27 books like The Moneymaker Effect

By Eric Raskin,

Here are 27 books that The Moneymaker Effect fans have personally recommended if you like The Moneymaker Effect. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker

Jonathan Grotenstein Author Of Ship It Holla Ballas! How a Bunch of 19-Year-Old College Dropouts Used the Internet to Become Poker's Loudest, Craziest, and Richest Crew

From my list on high-stakes poker for people who hate math.

Why am I passionate about this?

As the kid of tournament bridge and Scrabble players, I’ve been hooked on games my whole life. None more so than poker, which has helped me make a living both at the tables and as a writer. I’m currently working on a TV adaptation of Ship It Holla Ballas!  

Jonathan's book list on high-stakes poker for people who hate math

Jonathan Grotenstein Why did Jonathan love this book?

For fans of true crime, there’s plenty to recommend in this artfully crafted investigation into the murder of casino heir Ted Binion. But the book takes a gonzo turn when its author – a writing teacher from Chicago – uses his advance to enter the World Series of Poker, the tournament started by the Binion family. The deeper he digs into the murder, the deeper he runs in the tournament, creating a once-in-a-lifetime mashup memoir that’s almost too good to be true.

By James McManus,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Positively Fifth Street as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A steamy chronicle of life in Las Vegas investigates the murder of poker player Ted Binion, revealing a secret world of kinky sex, black magic, and science lurking at the heart of gambling's world series.


Book cover of The Biggest Game in Town

Jonathan Grotenstein Author Of Ship It Holla Ballas! How a Bunch of 19-Year-Old College Dropouts Used the Internet to Become Poker's Loudest, Craziest, and Richest Crew

From my list on high-stakes poker for people who hate math.

Why am I passionate about this?

As the kid of tournament bridge and Scrabble players, I’ve been hooked on games my whole life. None more so than poker, which has helped me make a living both at the tables and as a writer. I’m currently working on a TV adaptation of Ship It Holla Ballas!  

Jonathan's book list on high-stakes poker for people who hate math

Jonathan Grotenstein Why did Jonathan love this book?

Poker is an American game—maybe the most American game—but an Englishman elevated it into something literary: in 1981, Al Alvarez, a poet, editor, and critic best known for introducing the world to Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, traveled to Las Vegas to chronicle the World Series of Poker. His deceptively breezy account of the larger-than-life characters who played a card game for nosebleed stakes inspired a new generation of players to discover the world’s hardest way to make an easy living.

By A. Alvarez,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Biggest Game in Town as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Al Alvarez touched down in Las Vegas one hot day in 1981, a dedicated amateur poker player but a stranger to the town and its crazy ways. For three mesmerizing weeks he witnessed some of the monster high-stakes games that could only have happened in Vegas and talked to the extraordinary characters who dominated them--road gamblers and local professionals who won and lost fortunes on a regular basis.

Set over the course of one tournament, The Biggest Game in Town is botha chronicle of the World Series of Poker--the first ever written--and a portrait of the hustlers, madmen, and geniuses…


Book cover of The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky and Death

Jonathan Grotenstein Author Of Ship It Holla Ballas! How a Bunch of 19-Year-Old College Dropouts Used the Internet to Become Poker's Loudest, Craziest, and Richest Crew

From my list on high-stakes poker for people who hate math.

Why am I passionate about this?

As the kid of tournament bridge and Scrabble players, I’ve been hooked on games my whole life. None more so than poker, which has helped me make a living both at the tables and as a writer. I’m currently working on a TV adaptation of Ship It Holla Ballas!  

Jonathan's book list on high-stakes poker for people who hate math

Jonathan Grotenstein Why did Jonathan love this book?

In a self-conscious effort to re-enact Positively Fifth Street’s reimagining of the writer’s journey, Grantland Magazine assigned Colson Whitehead to cover the 2011 World Series in exchange for the $10,000 entry fee. He falls short of matching McManus’ success on the felt, but that’s not really the point: the meat is in the interaction between the poker and Whitehead’s struggle with depression. Which might be unbearable in the hands of anyone other than Colson Whitehead, maybe the best there is at crafting sentences that will make you laugh and wince at the same time.

By Colson Whitehead,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Noble Hustle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys • “Whitehead proves a brilliant sociologist of the poker world.” —The Boston Globe

In 2011, Grantland magazine gave bestselling novelist Colson Whitehead $10,000 to play at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. It was the assignment of a lifetime, except for one hitch—he’d never played in a casino tournament before. With just six weeks to train, our humble narrator took the Greyhound to Atlantic City to learn the ways of high-stakes Texas Hold’em.

Poker culture, he discovered, is marked by joy, heartbreak, and grizzled…


Book cover of The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win

Jonathan Grotenstein Author Of Ship It Holla Ballas! How a Bunch of 19-Year-Old College Dropouts Used the Internet to Become Poker's Loudest, Craziest, and Richest Crew

From my list on high-stakes poker for people who hate math.

Why am I passionate about this?

As the kid of tournament bridge and Scrabble players, I’ve been hooked on games my whole life. None more so than poker, which has helped me make a living both at the tables and as a writer. I’m currently working on a TV adaptation of Ship It Holla Ballas!  

