Poker Articles

By supermoves | Published Dec 16 2005, 05:38 AM

Supersystem II
by Doyle Brunson

The Poker Bible is just one of the nicknames given to the first book written by legendary Poker player Doyle Brunson. Well, if the original Super System is "The Poker Bible", than Super System II is Poker's Holy Grail. Since the popularity of poker has risen so dramatically there has been an influx of new, young players, changing the dynamic of many poker games. To put it simply, poker is not the same. As such, Doyle Brunson, the Grandfather of Poker, has gathered some of the most successful members of Poker's New World Order around the same table to create Supersystem II.

First of all, the ability of every contributing member to write clearly and concisely is refreshing. While some how-to books read like stereo instructions, Super System II is as easy to read and easy to understand as using PocketFives (wait, maybe that's a bad example...haha).

The chapter I found most helpful was the 2-7 Triple Draw section written by Daniel Negraneu. Triple Draw is played with each player getting 5 cards in his/her hand and trying to make the best low hand possible. Straights and Flushes count against you, so the best hand in the game is 2-3-4-5-7, hence 2-7 Triple Draw. There are 3 drawing rounds, with a round of betting after each. Now, most of you probably don't play Triple Draw, but this is considered by some to be the most skilled game in all of Poker. In fact, for the first several years of the World Series of Poker, Triple Draw was actually the Main Event.

Today it is still played at the WSOP as Lowball (a single draw version) and it's played at the $5000 + Rebuys level. If you want to see a star-studded final table, watch the final table of the Lowball event. For the starting player sites like Ultimate Bet had begun to offer Triple Draw cash games, and let me tell you, if you read this section of Super System II, you will crush those games. Negraneu gives great advice for everyone from the novice to the expert. This game is almost always played limit, but this game is all about betting, so capping betting rounds is not unusual. Trying for only a low hand feels a little counterintuitive at first, but after reading this section and playing Triple Draw, it has become my favorite game.

Jennifer Harman writes the Limit Holdem section and does a damn good job of it. She breaks the game down into smaller parts, for example, preflop play, flop play, turn play and river play. Then explains how position, cards and opponents factor into each stage of the game.

The only section that remains largely unchanged from the original is the section written by Doyle Brunson himself, No-Limit Holdem. Doyle does toss in a few more anecdotes and some newer hand examples, but the section on the whole, specifically the strategy portion, remain almost verbatim the original Super System (Doyle won 2 more bracelets this year, so I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it!).

Other contributing writers are

Bobby Baldwin - Omaha H/L
Lyle Berman Pot-Limit Omaha
Todd Brunson (Doyle's son) 7-card Stud H/L section.

All of the sections are extremely well written and easy to understand. Other features of the new book include a History of Texas Holdem written by Crandell Addington. Mike Caro has put together 43 tips for playing poker that EVERY player should read. Tips like "Don't treat your bankroll like a tourney buy-in" and "tables with laughter are the most profitable" are explained and examined in detail. Tie this all together with a small section on internet poker (used mostly to promote Doyle's Room) and a preface by the great Johnny Chan, and you've got possibly the second greatest poker book ever written; Supersystem II, by Doyle Brunson.

To buy this book on Amazon.com click here: Supersystem II