[MoonOrb]

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If you're never, ever going to play limit, then don't read it. There are just too many other books that you should be reading and re-reading instead. But if you're considering playing limit, it's a must read.

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if one were to follow this advice you might as well stick your head in the sand...

poker is poker and there is a myriad of crossovers strategically as well as pscychologically. understadning one form of poker can certainly be drawn upon in other situations in other forms of poker.

SSHE is a rocking book stressing the fundamentals and aggressiveness we all strive for. there are many examples of people taking a philosophy from one arena andapplying it to another successfully. you can tell someone, "if you aren't ever gonna write fortune cookies don't read 'ichong sayings' or the 'art of war'. read books about business success."

thousands of people have read ichong and art of war and aplied them to the marketplace and their own businesses... highly successfuly i might add.

diversity is the key and knowing when to draw upon these arts is something that will give you a sharp advantage over your opponent.

i own books on omaha8 and stud. i've read them multiple times but i don't play either game. maybe one day, but right now i don't. there are keys in their strategies which pop up every now and then in other games.

i own probably $500-$600+ or more in poker related books. there are even good lessons in annie dukes 'how i won flirted my way...' autobiography. it's not a NL or LHE book but it is filled with little bits of wisdom you can add to your game.

every one should read and devour any book having to do with poker. period. being diverse in your poker knowledge, giving you a broader base and foundation can only enhance your game.

add Small Stakes Hold'em to your bookshelf. you won't be sorry you did.

EN

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EN, your point is well taken. My advice was a bit broad. Had it been more nuanced, I would have said that it's an excellent book that will enhance one's understanding of poker and should be read at some point. But if I were a no limit player, I would move it well to the bottom of my reading list.

There are two reasons for this. First, any time spent studying SSHE is time that can't be spent on PNL or on Harrington, for example. And these books merit multiple reads and study. If someone is in the just starting out stage, this is a much more productive use of their time. Second, it is much more likely that a newer player would get more out of SSHE after having been playing for quite a while. Once they have a good grasp of all of the NL concepts, it would be much more apparent which advice in SSHE applies generally to poker and which is specific to limit and which is specific to small stakes limit in particular. Reading it anytime soon would be asking to either not get very much out of it, or, worse--become confused.

But perhaps I was a little too simplistic. I'd just urge anyone who is still wondering what good books there are for NLHE to wait quite a while before reading about other games.