The Mammoth Book of Poker

by Paul Mendelson

The best how-to of poker, covering all aspects of the game, online gaming, casino play, techniques, and all variations (Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, and Hi /Low Split).

512 pages, Paperback

First published May 29, 2008

About the author

Paul Mendelson wrote stories at school when he should have been doing other things, but went on to become the, then, youngest ever playwright performed at the National Theatre, with his play, "You're Quite Safe With Me". This was followed by further work for theatre and, briefly, for television.

For twenty years, Paul has written on mind sports, such as bridge, poker and casino games, becoming the UK's best-selling author within his genre. He has contributed to magazines and newspapers worldwide, has a weekly bridge column in the Financial Times, and also writes interviews and features.

His debut crime novel, "The First Rule of Survival" was published in 2014, making the short-list of the CWA Golden Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year.
His second novel, "The Serpentine Road" was short-listed for several awards, including the CWA Gold Dagger again - an almost unheard of achievement - and received great acclaim in South Africa where it's political elements chimed with many that were in the news at the time.
Book 3, "The History of Blood" was published in July 2016, receiving accolades from reviewers in the national press in the UK, Eire and South Africa. It has been chosen as a Recommended Summer Read, Thriller of the Week and Thriller of the Month.
"Apostle Lodge" is his fourth novel set in Southern Africa, released for export on November 2017 and in the UK in February 2018, and it has received plaudits from around the world, hitting the top-ten Bestseller List in South Africa throughout the Christmas period.
Mendelson's fifth novel is set in England with a new detective.

Paul's novels now appear as audio books, Large Print books, and have been translated into French and German, with more languages to come, including Afrikaans (for the huge crime reading market in South Africa)

Each of the novels in the Vaughn de Vries series are set in Southern Africa, the novels allowing Paul's creative writing once again to come to the fore, and providing the perfect excuse to return to his beloved Cape Town to gain inspiration and time to write.

Paul lives in London (and, sometimes, Cape Town) with his two and four-legged family.

Reviews

[Diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still Water:

"One of the world's greatest poker players, Doyle Brunson, was seen recently saying that winning a poker tournament is a bit like winning the lottery, but that the difference between him and most other players is that he holds more tickets. At the end of this book, you too will hold extra tickets... then, it's just up to you to win"

"By the way, there is poker etiquette as to how you should show your cards:
If all the players have checked on the last round of betting, then all those players should reveal their cards more or less simultaneously. The best hand(s) take the pot.
If one player has bet and another player has called the bet, that second player has, in effect, paid to see the original bettor's cards. Therefore , if you make a bet and you are called, you must reveal your hole cards first. If your opponent cannot beat the hand you now show him, he will probably fold his own cards and not show them to anyone, conceding the pot to you; if he can beat the hand you are declaring, he turns over his cards and reveals his superior hand."

"Throwing away cards which are no longer likely to be winning is one of the greatest skills of the game and, over the thousands of hands that you will play, will probably save you more money than you will ever win. To 'get away from' - throw away - hands that turn bad after the flop, is one of the great skills of a good poker player."

"The vast majority of the time, you will find that players who check are weak; players who bet are strong.
Similarly, players who just call bets are weak and usually hoping that they hit a miracle card on the turn or river; players who raise or re-raise are genuinely strong and do hold the best hand."

"This is a disastrous card for you! If your opponent was calling to hit a straight or flush, this river card has given him the best hand. They now make a pot-sized bet. What should you do?
Almost certainly, he has you beaten. Although you have trip queens, you must accept that your opponent has been lucky and throw away your hand. It is a bitter blow (particularly because your opponent really hasn't played that hand very well), but throwing away the second-best hand is one of the most important skills to be developed in poker"

Best Quote of the Book Award 🏅
"You hold AJ, your opponent holds AQ
They raise 20 and you call 20, flop comes AK6
They bet 20, and you call 20. Turn comes AK65
They bet 40 and you call 40. River comes AK652
They bet 40, and you call 40. They win, you lose.
Notice that you have called a total of 120 chips and you have lost the pot. You have been unlucky, but you might have done better. If, on the lop, when your opponent bets 20, you raise 20 (betting 40 chips), and they then re-raise you, say, another 40 chips, you may well be able to judge that you are beaten. You make a great laydown and the hand has cost you only 60 chips, instead of 120."
By raising your opponent's bet on the flop, you gained vital information about their hand and came to a decision about your own hand.
On this occasion, you got it absolutely right and saved yourself 60 chips. That is like winning 60 chips! It is not as sexy or as glamorous and you didn't end up pulling a huge pile of chips towards you and gloating over the whole table, but you quietly saved yourself a great deal of money. That is the action of a good player.
So, if you think you have the best hand, bet or raise, don't just call. To call is a weak, passive action. To bet or raise is a strong, positive action and , even if your raise is called or re-raised, you have learnt information about your opponent and their hand. Use that information to decide whether it is worth any further investment in the hand."

