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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PREFACE
By Johnny Chan
I learned poker the hard way, playing in games that were like street fights
in the back alleys of Chinatown. Before anyone thought I was ready, I
sat right down at some of the toughest tables in poker, staring down the
best and meanest players I could find. And as you can see, I survived
and prospered.
Some say I am one of the few players ever to conquer the poker world without
any formal training. I’m proud of that accomplishment, but if I
had it to do over again, I’d make it easier. Instead of learning
the hard way, brawling my way up, risking my bankroll, and banging my
head against those big bricks walls, I’d start by reading this book.
How often are you going to get a chance to learn from the most feared
poker player around, year after year: Doyle Brunson himself?
To be honest, at first I was upset that Doyle was writing this follow-up
to his first Super/System, which all the players at my tables call “the
bible of poker.” Every time I heard that, hair stood up on the back
of my neck. Who needs a bible of poker? I kept thinking that professional
players like me would be better off without one. The secrets contained
in these two books are so powerful that at first I would have paid considerable
money to keep them out of print. Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson
couldn’t have been bought off, anyway.
I’ve changed my mind. I think about how poker has grown over the
last few years and how many new players have joined the game. There must
be millions of them. They’re ready to treat the strategy of poker
with respect, and I want them to treat it that way. Poker is a monster
of a game that deserves respect.
When great players like Doyle and his expert collaborators are willing
to share their secrets with you, poker creeps out from the rocks like
a dragon that’s been hiding for a hundred years. The dragon emerges,
looks around, roars, and demands respect. Even though nobody noticed when
that the dragon wasn’t there, everyone hears it now. That’s
what happened to poker, and this book is part of that dragon’s roar.
If you’re smart, you won’t waste the opportunity to learn
from it.
You see, poker isn’t like other kinds of gambling. It fits better
in the category of skill games, like chess and bridge. Would those games
be as well respected or have such loyal followings if experts kept the
secrets to themselves?
Before poker came of age, it was a hustler’s game, hidden from the
public and not entirely respectable. But that’s not the case anymore,
and probably won’t be ever again. Tournaments are broadcast to hundreds
of millions of television viewers, making people who have never played
the game before take notice—and join in. So, now that the dark era
of poker is over and the dragon has come out of hiding, I think it’s
important that this great book, which outlines the strategies and the
plays that really win, take center stage.
You know, I’m not afraid to play in any game. But I was once asked
which nine opponents I’d least like to play against at one table.
Now, there’s a tough question. But one player I could name without
hesitation is Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson. Doyle isn’t
someone you want to play against, but he is someone you definitely want
to learn from. And that goes for all the experts he has chosen to include
in this book.
You’re lucky that you don’t have to learn poker the way I
did. You won’t need to brawl your way to profit. In the years ahead,
if you stick with it, you’ll play millions of hands and wager millions
of dollars. I hope you’ll play right and wager well, unless you’re
in my game, in which case I hope you’ll play like a dummy and throw
away all your money to me.
Doyle is ready to take you aside and let you in on poker’s most
powerful secrets, the ones that really win. If I were you, I’d pay
attention. The other day, I started thinking about the big pie made up
of all those billions of dollars that will be exchanged in poker hands
this year. Well, it’s already being carved up.
If you want a big slice, you hold the knife in your hands.
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