Personal Improvement from books

Books I've read;

Doyle Brunson:
Super System 1
Super System 2
Online Poker
Poker Wisdom of a Champion

Mike Caro:
Caro's Fundamental Secrets of Winning Poker
The Body Language of Poker (Book of Tells)
Bobby Baldwin's Winning Poker Secrets

David Sklansky:
The Theory of Poker
Hold'em Poker (for advanced players)
Tournament Poker (for advanced players)

Brad Daughterty - Tom McEvoy:
No Limit Texas Hold'em
Championship Satellite Strategy

Phil Gordon:
Little Green Book

Lou Krieger:
Hold'em Excellence

Blair Rodman & Lee Nelson:
Kill Phil

John Feeney:
Inside the Poker Mind

Peter Steiner:
Thursday Night Poker

John Moss:
How to Win at Poker
(no, not "the" Johnny Moss of Vegas poker fame, but still my personal favorite poker book, written in 1950)


A well rounded group of books I would think. I believe I've learned something from pretty much each & every book I've read. Mostly not about "how to" play poker etc., but more about the "nuances" of poker & personal characteristics.

What I would like to do here, is share what the predominate thing or 2 that I've picked up from a book.

For example, the 2 most important things I've picked up from Brunson's books are;
1 - calling allows you only 1 way to win the pot, show down the best hand
betting or raising gives you 2 ways to win the pot. Effectively increasing your odds of winning by 100%.
2 - poker can show you about your own character & personality traits.

My passion is not poker. It is hunting & fishing. But not the easy way!...LOL. I hunt exclusively with bow & arrow, no guns period! Not even in grizzly country (which is quite often). Mostly I fly fish for salmon, trout & steelhead. But out in the salt chuck going for halibut & bottom fish I'll use regular gear. It is nothing to spend several thousand dollars on an elk hunt. A successful bow hunt (kill) for elk is few & far between. I do not live for the "kill", but rather for the challenge of the hunt.

How does this apply at the poker table? Well, if I try to play strictly by the numbers etc. I do not do as well, even though I'm good at math etc. It simply is not my nature. My nature is to "chase", the hunt. This tendency is sometimes my weakness at the poker table. But analyzing my play & weaknesses, I can understand the reason for them & try to correct them. If I do not understand the underlying character within me that causes these weaknesses, it would be difficult to fix 'em.

See where I'm going with this? To truly fix the leaks in my game, I have to understand why I am like that. Poker can show you this if you step away from the "cards" & look within yourself.

I've rambling on way too long already. So if you have a favorite book & would like to share what you have learned from it I would love to hear your thoughts.