Joined: Jan '08
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I know everyone wants to get into action right away but books are the best way to get started. They can point you to your bad habbits and make you adopt new ones to sharpen your play which will lead to bigger profits. Specially for new players just started playing poker and since most of us, as Admin stated in one post, are from Europe and South America, we dont have lifetime of experience playing poker like US based players which are playing poker since childhood. What I wanted to start in this thread, is a place where we could find titles of the books which are valuable reading. So everyone could post a title of the book they think is good to be read and what they think of it. How to get them dont tell.
My pick is Super system 1, D.Brunson and friends. Really easy to read and apply. Straightforward and simple, yet full of good tips. I myself found a flaw in my play which was related to betting and it helped me alot. Gain confidence in other things which i wasnt so certain i was playing right considering all the bad beats.
Books.Read them. (added so it can be found easier) Predobar
Joined: Dec '07
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I cant agree enough. People should read before playing which most people forget. I love Supersystem's but I would not recommend it as the first pokerbook. David Sklansky Theory of Poker is a great beginners book. After that I would recommend Harringtons tournament books and then I would read Doyle's Supersystem at the end. It is pretty advanced poker reading for a beginner but for a intermediate player it can do mirracles....it did to me Last but not least I would also recommend some books about gambling theory's some great aspects in some of them!
Joined: Jan '08
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i never read a poker book to learn.. taking everything to heart from the book gives everyone the same boring style i actually heard some of the poker pros talk about this.. but its definatly a good idea to read a book to take ideas from...
Joined: Jan '08
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i dont think they had books when he started playin lol.. unless they were writen on dinosaurs backs.. but even then.. he prolly wrote those lol hes the legend among legend... no one has been doing it as well as he has!!
Joined: Dec '07
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Yeah Doyle is the God Father of poker, I love his game and also his personality. He has great respect for other people and is allways polite. He's still up and running in all the tourneys even in high stakes golf he was in, I actually think he was in the arrangement of it. Big up's Doyle he is the man
Joined: Nov '07
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it is not necessary to read books, all you have to do is think. Books gives you a shorter way to get the optimus play in poker, but anyone can have to that optimus level with a small piece of math and dedication
Joined: Jan '08
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hahah i was watchin poker after dark and doyle was in it... i thought this was amazing.. he can throw his cards after winnin a pot and have the card he wants to show flip over... he had aces on the other player folded the tossed both cards and made the ace flip over to show the other player that he had at least 1 ace.... and as phil hellmouth said.. "it takes alot of years of poker to toss your cards and have the one you want to show flip over"
Joined: Jan '08
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Posted by M3turbo: I cant agree enough. People should read before playing which most people forget. I love Supersystem's but I would not recommend it as the first pokerbook. David Sklansky Theory of Poker is a great beginners book. After that I would recommend Harringtons tournament books and then I would read Doyle's Supersystem at the end. It is pretty advanced poker reading for a beginner but for a intermediate player it can do mirracles....it did to me Last but not least I would also recommend some books about gambling theory's some great aspects in some of them!
Thanks ill look into them. For other post all i have to say is that I dont think of myself as new Doyle Brunson because i won one big pot with allin, and certainly it is a better way to learn from books then loosing your money to learn something, math is not an issue here. Some of us are better at math than the others, some use various software to calculate the odds and then some dont. And playing a poker IS NOT A MATH GAME at all, thats why i play Limit holdem, because its harder to bluff and its harder to bluff me out of the game, thus making it so much interesting than no limit because you really have to work your way around someone for some time before he will fold on your bluff. Thats play not math.
One last thing if you dont read books and think noone should read them, start another thread!
Joined: Jan '08
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Predo, I apologize about my opinion on reading books. This is a in favor of book thread, I understand that.
But I just don´t think that......
Posted by Predobar: and certainly it is a better way to learn from books then loosing your money to learn something, Predobar
Poker is definately not mathematics only, it is like life... and like in life you cannot learn love from a book. I guarantee you that after you get your heart broken you will be a much better lover... at least much smarter.
Joined: Jan '08
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with books you have to take them with a grain of salt and keep them in the back of your mind for fundamentals or building blocks.. you have to apply that knowledge to your playing experience.. im with fodz when he says the best exp is from the table....
in playin youll come across hybrid style players.. that books dont really talk about.. and youll know how they play and whats worked and hasnt worked for you in the past... if books helped you out 100% then every player would play the same
Joined: Jan '08
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Posted by xxxitaliaxxx13: with books you have to take them with a grain of salt and keep them in the back of your mind for fundamentals or building blocks.. you have to apply that knowledge to your playing experience.. im with fodz when he says the best exp is from the table....
in playin youll come across hybrid style players.. that books dont really talk about.. and youll know how they play and whats worked and hasnt worked for you in the past... if books helped you out 100% then every player would play the same
Im not saying that you should Copy/Paste gameplay from the book read starting post carefuly and youll see that im saying that it helped me find flaws in my gameplay, not change it all the way around. ALSO, read starting post carefuly and youll see that I ment this thread to be a place where you could post a name of the book you think people should read, and not a thread where you could state your opinion should it or should it not be read. It is a best way to learn in real play, but why not eliminate some aspects of your play before you loose a lot of money trying to play something which usually dont work. And yes i play no limit holdem in tournaments mostly and yes i learned most of my play at the tables, but as i said in starting post it helped me eliminate one thing which was poor play. That one thing made me become much better player in one day. I would learn it anyway but certainly not so soon. Another thing about online playing is that you come across much larger base of poor player where you can get through with mediocre play and get wrong idea that youre playing so good that noone can beat you. Then in sometime near future you stumble upon a player who actually did hes/her homework and read a book or two and suddenly its all about badbeats and so on. PLZ. Read the starting post and start another thread for this topic. PLZ Dont bother I will start it. we can continue this disscusion there.
Reply to fodz. Some people get their heart broken and still dont learn. Me for example .
Joined: Jan '08
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I´m sorry to hear that Predo, but what doesn´t kill you the first time, will sure come back for seconds, so you gotta be prepared!
I guess we all have the same view, but explained in different ways.
I believe that reading is important, but sometimes, when you try to apply what you have read to real life it becomes very different. So yes read a book if you want, but don´t make that book something a definite solution.
Joined: Jan '08
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oh i agree with you 100% that reading books can help you out.. but im sorry maybe i mis worded my last post a lil wrong.. i didnt mean it as dont read books or anything like that they aren't good to copy and paste i was jus stating that basing your whole game play on the book isn't a good idea, that jus like anything you have to use it to your advantages and apply it to your style of play already... definatly to correct flaws in your game its a great idea..
Joined: Jan '08
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Ok there it is Books orNo Books thread. lets move there. No harm done I just got up and im not a nice person to be around when i wake up. Sorry for getting off on you sound, it wasnt ment like that at all.
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Yes I will say that of course you learn most at the tables but I also think that every player can learn from books. It's allways good to know how profesionals think and do in different situations.
