Brunson's Super System

[johnb]

I have built up a pretty extensive poker library but this is not one that is in it. I was in one of the big chain books stores in my area today and low and behold, there it is on the shelf. Would anyone who had read it still recommend it? Or has it become outdated.

They also had a book by former card player columnist John Vorhaus. Has anyone read his book and would you recommend it?

[Andy B]

This gets discussed on the Books forum a lot. S/S is outdated. The stud section is good, because the structure of the game hasn't changed much in 25 years. The draw games aren't played much anymore. High-low split is now played with a qualifier for low. Limit hold'em is played with two blinds instead of one. No-limit hold'em is rarely spread as a cash game, but is frequently played as a tournament game, and tournaments are very different from cash games.

I find S/S hard to read because of the excessive use of bold and italic print, the likes of which I've never seen in any other book. Still, if you ever play seven stud, you'll probably get $30 worth of information out of it, and you might even if you don't. I think it's worth having, but there are a lot of other books I'd recommend ahead of it.

[SunTzu68]

Super System is outdated, and the games (both style and structure) have changed alot since it has been written. That being said, I still feel this is a must have. Instead of going in depth on any one game or subject it is a great reference to broad spectrum of games. If I was only going to play hold 'em, I probably wouldn't buy this book....there are better ones out there, or if I was only going to play 7Stud I'd probably opt for another book. However, as a general reference to strategy in the games, this one is great.

It is also fun to get a taste of what some of the 'Kings' of the game thought in the 70's.

[Tyler Durden]

It's a great title for a book, that's for sure. I particularly like the slash.