Harrington and Sklansky still worth a read?

Found them in a second hand shop. They were pretty cheap and I heard from them so I took them with me. But after some research I found that they could be outdated?

Are they still worth a read? And what are some parts, where I need to look out for outdated information?

Also if still valuable should I start with Harrington's trilogy or Sklansky's books ('NLH Theory and practice', 'Tournament Poker for advanced players')

Welcome to the forum Nigginer,

It depends on where you are at in your poker progress. If you are simply starting out those books can still offer a solid foundation.

I'm pretty much against the idea that some books are considered as outdated. Sure, some things have evolved but the rules haven't changed. Some information in any book can still be gem in today's games. The trick is to learn from more than one source. Different views from different sources help you to develop yourself as player.

Nafor said:

Welcome to the forum Nigginer,

It depends on where you are at in your poker progress. If you are simply starting out those books can still offer a solid foundation.

I'm pretty much against the idea that some books are considered as outdated. Sure, some things have evolved but the rules haven't changed. Some information in any book can still be gem in today's games. The trick is to learn from more than one source. Different views from different sources help you to develop yourself as player.

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I'm definitely at the beginning of my poker career so they are probably suitable for me.

That's a nice opinion to here. Didn't want to start with these books and need to "unlearn" it after a short period of time because it's not useful for today's game.

I believe its worth a read. Any poker knowledge is gold.

Nigginger said:

Found them in a second hand shop. They were pretty cheap and I heard from them so I took them with me. But after some research I found that they could be outdated?

Are they still worth a read? And what are some parts, where I need to look out for outdated information?

Also if still valuable should I start with Harrington's trilogy or Sklansky's books ('NLH Theory and practice', 'Tournament Poker for advanced players')

Click to expand...

I am a fan of these authors/poker players and believe that reading their books are still valuable. There are definitely different techniques today - but even Sklansky discusses GTO on his book "The Theory of Poker." Harrington gives the "M" idea a good explanation.

A few years back I did a summary of Sklansky's most famous book - perhaps you can use it as a shortcut to decide if the "old" guys can offer you any value! Here is the link: https://www.cardschat.com/forum/learning-poker-57/back-books-theory-poker-sklansky-375355/

I think it's worth reading in case of a beginner.

scubed said:

I am a fan of these authors/poker players and believe that reading their books are still valuable. There are definitely different techniques today - but even Sklansky discusses GTO on his book "The Theory of Poker." Harrington gives the "M" idea a good explanation.

A few years back I did a summary of Sklansky's most famous book - perhaps you can use it as a shortcut to decide if the "old" guys can offer you any value! Here is the link: https://www.cardschat.com/forum/learning-poker-57/back-books-theory-poker-sklansky-375355/

Click to expand...

Thanks for doing the cliff of Slansky’s book. It s really hard for me to read the whole book as it confused me with different formats (ohms, 7stud, etc..)

To OP, I just finished Harrington’s Vol. and Vol. 2. Both are great read especially for beginner like me. I was overwhelm with so many things like pot odd, fold equity, power position, and GTO theory.

Harrington keep things simple. No complicate stuff like other books that talks about GTO and something like that. Harrington emphasized on know your players and have basic understanding of poker strategy. I would recommend his books to anyone who s new to poker .
Outdated? Not really in my opinion. If you re playing poker like me for fun or side hustle job, then his books are fine.

scubed said:

I am a fan of these authors/poker players and believe that reading their books are still valuable. There are definitely different techniques today - but even Sklansky discusses GTO on his book "The Theory of Poker." Harrington gives the "M" idea a good explanation.

A few years back I did a summary of Sklansky's most famous book - perhaps you can use it as a shortcut to decide if the "old" guys can offer you any value! Here is the link: https://www.cardschat.com/forum/learning-poker-57/back-books-theory-poker-sklansky-375355/

Click to expand...

Thanks for doing the cliff of Slansky’s book. It s really hard for me to read the whole book as it confused me with different formats (ohms, 7stud, etc..)

To OP, I just finished Harrington’s Vol. and Vol. 2. Both are great read especially for beginner like me. I was overwhelm with so many things like pot odd, fold equity, power position, and GTO theory.

Harrington keep things simple. No complicate stuff like other books that talks about GTO and something like that. Harrington emphasized on know your players and have basic understanding of poker strategy. I would recommend his books to anyone who s new to poker .
Outdated? Not really in my opinion. If you re playing poker like me for fun or side hustle job, then his books are fine.

Harrington and Sklansky books are great for shoring up the fundamentals of the game. As poker evolves, there will be tendencies and plays that will succeed for a time. Their success is dependent on other players inability to adapt to the new "plays". Then a new batch of plays and tendencies will emerge, and they will work for a time. This gives the illusion of being "out-dated". Understood in the proper context, nothing is out-dated.

However , the fundamental principles will not change. Though, more has been written about Texas Hold'em, than all the other poker variants combined (just guessing here), we are still learning.

Good luck and God bless.