Jonathan's book list on high-stakes poker for people who hate math

Jonathan Grotenstein Why did Jonathan love this book?

Yet another magazine writer (this time, The New Yorker) using her advance money to take a shot at poker’s biggest tournament. But Konnikova’s enthusiastic and self-critical approach elevates her memoir into something more transcendent and celebratory than its predecessors. This is a love letter to poker, told with fierce intelligence and emotional honesty. If you want a deeper understanding of the game’s gravitational pull on a certain kind of mind, there’s no better guide.

By Maria Konnikova,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Biggest Bluff as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A New York Times bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book

"The tale of how Konnikova followed a story about poker players and wound up becoming a story herself will have you riveted, first as you learn about her big winnings, and then as she conveys the lessons she learned both about human nature and herself." -The Washington Post

It's true that Maria Konnikova had never actually played poker before and didn't even know the rules when she approached Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Fame inductee and winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings, and convinced him…


Book cover of Reading Poker Tells

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

From my list on poker that every player needs to read.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a leading expert in how your mental game impacts performance. For over a decade I’ve coached hundreds of poker players, including some of the best players in the world. My clients include numerous bracelet winners at the World Series of Poker, and winners of other major titles. I have a passion for helping players become great, and many of them have climbed the ranks to become among of the best in the world. Whatever you aspire to in poker, whether it’s making some money off your friends or competing in the WSOP, be sure to pick up the books I’ve recommended—they can make a big difference! 

Jared's book list on poker that every player needs to read

Jared Tendler Why did Jared love this book?

Amateur players think tells are the biggest part of poker when in fact they are the most exaggerated aspect of poker strategy and the least important part of the modern game. Tells are, however, still a genuine part of the game and this is a fantastic introduction to them. Amateur players would still be better off working on the fundamentals first but this is an excellent addition to the bookshelf of a more seasoned player.

By Zachary Elwood,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Reading Poker Tells as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Reading Poker Tells has been called the best book on poker tells by many players, both amateur and professional. The book catalogues many of the most common poker-related behavioral patterns and gives psychological explanations for why these patterns exist. More importantly, the book gives a mental framework for analyzing and remembering poker tells. It also contains tips for deceiving and manipulating opponents, and methods for staying unreadable.

The author's blog and ebook are available at ReadingPokerTells.com.

REVIEWS

"Reading Poker Tells is one of the most helpful poker books I've ever read."                    
            - Andrew Brokos, pro player, author of Thinking Poker…


Book cover of The Endgame

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

From my list on poker that every player needs to read.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a leading expert in how your mental game impacts performance. For over a decade I’ve coached hundreds of poker players, including some of the best players in the world. My clients include numerous bracelet winners at the World Series of Poker, and winners of other major titles. I have a passion for helping players become great, and many of them have climbed the ranks to become among of the best in the world. Whatever you aspire to in poker, whether it’s making some money off your friends or competing in the WSOP, be sure to pick up the books I’ve recommended—they can make a big difference! 

Jared's book list on poker that every player needs to read

Jared Tendler Why did Jared love this book?

To some, the Harrington series might be outdated but there is still a lot of gold to be gleaned from these pages. Some people think Super System is the classic book of the poker genre, but I would argue this title has influenced more modern online players than any single book available today. There are more up-to-date books to choose from today, but it is still worth a read even now.

By Dan Harrington, Bill Robertie,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Endgame as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Poker has taken America by storm. But it's not just any form of poker that has people across the country so excited it's no-limit hold 'em the main event game. And now, thanks to televised tournaments, tens of thousands of new players are eager to claim their share of poker glory.

In the first volume of this series, Harrington on Hold 'em: Volume I: Strategic Play, Dan Harrington explained how to play in the early phases of tournaments, when most players at the table had plenty of chips, and the blinds and antes were small. This book, Harrington on Hold…


Book cover of Fast Company: How Six Master Gamblers Defy the Odds - and Always Win

Arnold Snyder Author Of Radical Blackjack

From my list on those contemplating gambling as a profession.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a mailman when I became obsessed with card counting at blackjack. Not having enough money to play at a pro level, I decided to sell a mathematical formula I’d devised for evaluating games and systems. I offered it for sale through gambling newsletters at $100. I immediately had big sales because no one had ever seen a method for estimating card counters’ win rates. I got letters from college math professors asking me how I’d come up with the math. So, I started my own blackjack newsletter where I published my discoveries. I was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame in 2002 and soon had big investors funding my play.

Arnold's book list on those contemplating gambling as a profession

Arnold Snyder Why did Arnold love this book?

Really fun true stories about six gambling legends. Titanic Thompson never entered an official PGA event, yet made more money playing golf than most of the top pros in his era, often by beating the famous pros at their own game. Minnesota Fats never won a major pool tournament, but made so much money traveling from city to city to hustle the local pool sharks he became a legend in the Midwest pool halls. Johnny Moss cut his gambling teeth in illegal poker games in Texas and Oklahoma, then went on to win the first two World Series of Poker championships in 1970 and 1971, winning nine WSOP bracelets in total, his last one in 1988 at the age of 81, making him the oldest WSOP bracelet winner ever.

