[scrawnybob]

hi all

Supersystem - Doyle Brunson ... I think is an absolute must

If for no other reason than most decent players will have read it - so you need to as well. know thy enemy and know what they are thinking - think how they think and then think differently - Brunsons book has got alot of fundamental information that you need to get your head round and it also opens up your mind to being more creative

Theory of Poker - Sklansky ... Hard going but worth it

Personally I find his writing style hard work and you end up re-reading alot but it is worth for one section and two concepts

a) understanding and using the semi-bluff ... This to me is one of the most important parts of the game - and is easily the biggest source of moaning and fish comments - if you play a semi bluff and "loose" then you haven't actually lost and when you win - you will also likely get called a fish - but its worth understanding scare cards / draws and going out on a semi bluff on a decent set of draws

b) the concept that everytime you play as you would if you could see their cards you win (even if you don't) and everytime you make them play differently to how they would if they could see you cards you also win - and vice versa

There are many more poker books and I think you can always gain something from all of them - maybe get a couple of basic ones (to inforce the basics) before you get lateral reading other books to broaden your mind

Poker books are about generating ideas and thought - not always about giving out absolute rules -

The easiest players to beat are the stats / rocks who moan when they think you did the wrong thing - check out sklanskys rule

cheers scrawnybob