10 Poker books you MUST read: Positively Fifth Street
When I began playing poker choosing a ‘primer’ –as poker strategy books are often called-was a fairly simple process, since there were typically only a handful of books on the particular topic in print! And no, I’m not 75 years-old, I began playing poker a few years before the nuclear bomb known as Chris Moneymaker went off in 2003.
Nowadays, the process is a lot more complex for the sheer fact that there are hundreds of ‘primers’ to choose from, so with that in mind I have devised the following list of the 10 poker books you MUST read, and honestly I am loathe to include any ‘primers’ on my list; although a couple of more theoretical tomes seem to have found their way onto it, as well as two general poker ‘primers’!
- 1. Ace on the River, by Barry Greenstein
- 2. Cowboys Full, by James McManus
- 3. Positively 5th Street, by James McManus
- 4. Zen and the Art of Poker, by Larry W. Phillips
- 5. Biggest Game in Town, by Al Alvarez
- 6. Education of a Poker Player, by Herbert O’Yardley
- 7. Big Deal, by Anthony Holden
- 8. Theory of Poker, by David Sklansky
- 9. Mathematics of Poker, by Bill Chen and Jerod Ankenman
- 10. One of a Kind, by Nolan Dalla and Peter Alson
So without further adieu, here is #3 on the list of poker book you MUST read:
Positively 5th Street, by James McManus
McManus has written two poker books, and both of them have made my list of the 10 poker books you MUST read! Positively 5th Street is an account of McManus’s trip to Las Vegas in 2000 to ostensibly cover the Ted Binion murder trial, as well as female poker players at the WSOP. However, McManus’s trip takes an unexpected turn when he not only parlays his writing advance into a WSOP Main Event entry, but finds himself at the final table!
Well written, engaging, and extremely transparent, 5th Street is quite likely the greatest poker novel ever written. And even though 5th Street is classified as a poker novel, mainstream readers will find the book just as enthralling as poker enthusiasts. McManus’s ability to represent the ‘everyman’ gives the reader the opportunity to picture themselves in the author’s shoes throughout the tale.
Positively 5th Street gives you a look at the typical poker player at the WSOP through the eyes of an avid player and poker fan, who makes no qualms about his real ability and acumen for the game. All the while the story switches back to the Binion murder trial, one of the crimes of the century, with the in-depth reporting you would expect from a writer of McManus’s caliber.
All-in-all Positively Fifth Street is not just a great poker book; it’s a GREAT BOOK!
