As mentioned, I figured I’d start a category for Poker on the blog. It’s become more of a hobby lately and the craze seems to show no sign of slowing. Like lots of people, I got sucked in a year or so ago with the ESPN coverage of the World Series of Poker. Since then, I’ve hooked up season passes for both the WSOP and the World Poker Tour… and while I like Phil Gordon, I don’t need to see celebrities play like idiots on television.

Over the last year, I’ve started playing with co-workers and friends and also tried my hand at some (cheap) online games (try finding a $.15–$.25 game in a casino)… but I’ve yet to play in a live casino card room.

That all changes next month.

In any case, I figured I’d point out some of the resources I’ve been using to learn the game… The obligatory book list includes Harrington on Hold’Em, Small Stakes Hold’Em, Winning Low Limit Hold’Em. The first book I read was Phil Gordon’s Real Deal, which is a nice gentle introduction to the game, the history, the concept of pot odds, and so on.

I’ve also been a huge fan of the Lord Admiral Card Club podcast since the beginning of this year. Cincinnati Sean does an awesome job of putting it together and it’s the first podcast I play when I start my commute on Monday mornings. There are others out there, and some are really bad, but for my money this one is the top dog for poker podcasts. The only other one I’ve been listening to with any regularity is the Ante Up Podcast, which started up a few months back. It’s a little more focused on beginners and live games than it is on the “world of poker,” but they do a good job.

That about covers the basics… if we end up at the same table, be gentle.