Doyles Brunsons Super System 1 and 2

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JamesGodfrey

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Are these the best books on poker available? If not, what is the best book at present.

Thanks

JamesGodfrey
 
odinscott

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harrington on holdem and kill everyone imo
 
OzExorcist

OzExorcist

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Depends entirely on what level you're at, what games you play and what you're looking to learn about. Beginner / intermediate / pro? Tournaments or ring games? Live or online? NLHE / Omaha / Stud?

I've only read Super System 1, and for my money there are plenty of better books you could get your hands on.

The Stud High-Low section talks exclusively about a form of the game that's almost never played any more (the no-qualifier variant - almost everyone plays eight-or-better these days). It doesn't cover Omaha at all, and it spends a lot of time on both regular and ace-to-five draw, neither of which are played much these days either.

I found the Razz and Stud High sections to be pretty good. The deuce-to-seven and LHE sections seemed pretty good too, but I rarely play those games so haven't really tried applying them.

Which leaves the NLHE section - it's an interesting read, but unless you're playing for high stakes against weak-passive opponents, you can find much better textbooks.

FWIW, while I haven't actually read SS2 myself, all the feedback I've heard is that it's fairly similar. Some sections are updated, I believe it covers Omaha and Stud 8, but the NLHE section is supposed to be pretty much unchanged.

Long story short:

If all you want to know about is NLHE, there are lots of better books. Harrington on Hold 'em, mentioned above, is kinda the bible on tournament play. For cash games I'm a fan of Killer Poker - No Limit by Vorhaus. For beginners, you really can't go wrong with Phil Gordon's Little Green / Little Blue Book. There are others if you want to learn about psychology or tells or money management or whatnot too.

If you want to learn about multiple games though, SS might be worth a read. In fact, I don't think there are many other texts that cover games like Razz or deuce-seven. Just remember that it isn't a low stakes text.
 
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jeffred1111

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I think Aliengenius reads about every poker book that is being released nowadays. He would be a good person to ask this question. He's like a scholar, but I doubt he wears a pocket protector like a scholar. But I could be mistaken.

Also, SS1 and SS2 are not what I would call "practical" or "deep" poker books. They are adequate to get you thinking about the inner-workings of poker strategy but the style of play and games have evolved since Doyle's time. I don't remember clearly reading the NLHE part in SS1, but does it still have the game being played with only one-blind ?
 
ZZFLOP

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Depends entirely on what level you're at, what games you play and what you're looking to learn about. Beginner / intermediate / pro? Tournaments or ring games? Live or online? NLHE / Omaha / Stud?

I've only read Super System 1, and for my money there are plenty of better books you could get your hands on.

The Stud High-Low section talks exclusively about a form of the game that's almost never played any more (the no-qualifier variant - almost everyone plays eight-or-better these days). It doesn't cover Omaha at all, and it spends a lot of time on both regular and ace-to-five draw, neither of which are played much these days either.

I found the Razz and Stud High sections to be pretty good. The deuce-to-seven and LHE sections seemed pretty good too, but I rarely play those games so haven't really tried applying them.

Which leaves the NLHE section - it's an interesting read, but unless you're playing for high stakes against weak-passive opponents, you can find much better textbooks.

FWIW, while I haven't actually read SS2 myself, all the feedback I've heard is that it's fairly similar. Some sections are updated, I believe it covers Omaha and Stud 8, but the NLHE section is supposed to be pretty much unchanged.

Long story short:

If all you want to know about is NLHE, there are lots of better books. Harrington on Hold 'em, mentioned above, is kinda the bible on tournament play. For cash games I'm a fan of Killer Poker - No Limit by Vorhaus. For beginners, you really can't go wrong with Phil Gordon's Little Green / Little Blue Book. There are others if you want to learn about psychology or tells or money management or whatnot too.

If you want to learn about multiple games though, SS might be worth a read. In fact, I don't think there are many other texts that cover games like Razz or deuce-seven. Just remember that it isn't a low stakes text.

I would like to read a good book about cash games, is Killer Poker really good , what about the two Harringtons about cash ?
Do you know someone who has read these ?
 
bulldog2782

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Yea i was also wondering if Killer Poker is one of the better NL Holdem cash games books and if not what is. also are there any good books about Omaha H and Omaha h/l
 
Paw_kit Aces

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Haringtons books are really good.
My favorite book is small stakes hold'em: winning big with expert play by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth.
 
andosalado

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i agree with exorcist, you should read this book only if you are a high stakes player. The super system 2 is almost the same as the 1 that was written in 1977, but with a few variants according to this time.
 
Makwa

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SS2 for variety overview, harrington for holdem. Pretty unanimous...
 
ZZFLOP

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Yea i was also wondering if Killer Poker is one of the better NL Holdem cash games books and if not what is. also are there any good books about Omaha H and Omaha h/l

Well I know SS 2 covers Omaha h/l, but as you may have read or heard not everyone is positive on SS or SS 2.

I read some good reviews on full tilt poker Tournament Strategie, this one covers Omaha, Razz, Limit, No-limit, Stud and Stud eight or better, don't
know about Omaha hi.

And I don't know if it is a good book if you're just starting these games, but you can find most basic (starting hands) info on-line.
 
OzExorcist

OzExorcist

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I would like to read a good book about cash games, is Killer Poker really good , what about the two Harringtons about cash ?
Do you know someone who has read these ?

Haven't read the Harrington cash game books. I definitely recommend Killer Poker - No Limit (there are loads of them in the series, this is the only one I've been able to get my hands on) for cash games though.
 
vanquish

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Super System puts me on raging tilt. Get Killer Poker series or Harrington on Hold 'Em. Kill Phil and Kill Everyone also.
 
odinscott

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Super System puts me on raging tilt. Get Killer Poker series or Harrington on Hold 'Em. Kill Phil and Kill Everyone also.

Kill Everyone is great if its not for cash games

if so, again try harringtons books
 
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