# Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction by Sutton and Barto

6 Hacker News commenters recommended Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction by Sutton and Barto and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Widely called the standard introduction to reinforcement learning, written by two founders of the field. Critics say it covers older methods and some modern deep learning approaches are missing.

## Why people recommend it

- Standard, authoritative introduction to the field (3 comments): "Reinforcement Learning by Sutton & Barto is an excellent introduction by two of the founders of the field." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47575097)) "Sutton & Barto is the standard recommendation and it's good" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47577154)) "universally considered the bible of the field" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48471018))

## What people warn about

- Missing modern deep reinforcement learning methods (1 comments): "doesn't cover some of the more modern methods used in deep reinforcement learning" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47575902))
- Dated material, heavy on old methods (1 comments): "Sutton & Barto belabors a lot of old stuff that is no longer obsessed over" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47581569))
- Dense terminology hard to follow (1 comments): "I tried reading the Sutton and Barto book, but got lost in the terminology." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46060471))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs.md): 55 recommend
- [The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/art-of-computer-programming.md): 28 recommend
- [Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sicp.md): 12 recommend
- [Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Nielsen and Chuang](https://hackerapproved.com/p/quantum-computation-and-quantum-information.md): 12 recommend
- [Digital Design and Computer Architecture by Harris and Harris](https://hackerapproved.com/p/digital-design-and-computer-architecture.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Reinforcement+Learning%3A+An+Introduction+by+Sutton+and+Barto&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction by Sutton and Barto", https://hackerapproved.com/p/reinforcement-learning-an-introduction/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).