Doyle Brunson's Super System: A Course in Power Poker, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I thought playing Poker was tough..." (more)
Key Phrases: cards speak, limit poker, value bet, Draw Poker, Limit Hold, High-Low Split (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Considered by pros the BEST POKER BOOK EVER WRITTEN. This is the classic book on every major no-limit game played today and is considered by the pros to be one of the best books ever written on poker! Jam-packed with advanced strategies, theories, tactics and money-making techniques - no serious poker player can afford to be without this essential book! For the first time ever in paperback edition, Super System is packed with 608 pages of hard-hitting information and including fifty pages of the most precise poker statistics ever published, this is truly a must-buy for aspiring pros. Super System features chapters written by game's superstars, the best theorists and the best poker players in the world, such as Dave Sklansky, Mike Caro, Chip Reese, Bobby Baldwin and Doyle Brunson. Three world champions and two master theorists cover the essential strategies and advanced play in their specialties and provide no-nonsense winning advice on making money at the tables. These poker superstars cover the important money games in depth: You'll learn 7-card stud, draw poker, lowball, 7-card low stud (razz), high-low split (cards speak), high-low declare, and the most popular game today, hold'em (limit and no-limit). The important winning concepts and strategies are clearly outlined and explained so that you'll become a big money winner. Serious poker players must have this book. This is mandatory reading for aspiring poker pros, tournament players or those ready to play no-limit and is ideal for players moving to higher stakes games. This is the best poker book every written - period - acknowledged by pros and knowledgeable players alike as the classic book on every major no-limit game played today. Absolutely indispensable reading for any player.

About the Author

Doyle 'Texas Dolly' Brunson, two-time world series champion, is considered the greatest no-limit hold'em player in the world and the acclaimed author of Super System, the best poker book ever written.

Product Details

• Paperback: 605 pages
• Publisher: Cardoza; 3rd edition (2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580420818
• ISBN-13: 978-1580420815
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,111 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

361 of 370 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best how-to book on poker ever written, November 17, 2003

By	Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

When this was first published in the seventies it caused a sensation. Immediately recognized as the most ambitious poker book ever written, it 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, thereby cutting into the professional player's take.

There is more than a little truth to this accusation. Poker is an ever-evolving superset of games with the individual games changing over time as the players learn how one game and then another should be played. 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. Today's most important games are hold'em and seven card stud. Both are covered in this book, hold'em quite extensively.

What sets Brunson's Super/System apart from other poker books is first the prestige and celebrity of the writers, especially Doyle himself, but also Bobby Baldwin (also a World Champion); David "Chip" Reese, Doyle's expert on seven-card stud; Joey Hawthorne on Low-Ball; David Sklanski on Hi-Low; and Mike Caro (MJC) on draw poker. I used to play with Sklanski and MJC back in the sixties in Gardena when the only legal game in the California clubs was draw poker, both lowball and jacks or better. Sklanski has gone on to be 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 is partly responsible for this book's republication, 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. Reese in particular, in his chapter on seven-card stud is somewhat reticent. He presents a tight strategy that is sound but withholds more aggressive strategies that, in the proper hands, would make more money.

By the way, "no limit" really means table stakes since you are NOT, as is sometimes seen in the movies, allowed to go to the bank and get some money when you hold a killer hand! In fact, no limit is really no different than pot limit expect that instead of being restricted to the amount of the pot when betting, one can, if one so chooses, push in one's entire stack. THAT does make for some interesting psychological situations! One of Doyle Brunson's main points in this book is the huge difference between set limit poker as played in the clubs and indeed as played for the so-called world championship, and no limit poker as played by the rich and the top professionals. The latter game is much more of a psychological game in that you can lose pot after small pot and yet come out ahead by winning one great big monster, and also because it takes a lot of nerve to either call a huge bet or to make a huge bet. Furthermore as you're playing along you have to be aware that at any moment the pot can suddenly mushroom to gigantic proportions. Because of these psychological factors, some of the top players at limit have never been able to make a satisfactory jump to the no limit game. In Brunson's case, he actually was adept at no limit long before he became a top limit player.