"Rule Number 7: Don't call for Gut-shot Draws or Hope for the Impossible
If you feel that your opponent has a better hand than you, just fold your cards. If you have four cards to a flush or straight, then it will be worth calling a modest bet to see if you can hit your hand. (When we move up to the Intermediate level, you will find that you can also raise in these situations.)
However, don't call if only one card can help your hand: seeking a gust-shot draw, or turning a pair into three-of-a-kind. The chances of hitting your card are so small that, in the long run, you will lose a fortune chasing your dreams.
Even if you hit that card occasionally, it won't make up for all the money you have lost on the multitude of other times you have paid out seeking a miracle"

"What elevates the truly great players from the average poker player is the ability to remember every last move made by each opponent, store that information away, and bring it out to good use at a crucial moment. Who calls a lot of hands, but folds to raises? Who calls raises, but never re-raises? How often does a particular player become involved when they are sitting in an early position? If you can remember the answers to these types of questions then, when the action becomes forced, you will have a greater insight into what players might have for any action they take. That advantage translates into crucial timing later on for your own plays: bluffs, re-raises, slow-plays, check-raises... etc."

"All you have done so far is bet out your good hands, taking a stand against any player before you who seems over-aggressive and wanting to bully your table. Note that you have done no calling so far - only betting and raising. This is the profile that you want to pursue"

"Staring at the flop:
You see this a lot and it usually means just one thing: the player missed their draw. If a card comes that worries him, he'll usually look away and consider what it means to him and his opponents (they may even look up at you); if a card comes that makes their draw, they'll be trying to look nonchalant 🤭, and staring at the flop does not achieve this"

"In most low-standard games, players who try to help their opponent with a decision whether to call or not, almost always want you to fold. If a player had a good hand, he would just keep quiet and hope that you call. In high-standard games , such action could mean anything: it'll be part of an ongoing mind-game with an opponent"

"Remember that for most poker professionals, their income is based less on their own skill level, but on that of those they choose to play against."

"The next time you refuse to call 1 dollar pre-flop holding Q7, remember to pat yourself on the back for just saving, maybe, five cents. Think how many times you face those decisions every time you play and work out how much money you can save over just one session. The problem is that we get bored and crave some action, so we start to limping in with them marginal hands. Forge tit. Put up with the boredom a little while longer (and, if you must create action, pick a late-position hand and raise with it - at least, you are taking the initiative and pressuring your opponents). Better still, sit back, fold those marginal hands and reflect on your ever growing wealth."

"Rule 15: Don't look at your Hole Cards until it's your Turn to Act
Firstly, if you look at your hole cards when you receive them, then you have taken your eye off your opponents. Your attention should be wholly focused on their reactions to their hole cards. As you practise watching them, you will discover that you begin to get feelings, inkling, about what they hold: a sudden tension in the shoulders (a very good or premium hand); a stolen glance to see who is on the button and therefore in what position they are sitting (good hand), a slow release of breath, a shoulder slump , a sigh, a frown, a look of disappointment (all indicating a continuation of perceived poor cards)

"Tells which Suggest Strength: Change of Demeanour:
Like a police officer at a crime scene, you should be looking for anything unusual. A previously noisy player who falls quiet usually has a decent hand - and, strangely, vice versa also. A slumped player who sits up, a tired guy who wakes up, a player with a relaxed facile expression who suddenly tightens up - all of these almost always indicate interest in the hand and, usually, interest equates to strength"
Shaking Hands:
This occurs very frequently. A player who places a bet with shaking hands is almost always strong. Strangely, most people can control external physical tells if they are focused on doing so - as you would be if you were bluffing - but people find it much harder to conceal excitement when strong."
Eye Movement Towards Chips:
If the player knows they are being watched, this could be a false tell, as could reaching for their stacks before you have even made a move. However, in most cases, eyes move down to chips because the brain is telling them that shortly they must decide how much to bet."

"Remember that there is no limit to the depths of misery that bad beats, cold decks and lousy cards can inflict upon you. Chances as low as 5% can come in hand after hand against you. Then a 2% out can be hit... and another. It is statistically likely that this will happen occasionally: it is not defying the odds.
The key is that if you can cope with these miserable occasions cheaply, then you will show bigger - much bigger - profits at the end of the year. To put it another way: any fool can cope with success, but only the strong can deal with failure and bad luck and misery."

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very recently got into poker and found this book super useful.

[Joshua Gericke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good if your shit a poker

[Alan Draycott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever easy to follow simple advice to a game so much more complex than it looks. Funny too. Worth a read unless you already know all the basics.