Doyle Brunson - Super System 2 - Book Review

The title of the first book would be "How I Made Over $1,000,000 Playing Poker". This, of course seems outdated now, as Brunson's total live winnings almost reach $6,000,0000 to date according to the Hendon Mob.

The writers (because Donny didn't write it alone) thought that due to the unprecedented success of the book, and the long time that have passed, they might rewrite the book, and call it the catchy 'Super System 2'. It was published by the same publisher, Cardoza Publishing in 2004. The book is not solely about Texas Hold'em, it provides excellent strategy overviews on other types of poker including Seven Card Stud and Triple Draw. Brunson compiled the whole book, but he asked players who he thought are the best in the specific type of poker. According to this, here are the chapters with their respective authors:

• Limit Hold'em – by Jennifer Harman, considered the best female poker player
• No Limit Hold'em – by Doyle Brunson himself
• Pot Limit Omaha High - by Lyle Bernman
• Omaha Eight or Better – by Bobby Baldwin
• Seven Card Stud High Low Eight or Better – by Todd Brunson
• Triple Draw – by Daniel Negreanu

Beyond the detailed information about the specific game types, the book also contains other interesting materials, written by professional players:

• Mike Caro dedicates a whole chapter to describing poker tells (tells are minor signs that can give away an opponent's hand to us, usually without him noticing it).
• A chapter is dedicated to the life of the legend, Doyle Brunson. In 30 pages, he tells readers how he became familiar with poker and the fame.
• The history of the most popular poker: No Limit Texas Hold'em across 15 pages.
• A chapter dedicated to Doyle's thoughts on online poker. He lists pros and cons, and his own experiences playing online poker, and of course a subtle promotion of his own poker room, DoylesRoom.com

The structure of the book is outstanding, all the chapters are easy to follow, well organized, and are very detailed. The ones written about the game types are basically the descriptions and analyses of specific interesting hands. There are dedicated pages for suited connectors and small pocket pairs and tips on what to do if you have a big pocket pair, but a dangerous flop falls for example.

The book is almost 700 pages long, and heavy enough to be used as a paperweight sometimes, but think of it this way: you basically get 5-6 books for the price of 1. Super System 2 is a basic, exciting poker book that is withouth doubt a must-have for every serious poker player. We highly recommend it!