By Jon Bradshaw,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fast Company as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this classic book, Jon Bradshaw singled out from the world of full-time gamblers six men who consistently win - the men who year after year, deal after deal and proposition after proposition come away with their pockets filled and their sense of infallibility intact.

Bradshaw follows three legendary poker players - Johnny Moss, Pug Pearson, and Titanic Thompson; tennis player Bobby Riggs; pool player Minnesota Fats and backgammon player Tim Holland. His evocation of ambience and his dramatic description of the games themselves are fascinating but Bradshaw also deftly probes their minds and hearts as he attempts to define…


Book cover of Building a Bankroll Full Ring Edition

Alton Hardin Author Of Master Micro Stakes Poker: Learn to Master Online 6-Max No Limit Hold'em Micro Stakes Cash Games

From my list on poker for beginner and struggling poker players.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the founder and lead instructor at MicroGrinder Poker School, arguably, the most prominent micro stakes poker school, and I’m fascinated by poker. I started playing poker as a hobby, and it soon became an obsession. I delved into poker theory, seeking to understand the game’s nuances. And as my game improved, I wanted to share my success with others. I’ve always been passionate about teaching, so I started MicroGrinder Poker School. Between my best-selling poker books and 35+ courses, I’ve helped over 80,000 poker players improve their poker game drastically.

Alton's book list on poker for beginner and struggling poker players

Alton Hardin Why did Alton love this book?

This is one of the first poker books I read when I started working on improving my game, and it’s an excellent book to start with. Honestly, I think the name says it all, building a bankroll. The book is structured in a way that covers all the basics without being overwhelming. The author not only covers poker strategies, but also covers important topics like variance and bankroll management that are equally important. While this book doesn’t get that much love in the poker community, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

By Pawel Nazarewicz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Building a Bankroll Full Ring Edition as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In January of 2010, while players complained about how difficult online poker had become, Pawel "Verneer" Nazarewicz wanted to demonstrate that, with the right approach, building a bankroll from scratch could still be done at the online tables. So starting at the micro stakes, he worked his way up the poker ladder turning $100 into $10,000 in 120 days. He accomplished the same feat a year later in exactly 100 days. In this book, Pawel shares the building blocks necessary for achieving long-term success at online poker. These teachings focus on seven fundamental concepts: - Accept Variance - Manage Your…


Book cover of Easy Game: Making Sense of No Limit Hold'Em

Alton Hardin Author Of Master Micro Stakes Poker: Learn to Master Online 6-Max No Limit Hold'em Micro Stakes Cash Games

From my list on poker for beginner and struggling poker players.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the founder and lead instructor at MicroGrinder Poker School, arguably, the most prominent micro stakes poker school, and I’m fascinated by poker. I started playing poker as a hobby, and it soon became an obsession. I delved into poker theory, seeking to understand the game’s nuances. And as my game improved, I wanted to share my success with others. I’ve always been passionate about teaching, so I started MicroGrinder Poker School. Between my best-selling poker books and 35+ courses, I’ve helped over 80,000 poker players improve their poker game drastically.

Alton's book list on poker for beginner and struggling poker players

Alton Hardin Why did Alton love this book?

This book was groundbreaking when it was first released well over a decade ago and was a must-read for just about every poker player. In 2022, it’s considered a bit dated for tougher games, but for beginners and struggling poker players at the lower stakes, it is a must-read. Andrew Seidman covers a plethora of topics in an easy-to-understand manner. In fact, I regularly reference one of his coined poker terms, the Baluga Theorem, which I learned in this book to my poker students on a regular basis.

By Andrew Seidman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Easy Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Making Sense of No Limit Hold'Em 3rd Edition: Adaptations


Book cover of Crushing The Microstakes

Alton Hardin Author Of Master Micro Stakes Poker: Learn to Master Online 6-Max No Limit Hold'em Micro Stakes Cash Games

From my list on poker for beginner and struggling poker players.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the founder and lead instructor at MicroGrinder Poker School, arguably, the most prominent micro stakes poker school, and I’m fascinated by poker. I started playing poker as a hobby, and it soon became an obsession. I delved into poker theory, seeking to understand the game’s nuances. And as my game improved, I wanted to share my success with others. I’ve always been passionate about teaching, so I started MicroGrinder Poker School. Between my best-selling poker books and 35+ courses, I’ve helped over 80,000 poker players improve their poker game drastically.

Alton's book list on poker for beginner and struggling poker players

Alton Hardin Why did Alton love this book?

Crushing the Microstakes has been around since 2011, and it’s still highly recommended. This is a no B.S., straight to the point, but also a comprehensive 200+ page micro stakes cash game book. Nathan is one of the biggest winners at the micro stakes, and he shows the strategies he personally uses to beat these games in this book. The book covers just about everything you’d need to know to start beating micro stakes cash games, from player types to post-flop strategy.  

By Nathan Williams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Crushing The Microstakes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in poker, gambling, and game theory?

Poker 29 books
Gambling 41 books
Game Theory 42 books