By poker_boy | 3 Comments
Last updated: Thursday, November 4, 2010 | 95 Views Tags: game, poker books, significant impact
This week’s question is as follows:
Of course there is value in reading poker books, there is a lot of information out there that 99% of people are not going to learn on their own. Things like pot odds, expected value, and the Fundamental Theorem of Poker are not things most people stumble upon through practice. Very few people have a good concept of how to approach single table or multi-table tournaments without educating themselves on the proper way to deal with them, especially in the end game stages.
Of course practice is the most important aspect of becoming a good poker player, but practice can largely be a function of learning to implement concepts and strategies you learned through books. And even if you could learn everything you need to know by just playing, reading books can accelerate the learning curve immensely.
Anyway, I can promise you that most great poker players read almost everything they can get their hands on. If nothing else, it gives inside into how other people think, which is invaluable information at a poker table. It’s often incredibly easy to beat a player if you can pinpoint where they learned the style they are trying to use, and you know how to exploit that information.
Mike Smith
November 4, 2010
for beginners yes, because they know what they are doing now…
November 4, 2010
it depends on the person and their situation.Anyone who wants to make any serious kind of money from poker can’t rely on books alone.However, if you are only playing in a weekly or monthly home game that is a different story.
November 4, 2010
Initially yes but as you develop your own game there are only certain interesting concepts you might pick up and it won’t affect how you actually play too much. The thing that I find funny is how bad an investment poker books are for most people. They can be hundreds of dollars when you can find pretty much the same things in articles online for free or through signing up from a referral site and getting them effectively free(http://www.pokerstrategy.com/u62WLR :P). The net benefit to your game is unlikely to be worth the $600 or so you payed for the book unless you are playing at least $2-4 blinds (online) and by that stage if you’re making a steady and good profit you could proably write a book yourself.
Saying that, if you are playing above your skill limit the book could be a very worthwhile investment so swings and roundabouts.