Has evolution of poker over the last 10 years made poker books obsolete?

Has the evolution of poker over the last 10 years made classic poker books obsolete?

I have started playing after a 10 year hiatus, and I remember reading Harrington's 3 volume books a while back. Although I lost many of the concepts, I know that overall it was a conservative form of play that was preached in the books, but it was a winning style that helped me tremendously back in the days and laid a good foundation.

Fast forward 10 years, this new arena seems vastly different to me.

- a lot more shoving

- everyone seems to be minraising, at first I thought it was strange - almost funny, but when every other player I see doing this, there must be a method to this madness

- more 3 betting and 4 betting bluffs

Are Mr Harrington's and Mr. Brunson's dusty old books no longer able to keep up with this next gen poker ?

Yes, if you ask any veteran Poker Pro they will tell you that Poker has change quite a lot in the past decade. Seeing how popular and ultra lucrative Poker is, it is only natural that people will find ways to edge out the competition... It is funny how a game involving two cards can have such dept, skill, and psychology to it.

Yes you are right this is evolution, let's say if you are offered to bluff in the Books, then when you have nothing ... then for a modern player, it looks like madness, like betting or bluffing when there is nothing left! This is a 99% loss of the entire stack! But I like you, I like fish. Just today in the Freeroll I played by the BOOK! With A10, I made a re-Raise on the flop, where the opponent checks 36Q, and I push the entire stack. The opponent calls his AQ. In principle, I KNEW it! What is written in the books should not all be suitable for you! They usually describe their experiences in books. No further.

Honestly, I think it changes daily with all the videos and different stats on other players. There are so many different styles, ranges, starting hands, betting patterns, etc, that it seems like it is almost impossible to keep up with it all in books. It's best to watch different poker players vlogs, hand analysis, and asking players about different situations.

Poker is developing so rapidly that not only books but also many video concept becomes obsolete very quickly! But still it develops in a spiral, and so we will soon be back to play the old ABC poker!

Poker has changed a lot because of the players. It plays fast, hard, it bluffs more ... that's the situation, we adapt!

Poker has changed a lot in the last ten years but I still think the many excellent fundamentals in many classic poker books are very applicable—in general it is the more advanced strategy that has really evolved.

Most of Harrington’s immense wisdom is just as applicable today, it just may not seem as groundbreaking because more people adhere to the principles now than did when it was initially published

Good players have adjusted their strategy, as more and more knodledge has become available about, what is the theoretical optimal strategy against other good players, often referred to as GTO. However bad players still make the same mistakes, they always have, because bad players have not studied theory. Or they are not willing to implement it, because they just want to gamble and have fun. So while this is a really complicated topic, my short answer is, that older books and concepts are still very usefull for beating bad poker players, but not so much for avoiding to lose to very good players.

Katie Dozier said:

Poker has changed a lot in the last ten years but I still think the many excellent fundamentals in many classic poker books are very applicable—in general it is the more advanced strategy that has really evolved.

Most of Harrington’s immense wisdom is just as applicable today, it just may not seem as groundbreaking because more people adhere to the principles now than did when it was initially published

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Exactly this. Books/videos/coaching/etc. is only as good as the student is able to apply the knowledge. Whichever method you choose, the real knowledge comes from your own thoughts regarding the topic. If you fill your head with facts and stats via rote memorization, it's not going to add much of anything to your knowledge. If you read/watch/listen to poker material, and then take some time to really understand it and get to the "bottom" of the concept, you will enhance your knowledge. As is the case with most of my posts, this doesn't just apply to poker.

Old poker books are obsolete. If you want a good book, pick up Modern Poker Theory by Michael Acevedo. Nearly 500 pages of solver approved strategies, which likely means this book will have a shelf life of a 2-4 years before solvers get better.

Katie Dozier said:

Poker has changed a lot in the last ten years but I still think the many excellent fundamentals in many classic poker books are very applicable—in general it is the more advanced strategy that has really evolved.

Most of Harrington’s immense wisdom is just as applicable today, it just may not seem as groundbreaking because more people adhere to the principles now than did when it was initially published

Click to expand...

I agree. The question asked by kalelisback was were poker books now obsolete? No, of course not. Everyone needs a thorough grounding in fundamental play and that has barely changed.

Yes, poker has evolved a fast clip in the past 20 years or so- I frame it from when on-line poker got real traction (not so much ten years specifically). That is when the volume of hands anyone played skyrocketed along with learning curves. It also led to computerized hand analysis and the sophisticated solvers used today.


I am all for using any tool to learn and improve my game, however, there is a broad generalization today that everyone is playing super sophisticated poker. They are not. They are simply playing better poker than before. And, if you listen to the likes of Jason Koon, one of the more sophisticated of elite players, he states that attempting to study GTO/advanced poker as a recreational player might be something of a fools errand. People aren't playing GTO at lower stakes.

His advice is fundamentals and experience - literally play the million hands. Then if you find yourself progressing and have a real desire to play at elite level, study more advanced theory.

I have a moderately extensive library which I've added to regularly for over 30 years, from beginning to advanced theory ... read the books from cover to cover and re-read some occasionally to reinforce things ... poker concepts may evolve, but the basic thought process is the same as it has always been, the psychological aspects are the same, those type books will always be relevant ... learning to play good solid poker is always key, I think patience and thoughtful play is equal to most internet styles ... you can always learn a couple new ideas, even from the old stand bys like Super System ...

I have a moderately extensive library which I've added to regularly for over 30 years, from beginning to advanced theory ... read the books from cover to cover and re-read some occasionally to reinforce things ... poker concepts may evolve, but the basic thought process is the same as it has always been, the psychological aspects are the same, those type books will always be relevant ... learning to play good solid poker is always key, I think patience and thoughtful play is equal to most internet styles ... you can always learn a couple new ideas, even from the old stand bys like Super System ...

The fundamentals are basically the same and what applied 10 years ago still applies today for the most part.The reason for 2x and 2.5x open is it allows you to open wider ranges and defend them vs 3bets from each position.And the biggest change ive seen i would say is bvb situations with players opening much wider from the sb as a default than previous and even incorporating a sb limping range.

Although Super System is quite dated, any recreational player would do better applying the strategy in those books than what they're doing based on experience and intuition

books and other materials are basic concept and practise is more applicable in daily game frame

It probably helps you understanding the basic concepts and what to think about while you play poker and might give you an edge against old school players.

Obviously, over time, books lose their relevance. But the books will give you an understanding of the basic skills and principles of the game. I believe that in any book you can always find useful information.

jordanbillie said:

Exactly this. Books/videos/coaching/etc. is only as good as the student is able to apply the knowledge. Whichever method you choose, the real knowledge comes from your own thoughts regarding the topic. If you fill your head with facts and stats via rote memorization, it's not going to add much of anything to your knowledge. If you read/watch/listen to poker material, and then take some time to really understand it and get to the "bottom" of the concept, you will enhance your knowledge. As is the case with most of my posts, this doesn't just apply to poker.

Click to expand...

Thanks and excellent points in this post! I’ve had students in the past that are very well read in poker but needed help to be able to execute the concepts they’d memorized.

Books are important, but obviously poker is a game of experience and skills. Instead of books, I prefer watching themed videos on YouTube.