Doyle Brunson’s Super System: A Course in Power Poker 1 & 2

March 2, 2009 by Nekkidblogger
Filed under: poker

When this book was first published in 1979, it caused a sensation. Immediately recognized as the most ambitious poker book ever written, Super System nonetheless was received with irritation by some professionals because it was believed that Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson and his collaborators gave away too much, thereby allowing the amateurs to catch up, thus cutting into the professional player’s take.

There is some truth to this accusation. Poker is an evolving game. Write a revealing book and the old games disappear more quickly and the “rocks” have to learn the new game in order to continue to make a living.

What makes Brunson’s Super System more interesting than many other other poker books, is partly the prestige and celebrity of the writers, especially Doyle himself, but also Bobby Baldwin, David “Chip” Reese, Joey Hawthorne, David Sklanski; and Mike Caro (MJC). Sklanski, for instance, is one of the game’s great theoreticians and the author of several excellent books on poker. Caro, known as “the Mad Genius of Poker,” has formed his own “Poker University”, and has become quite a poker entrepreneur.

Second, there is the comprehensive coverage of the games from five card draw to no limit hold’em. Not everything is explained and some of the tricks are held back. Still, in my library of poker books, this is my favorite, and reading it was a great learning experience.

This is a poker classic, and a must read for students of the game. A lot of intriguing ideas and notions, and interesting commentary as well. Also, it is very well written!

More reviews of poker books!

Links to Doyle Brunson’s books at amazon UK, amazon US, and amazon CAN.