Quote:
Originally Posted by Flopdawg  The books you are mentioning are reasonably expensive for micro stake players. If you had to pick the best one or two, what would you suggest?
I am not sure how much I want to get invested in books? |
You have to be prepared to get a little invested. The 4 books that I consider required reads are.
1. Poker Theory by David Sklansky
2. Super System by Doyle Brunson
If you are a no limit player;
1. No limit by David Sklansky
2. No limit cash games by Dan Harrington
You will definitely learn a lot of concepts that you are not aware of at the moment. If you try to “cheap” out, you will be playing against people that have this important information and it will end up costing you more money than buying the books, even if you only play micro-stakes. The funny thing about poker is; you never really are aware of what you don’t know until you learn it! The authors of these books are very intelligent people that are also VERY good players. They have spent a lifetime playing poker and no matter how smart you are there is no way that you aren’t going to learn plenty from each one of these books. Even if you have more natural talent than anybody in the history of poker, it would still take you years of playing to think of all the concepts that you will be introduced to. I don’t know any better way to state this; buy these books. Anybody that is playing micro-stakes isn’t playing poker for survival. They are trying to learn the skills and build a BR. The best way to build a BR is acquire the knowledge, and these books are the fastest and cheapest way to get the necessary knowledge. I would suggest reading, playing awhile, and then reading more, etc; in your spare time, these books will have your mind occupied with thinking poker. It is exciting to learn new concepts, and you will be anxious to apply your new found knowledge. This should keep poker fresh for you for quite awhile. When the “poker” light bulb comes on it can be a lot of fun. Now you can sit at a table and critique your opponent’s mistakes in your mind. It will make you a better player, because you will finally be able to see where other people are going array. Therefore, you will have a better understanding on what to expect from your opponents. Then if you really have “it” there is no telling how successful you could end up being. “It” is the ability to choose the right concept at the correct time. Some people have it and some don’t, but there is no way to tell if you have “it” unless you are introduced to all the concepts and then only time will tell. 