Third, there are the brilliant caricatures of the players by Stan Hunt. Just to see those again in print is worth the price of the book.

Fourth are the poker odds and statistics by Mike Caro. Believe me they are completely accurate. I and a number of others players checked and rechecked them, hoping to catch MJC in an error. No such luck! I was a little disappointed that Mike chose to recall an odds story that showed him in the right, because I, among a very small number of people, actually did beat him out of a twenty dollar bet in the sixties on some odds we were discussing. Of course Mike would "give away" money just to support his carefully cultivated image as a "madman." One of his most notorious "plays" at draw was to pretend to have a pat hand, raise the opener, and then not bet after the draw and just show down his nothing hand, thereby giving away the pot. I mean eyebrows raised and heads shook incomprehensibly at this totally "irrational" play. Yet it worked because people then would call him when he really had something.

Caro was also an expert on poker tells. He wrote a book on the subject. He would, when playing, do parodies of the other players by betting and acting as they would in an exaggerated way. Sometimes he actually did unconscious parodies of himself.

Doyle Brunson on the other hand loved the psychological struggle and just being in action. In his prime he was arguably the world's best player at both limit and no limit hold'em. He had nerves of steel and an intensely competitive nature and a deep obsessive love of the game. He overpowered his opponents with a constant energy that was always, always pushing. He had a few tricks and his knowledge of the game was among the best, but perhaps his greatest gift was his ability to bet when he knew the other guy would toss in.

What you can learn from this book about poker is really almost priceless. Even though this book is definitely dated (and today's stars are a different breed) nonetheless there is wealth of information here for the casual as well as the professional player. This is, in my opinion, still the best how-to book on poker ever written.

185 of 192 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still a Super/System, July 27, 2003

By	Mr. David Welsh (London, UK) - See all my reviews

Brunson & Co. wrote this book in the mid 1970s and if your interest in poker as a game with a very rich and colourful history is anything like mine its well worth buying. The chapters where Brunson talks about his past are great background to understanding one of the all-time great champions.

As for the lessons in this post-graduate school of poker, some really are of historical value only. I suppose Caro's lecture on Draw might be of use in home games but Skalansky's on hi-lo has been out-flanked by time - the qualifier did for it. Baldwin's chapter on limit hold'em is also of no value - not only has the game changed (they used to play it with a single blind and antes from every player - to make things easier and quicker in casinos they changed to the big & little blind structure) but there are five or so more books that today to a better job.

Two chapters retain value. Firstly, and often overlooked, is Chip Reese's chapter on Seven Card Stud. Its not particularly profound and I feel Chip gives away less than the others, but its still a very good starting place. Seven Card Stud hasn't changed much since the 1930s so this chapter retains value.

But the the real gem is Brunson's own chapter on no limit Hold'em. Its extremely interesting and given the greater freedom no limit gives the change in the game structure matters less. No limit is not a war of fine percentages like limit, it is a game of great psychological violence. Brunson's system is VERY aggressive. I think very few people would feel so comfortable playing so many connectors out of position in no limit games so they can stage all-in bluffs. You would need to be up against a very timid rock garden to play just as Brunson says. But it remains, undisputedly, the best guide to no limit cash games (but not tournaments - see Cloutier and McEvoy).

Buy it. You'll thank me.

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good, but Dangerous Book, November 20, 2003

By	Griffin (Folsom, California USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of my favorite poker books of all time, however, not necessarily for its strategic value. Granted, each and every section of this book has some very valuable insights from odds, to game theory, to various ways to approach different hands. With that said, what I find particularly noteworthy are the little details and anecdotes from Brunson Himself. From Broomcorns unkle to Old Blocky and the Beer Hand, it's the details and Doyles obvious passion for the game that really make this book a standout.

However, as I would advise the book only to advanced players with significant experience and the desire to vary their play. The authors system really only works for a super agressive player who is not only extremely talented, but very disciplined. Not many people can emulate this style, and most who try WILL LOSE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY!!!

With that said, at this price (I bought the hardcover version long ago for $50+), you really can't lose. It's a great addition to any poker library.