on Stacks 215
126. Controlling the Pot 217
128. Betting or Raising 1/3 of Your Stack 220
IX. Elements of Performance 225
130. The Path of Leak Resistance 230
137. A Reminder about Odds 237
142. Sitting 247
Illustrations and Tables
2. Lopping Off the C-Game 26
3. Talk Lines 47
4. The Gray Area 52
5. The Slide 70
6. Doing Minimum Time in the Worst Seat 71
7. Passive Aggressive 72
8. Flowchart of a Hold'em Hand 105
9. Take the Blind or Post Behind? 140
11. Payout Structure of the Sample Tournament 156
12. The Dollar Value of a Par Stack Before the Bubble Bursts 160
15. Flops-Seen Percentages by Position 193
16. Starting-Hand Groups for Limit Hold'em 201
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