ChipNews :: Poker News and Poker Events :: Book Review: The Mathematics of Poker

Let me spoil the ending of my review right up front. I believe that "The Mathematics of Poker" is the most important book on poker written in the last decade, arguably the most important poker book of the last 25 years. Despite this, I believe that this book will help relatively few poker players, and as such, its impact on the games played in most card rooms will be relatively minor.

"The Mathematics of Poker" is not a poker book with a mathematical focus; it is a college-level math text whose subject matter is game theory as it applies to the game of poker. It is not an easy read. This reviewer has a degree in mathematics, yet at several points I found the book tough to follow. I expect that most readers who have not taken college math courses will struggle to digest what lies between its covers.