redgardless of contents, mine is exclusively the author ,i try to stay away from unknown random authors.

the author, the reviews and the immediate and/or future usefulness.

if it captures my imagination... the thrill of thinking a book can do any of the stuff it promises on the back cover, lol.

Poker books are like a guilty pleasure, none of them make a huge difference, but the trill you get when reading the back, getting them, then reading through thinking "all right then, this is it!" is often worth the purchase. Obviously it all dies down when you represent that flush and ram and jam the pot with your oh-so-clever new play from the new book, and get busted by a top pair that was never going to fold regardless of what else came on the board, lol. Until a book says "don't put a penny in the pot past the flop without the best of it" it won't actually do anything for most players but provide for thrills with that mental rush that hope brings.

Raise your expectation imo.

Good reviews and more of a textbook. Plus one that starts with the premise I know the basics of poker allready.

I need books that teach me things I don't know. These days, most books are repeating the same concepts previously mentioned in other books.

I agree: it's about having a new perspective that inspires your game. And I'm a huge fan of books that are heavy on hand examples and light on abstract game theory. Not that I don't think game theory has its uses, but if the equations can't be done at the tables or can't produce useful rules of thumb then it's not helpful in a poker book, IMO.

I want it to look pretty

#1 criteria it is not written by Phil Helmuth. (I think most who started playin during the boom got burned by that damn book)

Oh my God, you're definitely right Joey! I can't think of a Phil Hellmuth product that hasn't been a complete waste of money. Play Poker Like the Pros was worthless, his Texas Hold em was worthless, and I even bought this cheapo Black Belt video he was hawking online and all he did was chat about bad beat stories and absurd bluffs from some lame cash game he played at in London. Absolute train-wreck; he doesn't even care that none of his advice is practical.

+1.
In other words, I want the cover to be designed by El Gonso ;-)

Strong binding glue, pretty cover layout, and LARGE font.

If it meets these criteria, I'll buy it regardless of the content.

Price. I don't pay hundreds an e-book.

Quality of content is #1 criteria obv.

Poker author and what the community has to say about it

Why not ?

no just joking, let's keep this thread serious

Content, author, and reviews. In that order.

Lots of good points.

I go by well known authors, high reviews and my own judgement after looking at the book if I'm buying from in store. I like to read the table of contents, introduction and index and perhaps closing thoughts or the back of the book. The introduction is very important to me as it usually tells me if the book is right for me.

What's so good about well-known authors? Just look at Hellmuth or McEvoy or T.J. Cloutier or Brunson (in Super System 2) or Negreanu (in Hold em Wisdom for all Players). Well-known authors often put out the worst crap in the market, probably not even writing for themselves. Harrington and Hansen are the only exceptions I can think of.

Plus, one of the best books on the market, Poker Tournament Formula, was written by an unknown.

I only judge books by their covers.

But seriously, I go by reviews/feedback from people I respect.

this is actually pretty good advice, cause sometimes you look at the table of contents and think: pfff -_-
and sometimes you think more like: alright! I rly need to read this book!

and u don't have to limit this to when you buy at the store, cause also at most (good) sites, they let u see the first couple of pages and almost always the table of contents.
Title can be important too, so I've learned. Titles like: ''make 10 million playing poker'' are usually a warning...