Which Book?

[NorthernRed2]

I know this has been done many times, but i need some advice. I haven't posted in awhile due to new job taking up alot of my time, but have got back into the game recently and had some good results, mainly coz of very selective plays, (won a tournament the other day, but only played 4 hands in the first 1 1/2 hours). Anyway was wondering if Super Systems is the book to get, i haven't ever read a poker book and feel i need to take my game to that next level, so need to swot up. So which books would people recommend.

[GreenPlasticWateringCan]

Re: Which Book? I've only read the original Super System and not Super System 2 (and only read the Texas Hold'em sections), but I think there are many other books worth reading ahead of that one. I think the best place to start is The Theory Of Poker by David Sklansky. Rather than tell you what to do when you have certain hands or are in certain situations, it teaches you what you should be thinking about and why. I'd say this book is a "must-read" for any serious poker player. Hold'em Poker For Advanced Players, by Sklansky and Mason Malmuth unfortunately focuses on limit rather than no limit hold'em, but is still definately worth reading even if you only play no limit. For advice specifically on tournament play, Harrington On Hold'em by Dan Harrington is very good in my opinion, and is probably the most up to date and relevant tournament book out there. I have only read volume I so far (volume II is on it's way from amazon) but I found it very useful, as I almost exclusively play tournaments online (both STTs and MTTs). I have also just got Tournament Poker For Advanced Players, again by Sklansky, which is supposed to be good although I haven't read it yet. The following link will probably be useful as well: http://www.flopturnriver.com/poker-books.html Hope this helps and if you have any specific questions on the books ive mentioned i'd be happy to answer them

[GaF]

Re: Which Book? I've got pdf's of "Poker for Dummies" and "Holdem Poker for Advanced players" by Sklansky and Malmouth if you (or anyone else) is interested. I'm not suggesting that you read them on your computer (I don't know about you, but I couldn't) - but you can have a look and decide if you want to buy either of them......

[guesswest]

Re: Which Book? I've read them all and I'd say Super System 2 is the best all around poker book, but not your best bet if it's only Holdem you want to play. If you just play Holdem only the best book I've found is 'Winning Low-Limit Holdem' by Lee Jones, even if you're not playing Limit. He writes about pot odds/implied collusion/position/implied odds/value betting in such a way that when you finish you end up thinking about value in poker hands and the language of a poker table without it being a conscious process - which in my mind is the best thing any poker book could hope to achieve. A second reason this book is very strong is it's not, like most, written in reference to some pro's $4000/$8000 game, so the play it describes is consistent with the games us mere mortals find ourselves playing in. Definitely the first book I'd recommend to anyone wanting to improve their Holdem game. On the issue of Sklansky, though obviously a very talented player, I think the criticism of him writing about a kind of game most people don't play in applies more than to any other author. Fundamentally my problem with Sklansky is his working assumption when deciding what to do with cards that all opponents are making the mathematically correct decision themselves, or at least are aware of the calculations involved. If that was the case you'd have to not only make the mathematically correct play all the time yourself, but also be lucky to win. Truth is people make mistakes continually, even good players frequently play hands badly, and at the kind of limits me and most people on here play theres some muppet playing a hand horribly almost every deal - thats how it's possible to make money. I just dug up this article I remember reading ages ago: http://www.pokersavvy.com/article/wildholdemi.html