Educating other players and HOH II

[GoSharks]

I had a chuckle after reading Dan Mezick's comment a few replies ago, since he hit on exactly the thing that I did. Anyone who is serious enough about learning how to play well to borrow a book, but not serious enough to invest the money, time, and energy in the pursuit is a tremendous danger at the poker table. A danger to himself, of course.

Let's put ourselves in the head of one of these guys. How many readings and rereadings, moments of reflection, etc, does it take to truly understand some of the white meat presented in some of the more in-depth books? Does a single read-through, or even a second read truly make a player better? I honestly think the opposite is true. A player who borrows a book, or ten, will inevitably fall into an unpleasant place with regard to his play, he'll make fancy plays based on a slight understanding of some of the more difficult situations. He may have some understanding of the 'what' in a situation, but will be completely deficient when forced to confront the 'why' behind the decisions he will soon be making. Overall, this will lead a person into making horrid decisions, all due to some vague recollection of pot odds, equity, implied odds, relative position, etc. Lending these books will probably hurt these players.

If you truly want them to improve to give yourself a better challenge, encourage them to buy these books and earnestly study them, not to learn what to do in a given situation, but to learn the underlying reasons behind good decision-making.

"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing" yeah, stress the word little.

He shoots, he SCOR. . . err, wrong game

[SamIAm]

[ QUOTE ]
Lending these books will probably hurt these players.

[/ QUOTE ]This is wrong, and it's not even close.

The first time I read SSH, it changed my game DRAMATICALLY. (and for the better) Hell, the first book I read, WLLH, changed me remarkably, and, again, for the better.

Suggesting that these guys simply aren't able to understand the books is a little condescending. The idea that being given a good book can hurt your game is absurd.
-Sam