Do poker books help you like I feel they help me?

R

roreyn02

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 26, 2014
Total posts
29
Chips
0
I feel like after reading a couple of poker books cover to cover ive ended up playing like 10x better. And all just by reading the books. I came back to playing after reading and my games tend to play out better, I feel in better control and stuff. Not winning huge, but im slowly building my bankroll back to where it started.
Of the two books I read on poker so far my favorite one was the guide to no limit texas holdem by dennis purdy. Alot of the pages are pictures of the hands and the table. It shows the SB the BB and the button, and the position "you" are in in a hypothetical poker tournament.
It goes through all this hypothetical hands and situations, and the author writes down whats going on. And after reading what is going on, you can stop reading and think about what YOU would do, then read the author's reasoning on what HE would do.
I feel like this gains a person SOOO much more experience at a faster rate than just playing the game. If I could find more reading material like this it'd be great. Ive also thought that maybe it'd be cool to have a poker teaching site where there could be a game where cards are dealt bets are made, and people could all just discuss what the best move to make would be based on all the events and stuff.
 
nabmom

nabmom

Community Guide
Community Guide
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Total posts
6,371
Awards
13
Chips
325
Hi Rorey,

People from my office had a hold'em tournament series and I really wanted to play (for the social aspect). But knowing nothing about poker, I got Doyle's Super System out of the public library and looked up starting hand charts online, etc. Some of my office friends laughed (kindly) at me that I was learning from books but they stopped laughing when I started winning (there's a series trophy in my office!). What started due to social reasons turned into a real poker bug!

Different people have different learning styles. Some prefer books, others prefer videos, others need to play and learn as they go along. The thing is to figure out your learning style.

An awesome feature here at Cardschat is our Hand History review sections (one for cash and one for tournaments). Post your hand histories there and that will function exactly like the poker training site you're talking about. Hand replayer software will also let you see the table and walk through each street of action.

Good luck on the felt!
 
dj11

dj11

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Total posts
23,189
Awards
9
Chips
0
If we have no input about the game other than the hands we play, it will take a lifetime to understand the game.

Books tend to concentrate the learning curve. Forums like CC tend to concentrate that curve along lines we have questions about. And all we have to do is ask. Often we aren't sure even what those specific questions should be, and part of the learning curve for poker is clarifying the questions we ask.

I think any poker book will be helpful. Wait a few months after you finish any poker book, then read it again. It will amaze you. The first run thru a poker book you will naturally concentrate on stuff you have wondered about, but much of the stuff will be over your head. And you won't even understand that there was stuff there that went over your head!

There are several books I have read several times, and each time it was as if it was the first time. Harrington On HoldEm tourney books are notable in that regard. But so is a simpler book like 1000 tips and secrets by Susie Isaacs. It's a bathroom book, where each tip = 1 paragraph, but is pointed at specific concepts. Great reminder book.
 
D

davem86

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 5, 2010
Total posts
1,725
Chips
28
That's good to know as I just received my 1st book in the mail today!
Doyle Brunson's Super System.
AS noted in the post above Im glad to actually see what I have been doing wrong and right in the mind of a few poker greats and not just limited to holdem itself.
Not to take anything away from the great players here of this forum just a different perspective I guess.
Hell pretty much what I know now mostly has come from this forum so to combine it all and actually take the time out to properly play and learn the game itself is exciting.
Im hoping to take as much in as I can and I plan to purchase another book when Im finished.
Im gonna give it a few months and see how things go and Update you some detail.

GOODLUCK OUT THERE!
 
Daniel72

Daniel72

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Total posts
2,284
Awards
2
Chips
18
I remember Harrington on Holdem helped my tourney game tremendously and was an eye opener for me back in the good old days.
Books are good, if you choose the right ones.
Currently i discover the training video world (ok, late but better than never) and all the insights are great..
 
horizon12

horizon12

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Total posts
4,126
Chips
0
Maybe even 2-3 years ago, books were relevant, now it is a waste of time. Because now there is a large volume of information on the forums, posts about the hand, describes the various strategies without water. It is also very much you can find poker videos, Vods the limit on which you play,which is much easier to learn,
So you can find blogs of players, all of which describe in detail game on your limit game. So with the advent of the Internet, books, stepped aside ...
 
Daniel72

Daniel72

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Total posts
2,284
Awards
2
Chips
18
I agree to some points of view.
Books are at least good for beginners.

And Harrington soon releases a new book on modern tourney poker.

:cool:
 
B

bluejay2220

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Total posts
127
Chips
0
Books are good to get a handle on the game. Once thats done, you know what your doing, start advancing on your own.
 
H

hffjd2000

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Total posts
2,329
Chips
0
I would say books are good if you are a live poker player.

If youre an online poker player, go with experience.
 
C

cotta777

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Total posts
868
Chips
0
For me I would say if you absorb the information in the book completely (which takes time)

You will attain all the knowledge and all the input and thought process in it

which obviously would mean your thinking like a top player and its very unlikely for someone with a winning logic to be a losing player.

videos help so does anything else online,

every other online committed player is doing the same thing, if you dont want to be ordinary you need to go beyond that, get creative out think the regs by learning the concept and then using the concept to an advantage against optimal experienced players
 
tothbopo

tothbopo

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 15, 2013
Total posts
1,433
Chips
0
I did read a couple of books and I learned some stuff from them, but keeping in mind the ages of the books I could actually only use some basic stuff from them.

In forums like Cardschat you a told the same things as you can read in books. The main difference is that you can ask questions and cases are from real time or close to, not severel years old.

I think books are okay but if you really want to improve you must study online.
 
skiptomyloot

skiptomyloot

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 13, 2011
Total posts
306
Chips
0
its always good to ready any book because what is documented is how someone found success through their experience and learning from it by hand.. I think books are very good resources to whatever it is you choose to do in life. They are journals of masters who live through the journey, because they put their knowledge out, they allow others to pursue the same journey in life.
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Total posts
3,167
Chips
0
Books can be helpful in a couple of ways. The more obvious is by helping us to understand various elements of the game better. The other is by helping to remind us of things we've learned but aren't applying very well in practice.

That said, people learn in different ways, so other media e.g. videos can work better for some of us. How well various writers and instructors communicate their lessons and ideas can also matter. So can how well a particular communication style fits with how we receive and process information.
 
dj11

dj11

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Total posts
23,189
Awards
9
Chips
0
Don't make the mistake of thinking there is only one right way to learn the game.
 
L

love that omaha

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Total posts
199
Chips
0
You may pick up a helpful thought or two from each poker book you read but it is important to develop your own style. I prefer to read poker books for the entertainment value. Doyle and T.J. Cloutier tell some very interesting stories in some of their books. If you are just learning poker I recommend reading a lot of books, but If you are an experienced winning player, I prefer to pick one person I play with on a regular basis and try to emulate one or two of their best attributes.
 
Eminescu99

Eminescu99

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 15, 2014
Total posts
267
Chips
0
if you are beginner books can help you very much. for example my first poker book was lee nelson let's play..
 
DonV73

DonV73

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
May 12, 2012
Total posts
672
Chips
0
Books are good for any kind of players, from beginners to professionals. As with all things in life, if you want to consistently become better at it, you need to study and pratice, study and pratice, study and pratice and so on. Until perfection is achieved.

For some books might be the best medium, for others it is video's. If there are any good you should end up with the feeling that you learned a lot.

The problems is that after a while we tend to forget the new things we learned and fall back into our regular thought processes. I think there is the clue to make sure you hold on to those newly learned things.
 
Top