Super System 1 vs Super System 2
A friend of mine asked me "What is the difference between SS1 and SS2?", "Should I/Would I need to read both?"
Now I told him I couldn't tell him since I haven't read both. I'm wondering if anyone here has read both, and if you have, do you think it is necessary to read both? Since there are differences in authors between the two SS, which one in your opinion is "better"?
I understand this might be a controversial topic, but I just want to get some "expert opinions"
Now I told him I couldn't tell him since I haven't read both. I'm wondering if anyone here has read both, and if you have, do you think it is necessary to read both? Since there are differences in authors between the two SS, which one in your opinion is "better"?
I understand this might be a controversial topic, but I just want to get some "expert opinions"
Comments
Neither of them are excellent, but they're both worth reading.
I prefer SS1, but I would suggest reading anything published by 2+2 before bothering with these books.
Sean
Actually, they're a good source if you want a good introduction to the various flavours of poker all in one cover. None of the sections go into great depth, and if you want to become a specialist in one particular game, you'll have to study more than just these books.
As for the differences between the two - a couple of the games have been changed between the volumes. I believe draw poker is out and 2-7 is in. There's a pretty useless online poker section (or a more accurate description of it would be a 50 page advertisement for Doylesroom.com) The NL sections are pretty much identical. When Vol 1 was written, play was a lot less aggressive, now this information might be a bit outdated. I don't think i'd buy both at this point, but I'd certainly get the 2nd one if i had to choose.
And don't forget the 50 page section of printed powerpoint slides (!) from Mike Caro. A blatant advertisement for MCU.
The section by Jen Harman (limit Hold'em) is very good, I think. But even if you're interested in poker games that are not NLHE, there's better books for almost any game.
Back to the OP, if your friend wants to play limit HE well and already has some experience, try "Holdem Poker for Advanced Players" by Sklansky/Malmuth. The Harrington books are great too, but focus on NL HE _tournament_ play. A lot of it translates to ring game play (mostly Vol. 1 IMHO), but much of it is strategy for tournaments specifically.
Sean
Oh, that's all in Fundamentals Secrets of Winning Poker by Caro. It's basically a repeat of the whole book.
SS2 -- NLHE section mostly transposed from SS1, not much good info on other games other than 2-7, LHE section is an interesting read, but not worth the book. Unfortunately, mostly just a cash-in on the poker boom.
This is a main reason why I think he wants to look into SS. He only knows poker from watching TV, and he didn't even know the 3 kinds of poker exists (draw, stud, community cards). I recommended Harrington, Miller, Jones and Sklansky to him, but I think he is going to pick up the SS2 for intro to all the games before looking into individual ones.