POCKET ACES

Why do people write poker books?

In fact, part of this thought was later verified by Doyle Brunson, author of the hold'em section in SUPER/SYSTEM, one of the best poker books every penned. Doyle had told all and as a result, every Tom, Dick and Fran came after him with their new-found knowledge and ruined his easy advantage to the point that he had to change his game.

Another part was verified by a writer who will go nameless here. He once angrily refused to put certain information in his book because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to use it himself to it's best potential.

A third person told me flat-out that his work never gave out all the information he knew but what he gave out was enough to entice players into the game where they would end up contributing to his income. He figured he could give them enough to beat mediocre players. Eventually, he said, they would either pick up on the innuendoes and start winning more against better players or they'd go home and play Monopoly.

When I asked Lou Kreiger why he was writing a book about hold'em when the same people he played against were going to read it, he explained that the game is so complicated and so changing that it didn't matter how many books were written about it the subject would never be finished. Every book would help but in the end it would be up to the individual to take it to the next level.

I know at least two players (and there are probably more) who wrote books to help finance the ups and towns of their poker bankrolls.

(I think some people wrote books so they would be recognized‹so they would become poker stars of sorts--but this is just a personal and maybe a little catty and probably not true.)

None of that mattered to me. I wanted to learn everything I could before I bet a dollar so I read the limited number of books on seven-card stud I found at Gambler's Book Shop. I stayed away from hold'em because I'd seen some very rammin' and jammin' games and knew full well it would be quite some time before I could summon the intestinal fortitude to cap a raise after seeing just my two cards. (Those pots did look enticing, however.)

I read George Percy's SEVEN-CARD STUD-THE WAITING GAME so thoroughly that it eventually fell apart. I watched games at the Castaways (the one that's not there anymore, not the one formerly known as the Showboat) and the Holiday (the one that used to look like a showboat and is now known as Harrah's) and later at Caesars, Union Plaza, and Sahara.

I finally realized that Percy's book, as small as it was, was very comprehensive in its coverage of what cards to play when. Of course in the space of those few pages, he didn't go into great detail on the subjects of tells, bluffing, and other fine points, but he did cover the game very well. (The book is still valid after all these years). He didn't tell me everything there was to know about the game and after all these years, I'm still learning.

Later, when I had been playing for a while, I got a copy of Wilson Software's Turbo Texas Hold'em which helped solidify my understanding of many concepts.

I think books are the greatest invention since practical experience. There're great for relaxation, terrific if you can't sleep on a plane, they're often very entertaining, and they can give you background and reference material you don't have to pick up on your own.

As I said, eventually you are going to have to play the game and learn from that proverbial school of hard knocks. In the meantime, you can avoid a few bruises by getting a jumpstart via books.