[Marlow]

I'm very excited that there has been such active discussion on this topic. As a serious student and competitive amateur, I am heartened to know that other people have also thought about this issue.

I am an academically minded person, and I love this game. But it has not come easily. I was a losing player for the first two years that I played. Things turned around a few years ago (thanks again 2+2), and I've seen steady improvements since then. But it seems that I frequently read that this or that player "has never read a book about poker." This has always gotten me down because of a fear that there's some intangible "it" that if I wasn't born with, I can't cultivate. But from what I've seen here, this does not seem to be even how the pros view it. It sounds like they took their lumps. That they were not always winners. This is heartening.

There's another thing to consider as well. Just because someone has never read a book and is a great player (Tuan Le and Scott Fischman are noteable examples), does not mean that they are not students of the game. On the contrary, Tuan has one of the greatest mentors in the world (Barry Greenstein), and Scott has watched and played hundreds of thousands of hands as both a dealer and a player. I have also read elsewhere that both of these people give a lot of thought to their game when away from the table. So, they are students, but they are just using different methods than I am. And, of course, they are both fairly gifted as well...

Another reason that I'm happy to have this thread of discussion is that I have recently made the decision to play only for the sake of improving my game (and for fun, of course!). I'm not worried about money. As a result, I am no longer multi-tabling. I play mainly NL and play one table so that I can give 100% of my attention to my opponents and my own game. As a result, I really have been learning rapidly. Also, I am able to play at higher levels where I encounter (and must my self employ) more sophisticated strategy and tactics.

So this has turned out to be a fairly long post, but it's great to have the chance to communicate my internal fears/anxieties and decisions with you all.

Keep it coming!

Marlow
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]