Most over-rated poker book of all time?

[Al Mirpuri]

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Hold 'em Poker by David Sklansky first appeared in 1976, well before Super/System. It is the first modern poker book and discusses stuff like semi-bluffing, the free card, odds and implied odds, inducing bluffs, and readig hands. Most of this wasn't even mentioned in Super/System and what was isn't very thorough.

Arguably, Winning Poker Systems by Norman Zadeh in 1974 is the first modern poker book as he assigns seat by seat playing standards for draw poker. In my opinion, it is the seat by seat playing standards that separates the modern poker texts from what came before.

Then two years later in 1978, Sklansky on Poker Theory was published. You know this book today as The Theory of Poker. All the good modern poker literature can trace its roots back to these two books. Not to Super/System.

The book we all now know as The Theory Of Poker was not originallly entitled that and was repeatedly revised until we get to the present edition which became standardised some time ago. This great book became greater with its later revisions/expansions. As for the claim that all of the poker literature derives from it is clearly incorrect as Mike Caro's Book Of Tells is in no way dependent upon anything written in TOP. Moreover, the no limit hold'em literature is hardly beholden to TOP for much if anything and would all nod to SS.

By the way, a while back I started a thread about the most influential poker book of all time. There is no doubt that it is Hold 'em Poker by David Sklansky. Nothing else is even close.

This is hyperbole. The no limit literature would not acknowledge Hold'em Poker which originally dealt with single blind limit hold'em: a game which no longer exists. Both The Education Of A Poker Player and Supersystem would compete for that award. The former because it was read by a generation of poker players and the latter for that reason and its influence on no limit hold'em.



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Best Wishes Mason,

Al Mirpuri.