The Mental Game of Poker: Proven Strategies for Improving Tilt Control, Confidence, Motivation, Coping with Variance, and More

But now, Joe Navarro, a former FBI counterintelligence officer specializing in nonverbal communication and behavior analysis—or, to put it simply, a man who can tell when someone's lying—offers foolproof techniques, illustrated with amazing examples from poker pro Phil Hellmuth, that will help you decode and interpret your opponents' body language and other silent tip-offs while concealing your own. You'll become a human lie detector, ready to call every bluff—and the most feared player in the room.

Maybe you’ve never played poker before and you don’t even know what a full house is. Poker For Dummies covers the basics. Or perhaps you've played for years, but you just don’t know how to win. This handy guide will help you walk away from the poker table with winnings, not lint, in your pockets. If you’re a poker expert, you still can benefit – some of the suggestions may surprise you, and you can certainly learn from the anecdotes from professional players like T.J. Cloutier and Stu Unger.

Know what it takes to start winning hand after hand by exploring strategy; getting to know antes and betting structure; knowing your opponents, and understanding the odds. Poker For Dummies also covers the following topics and more:

Poker looks like such a simple game. Anyone, it seems, can play it well – but that's far from the truth. Learning the rules can be quick work, but becoming a winning player takes considerably longer. Still, anyone willing to make the effort can become a good player. You can succeed in poker the way you succeed in life: by facing it squarely, getting up earlier than the next person, and working harder and smarter than the competition.

Foreword by Chris Moneymaker, 2003 World Series of Poker Champion.

Every serious poker player wants to be successful and many of them have the right technical skills. However, the truth is that there are key mental factors that separate the big winners from everyone else.

Patricia Cardner is a psychology professor, licensed professional counselor and dedicated poker player. She interviewed a select group of professional poker players who share two key characteristics: ALL of them have been successful over many years and ALL of them have lifetime winnings of more than $1,000,000.

Patricia analyzed the results to determine exactly what psychological skills, techniques, and strategies they use. This book is the result of her studies.

Positive Poker outlines the mental skills that you need to develop if you want raise your game. Positive Poker will help you to:

Patricia is aided in her investigations by the highly successful poker pro Jonathan Little, author of the critically acclaimed series, Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker.

Texas Hold'em For Dummies introduces you to the fundamental concepts and strategies of this wildly popular game. It covers the rules for playing and betting, odds, etiquette, Hold'em lingo, and offers sound advice to avoid mistakes. This handy reference guide gives new and even seasoned players winning strategies and tactics not just for playing the game, but for winning. You'll learn:

Texas Hold 'Em is a game of both skill and chance. But it's a game that can be beaten, and whether you want to make money, sharpen your game, or just have a good time, Texas Hold 'Em for Dummies will give you the winning edge.

You will learn:

*Adjustments you need to make from regular poker tournament strategy

*What hands to shove, call and fold on the bubble

*When to tighten up and when to keep accumulating chips

*Easy poker math to do at the tables

*The correct poker GTO ranges (and how to adjust to to different player types and situations)

*When it’s correct to fold Pocket Aces preflop

Dara O’Kearney is a professional poker player from Ireland with a long standing reputation as the best satellite specialist in the game. He has won over $1 million in satellite tournaments alone and twice won the PokerStars UKIPT satellite leaderboard. He is sponsored by Unibet Poker and is the co-host of The Chip Race Podcast.

“In the first 30 minutes of reading, I guarantee you will pick up something that will increase your future expectation to cover the cost of the book tenfold” – Marty “TheLipoFund” Mathis, partypoker PPL Satellite Leaderboard winner

“A highly recommended book for anyone looking to play satellites well or related formats like Double or Nothing where multiple finishers receive identical top prizes” ~ Collin Moshman – author of Sit N’ Go Strategy

“Dara has been ahead of the curve on satellites for years and his results show it. This book will change the way you think about, and play, satellites forever.”~Daiva Byrne - professional poker player and advocate for women in poker

This book uses the most up-to-date poker ICM calculators, however it has been written in a way to make the poker math you need to do at the tables very simple. Every chapter starts from a poker GTOframework but then explains how you should deviate when the players or table dynamics change. 

It covers every aspect of satellite play, from the important bubble stage, but even explaining the poker game theory behind late registering, post flop play, poker mindset issues unique to satellites and how to adjust in live poker tournaments. It has everything a texas hold'em player needs to qualify for big poker tournaments like the World Poker Tour, EPT or World Series of Poker.