[whiskeytown]

I can't speak for everyone....just myself -

Personally, without reading poker books, I wouldn't be where I am today skillwise. Basically, before the books, Doyle, Chip, Slim, and whoever just did what we do here - we TALK about poker. I didn't have anyone good to talk about poker with till 2+2

In fact, I would almost dare say I've learned as much or more from the forum then I did from the books - books are good, but they're like textbook examples of battlefield tactics. They're good only as long as you know the battleground and where the enemy is going to be. They're great theories, but when you fire the salvo and find out the enemy isn't in front, but in behind, that's where the advanced skillset comes in -

I used to play a game years ago called Advanced Squad Leader - I was doing a replay in a magazine - like when you replay great classic Chess encounters, except it was a complicated squad level WWII tactical game. it was a replay of a scenario in which Russian and German squads try to take control of certain buildings, and the two players were two of the best in the ASL community.

Prior to the replay, they outlined their strategy for the scenario for the readers, and as the turns went on, they made it clear that certain tactics weren't working (outflanking) and certain tactics were (complete possession of one particular building that totally FUBAR'd the flanking manuevers) - and these two guys did everything they could to win, and they kept the situation fluid, and modified their attack/defense. In poker, we call it "changing gears" - LOL.

You will find a point where you go beyond that and really rise up to the game and I am doing things now I don't see in any 2+2 book -

for example - I push hands like AA and KK early in a low limit pokerstars tourney. Why? - because so many players WILL interpret that as a bluff or a dare to try a showdown vs. AK - How did I learn this - by discussing it with other players and trying it and eventually, as I keep trying it and checking Pokertracker stats, I may find it more +EV then any other way I play big pocket pairs in these cheapo tourneys. Obviously, at the WSOP, NO - at a $10 SNG - NO - but the $1 tourneys....yes.

Read the books, read the forums, and play all over creation - One of the things a friend told me was to travel all over and learn how to play these poker games in other places - I found already that I've had to back off my bluffs/aggression a bit in Vegas because there are too many callers -

Even the 2+2 books have a lot of "do this, unless..." to them. It will be your mastery of these situations that will make you great. In a way, the books will take you part of the way, but you will take yourself there as well.

Is that a good enough answer? - I've been up too many goddamn hours and just played 4 hrs. of the best poker of my life and I'm exhausted - [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

RB