The definitive hold-em book

[Walter Pullis]

I don't think the definitive hold'em book has been written yet. Don't get me wrong; HOH and Super/System are great and
highly instructive. But maybe some day a "retiring"(or just someone with a big ego) player who has successfully beaten the big limit games will explain in detail just how he has done it.

Do you think this will ever happen? What do you think would be some of the content if it was written?

[fnord_too]

You seem to be under the mistaken impression that there is a formulatic way to beat any game, or that the there are a managable number of player/game types that can adequately describe the scenarios you will find yourself in. That is not the case. The game is far too dynamic and complex; the best one can hope for is to understand the governing principles and have a framework for evaluating complex situations. (A lot of times you have to do this analysis after the fact away from the table since the problems can be quite involved.)

So, no, I don't think there ever will be a definitive guide for the same reasons I don't think there will ever be a definitive guide for stock evaluation or building a successful business. I do think there are several offerings which, together, take you about as far as you can realistically go before you need to do your own thinking about the game and discuss your own ideas with peers.

[Walter Pullis]

I agree that there is no formula for victory, but I think there are(to use the posters words) a manageable amount
of player types and situations to make certain general rules for play at each level,low-limit/high limit etc. This is not the same as rote or formula play.

[fnord_too]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree that there is no formula for victory, but I think there are(to use the posters words) a manageable amount
of player types and situations to make certain general rules for play at each level,low-limit/high limit etc. This is not the same as rote or formula play.

[/ QUOTE ]

Once you start playing in games where players adapt to you, and adapt to you adapting to them, general rules lose a lot of value. You should read Feeney's book, especially the essay where he is talking about short handed play and goes over a particular hand (three handed I think) and all the decisions he made in it and why he made them. I haven't read Roy Cooke's book, but if it is like his articles in Card Player, it will also point out the subtleties in the play of hands. It's one thing to talk about, say, isolating loose aggressive players; it is quite another to put this in practice against someone who is relatively loose and aggressive for the game when you have various other players behind you who know the strategy, too, and whose play can change due to myriad factors. As the level of competition rises, the amount of detail you can abstract away drops precipitously.

[sethypooh21]

[ QUOTE ]
I haven't read Roy Cooke's book

[/ QUOTE ]

You really, Really, REALLY should. I re-read it every couple of months just to make sure my thought processes are in order...

/shameless plug

With all due respect I think Hold'em poker for advanced players by david sklansky is the definite guide to hold'em. If you are new to poker or have been playing poker for years this book will help you think about the game from different perspectives that you might never thought of. I also firmly believe that reading holdem' poker for advance players along with The theory of Poker will make any good player into a better one.