To read or not to read?

[deacsoft]

There are a lot of solid books out there dealing with all forms of poker. Many of which we have all read. The list of Sklansky and Malmuth books right on this site. Others such as Super System, Caro's Book of Poker Tells, Zen and the Art of Poker, Play Poker Like the Pros are read by many players. Some of these books are looked at as a must read and others are suggested by some to skip over or not to waste your time. My question is this...

Is it not worth the time to read as many as you can find?
I say it is.

Point One: I don't think gathering as much information as possible before going into something (like poker) could ever be a bad idea. The more informed a person is the better chance they will have at out playing the less informed. I would go as far as to say that many books on poker will say many of the same things, but I believe something new can be learned from each. Even if it is bad information it can still be used as what not to do. (Think of pro sports and scouting. They just don't study one team one time. They gather as much information as they can get their hands on about each team.)

Point Two: Only playing one style or copying someone else's style of poker will get you beat by any solid player Therefore, it is often said that you need to find your own style, and change it up a little from time to time. One that works for the type of player you are. The best way to do this may be by using a combination of suggestions from many different sources. Take some lessons from those who already learned them and save yourself the money, but try some ideas of your own as well. Don't get pegged by being some who plays just like Brunson says to, or like Sklansky says to.

Point Three: There will be people who read one book and never deviate from that books suggested playing style. You may run into someone someday and stop and say to yourself, "this guy is playing just how it says to in Play Poker Like the Pros" (by Hellmuth). Or you may say, "the only book this guy has ever read is Super System (by Brunson) because he makes every move out of that book every time". You may not be able to pick up on things like that unless you too have read the book and are familiar with it's content. Wether or not you agree with its' content or not is besides the point. The information learned may still be useful.

Please feel free to reply with your comments, or with any points you feel i missed. Happy reading.