February 14, 2011
Are books still of value to a poker player?
After the comments I received regarding my first post i thought i would put down my thoughts on books and wether they would still be useful today even though we have wonderful video sites and forums like deuces cracked...
When you consider those that have been playing for a long time would not have had access to resources such as DC's video's as well as the 2p2 & DC forums. What a lot of the older players would of used to learn would be books. I'm sure a lot of the coaches originally studied the books and a lot of their idea's of play probably started with the older books and then evolved as they learned. I have found more then once that after watching a video on DC; I proceeded to read a book and suddenly i could see what the coach on the video was talking about. By studying what others have studied or being exposed to the information in a different form it re-enforces it or helps you to learn the material better.
Can we learn everything we need from the video's alone? I'm sure we can. However one thing I do find is that things are not always covered in an order. You can watch a beginner series like "From the ground up" and get almost everything you need to know; Then combined with asking your questions in the forums you can get a very good grasp of things. Books are structured in a different way and often present information in different ways.
I think books are still valid as a learning material in poker especially the older ones that have a history of being read by those that came before us.
No knowledge is wasted. All learning is beneficial. You may not believe some of the things you read and that's fine, you just take what you need and expand on it. If something you read in "Super system" conflicts with something you see on a DC video you are probably more likely to think about it and make up your own mind. You are free to try both methods or create your own hybrid.
I don't think books are outdated. They may contain many things that no longer apply but that does not make them outdated and/or useless. I think they are a valuable addition to your poker study along with the video's and the forums. If you don't like reading books then there is more then enough in the DC video's to teach you to become profitable however you will possibly learn things to a deeper level if you read the great books as well. Just as a military officer studies past battles and ancient wars.
Please comment with your thoughts.
6 Comments:
OneLastRoll posted on February 14, 2011 at 01:29 AM
Here's sauce123s thoughts on the subject
http://www.leggopoker.com/blogs/sauce123/prof-sauces-poker-book-list-9065.html
diab0lic posted on February 14, 2011 at 04:35 AM
When I was new to poker I went through so many books it was ridiculous. There were some gems in there but I had to wade through so much garbage to find anything worthwhile. I spent my entire first year learning off of Super System, Super System 2, Daniel Negreanu's, etc... Needless to say i was a losing player for the most part.
The only two that i keep going through again and again are Kill Everyone and Heads up No Limit Hold'em. (Those two specifically because I play HUSNGs and every now and then an MTT)
Most of the really good stuff I've learned about poker has come from right here at DC. Usually in videos not about a specific game. Mathematics of NLHE, Hand Readers , Dogisheads Up Theory Episodes, Haj School all come to mind.
@OneLastRoll great link! I think sauce123 sums it up really nicely.
Acombfosho posted on February 14, 2011 at 09:34 AM
i agree with onlastroll too, but i still review my books every now and again
GingerViking posted on February 14, 2011 at 19:16 PM
Reinventing the wheel imo. Coaches learnt from books, now they have taken what was useful, cut the crap, and added their own skillz. Now they try to teach to us and you want to go back to the beginning?
If you have trouble digesting videos, then take notes during the video. It helps so much.
"I don't think books are outdated. They may contain many things that no longer apply but that does not make them outdated and/or useless."
Containing things that no longer apply is the definition of outdated.
Yes reading the books might be slightly +EV, but DC videos are 10x more +EV.
scott405 posted on February 16, 2011 at 01:51 AM
These newer books still apply no doubt about it. The core concepts of the game havent changed. Online poker may be tougher now due to the wealth of information out there but the basic concepts of the game are the same.
Ed Millers SSNL hold em (beating 1/2 6max) definitely not outdated
harringtons 6max and even his older cash game books are still applicable for low to mid stakes.
a truly intelligent and great player will take advantage of every resource offered to him. That includes books, forums, training sites, coaching, talking with other like minded people, etc etc
i find one of my biggest motivators is talking with other players i learn more through that than anything else.
scott405 posted on February 16, 2011 at 01:56 AM
one last thing is some books out there are worthless and almost seems like they were written with dollar signs in mind. I love Daniel Negreanu but i own power hold em strategy and feel like i got nothing from it.
If you wanna buy a poker book buy anything from harrington, sklansky, miller, and perhaps 1 or 2 others im forgetting. But you definitely cant go wrong with those 3.
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