Book Review: Poker Math That Matters

We take a look at another classic poker book to see if the lessons are still relevant ten years later.

The title of Poker Math That Matters is very appropriate because regardless of what level you are at, this book contains the math that is relevant to your games. Beginning poker aficionados often have a habit of learning mathematical concepts that are completely useless in the game, e.g. what are the chances of hitting a royal flush or how often their last bad beat is statistically likely to happen. Although solving such problems may be an interesting pursuit, it is completely unproductive - it will not impact your winrate. 

In exchange for useless mathematics and statistics, author Owen Gaines gives the reader all the mathematical tools necessary for a poker career. The author sets out in a logical way from the simplest topics (expected value and counting outs), through calculating pot odds, implied pot odds and combinatorics, to bluffing, semi bluffing and value-betting. Each chapter is followed by a list of questions and tasks, the solution to which allow you to consolidate the acquired skills and check whether you really understood the material presented in the chapter. The questions and tasks are not there to fill up pages. Even if the questions about coin tosses or dice rolls may seem pointless in a poker book, it's really worth taking the time out to consider them. In the course of reading the following chapters, it is crucial to have knowledge from the previous ones. We encourage you to actively read and solve the tasks set by the author.

It should be mentioned that throughout the whole book the author uses as examples No Limit Hold'em cash, with starting stacks of 100BB. However, this does not mean that the book is useless for tournament players or players of other formats. The concepts in this book are universal for all variations and formats of poker - from counting combinations to calculating how to get the maximum value from your hands. Of course, tournament players need to be provided with the mathematical tools necessary and unique for their format (i.e. ICM and bubble effect), but Poker Math That Matters lays the perfect mathematical foundation for building their poker career.

Presentation

Poker Math That Matters is written in simple language and the mathematical equations do not exceed secondary school level. The book is really easy to read. The tables and charts are kept to an absolute minimum. In return, the author offers tools for solving problems - the reader gets a fishing rod and not a fish.

Who is it for?

Owen Gaines's book will be most useful for complete green-horns and beginners who want to start taking poker more seriously. We can safely say that in this book they will find everything they need. But they're not the only ones who can find the material from this book useful. Also intermediate players, especially the so-called "intuitive" ones, who often base their decisions on their intuition (unaware knowledge), can use the materials contained in this book. Formulas that allow you to quickly and accurately calculate what should be the optimal size of the value bet or a bluff bet in a given situation will also allow them to take the game to a higher level. However, this is not a book for a professional who has already studied the math in depth.

Information about the book

Title: Poker Math That Matters

Authors: Owen Gaines

Year of publication: 2009 (first edition)

Price: $24.95

Reader's skill level

Novice: definitely

Beginner: definitely

Medium-advanced: worthwhile, but not a priority

Advanced/pro: no

Game formats

NLHE cash: yes

NLHE MTT/SNG/Spin&Go: yes

PLO cash: yes

PLO MTT: yes

Mixed games: yes

Live: yes

Online: yes

Topics

Mindset: no

Game technique and mathematics: yes

Slices of life: no.

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