Back when I first started playing poker full time in 2002, the online poker landscape was a whole lot different to what it is now. You could get hold of a couple of good books, study them for several months and do well at all levels up to mid-stakes. In fact my first game of choice which was limit hold’em was my bread and butter game for three years. I was doing well and recording decent win rates up to and including $30-$60. All that changed of course and limit was the first game to become “solved” as it were.
There were no coaching videos around in those days and poker books and personal one to one coaching was all that was on the market along with online poker articles which were few in number. I am often asked about the validity of using poker books as a training vehicle and my reply is simple. I think there has to be a balance between using instructional videos and good poker books. Unfortunately on games like no limit hold’em then there are not many decent books on the subject that are pre-2008 (a couple of notable of exceptions).
The game has moved on and with it the demand for a whole new and higher level of poker book. As someone that plays online and writes an awful lot then I am often asked to quote certain poker books that I believe in. I have read more poker books than I can care to remember but for me a poker book has to serve two key functions for it to be a great book. It firstly has to include top class data which kind of goes without saying. However secondly and just as important is the fact that it has to be understandable to a degree where you can pick the book up and take tremendous strides without being a really accomplished player yourself.
There are few books that achieve those two objectives however Easy Game 3rd Edition: Adaptations is one of the best poker books that I have ever read. The book is written by Andrew Seidman who is better known by his screen name of Baluga Whale. What I liked about this book was the clarity in which it explained very important concepts. Sometimes these concepts were broken down all within the space of a few chapters. Rather than skimp on vital areas, Seidman puts across key concepts in his own style that makes it stick the first time that you read the book and so negates the need for sprawling and rambling chapters which only serve to confuse.
As if the book isn’t enough, you can see Easy Game along with some great seminars on Andrew’s site at www.balugawhale.com along with his coaching courses. I being somewhat old school prefer the feel of a book in my hand even if it’s on Kindle. However you do have to move with the times and I have also recognised the importance of coaching videos. I remember years and years ago when I was studying for my financial exams, important concepts that I struggled with were easily explained and absorbed as soon as I started a computerised learning course rather than book reading.
What I like about books is that you can take notes on the pages and this is something that I have always done down the years. I must admit that I will always have a fondness for books and that is something that will never ever leave me.
Carl “The Dean” Sampson is an 888 poker professional and writer and you can also see me on my Google+ page
