''Super/System'', one of the first books about

poker strategy Poker is a popular card game that combines elements of chance and strategy. There are various styles of poker, all of which share an objective of presenting the least probable or highest-scoring hand. A poker hand is usually a configuration of fi ...

, was written and published in 1979 by

Doyle Brunson Doyle F. Brunson (born August 10, 1933) is a retired American poker player who played professionally for over 50 years. He is a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several ...

, a professional poker player and multiple winner at the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pl ...

History and title

''How I Made Over $1,000,000 Playing Poker'' was primarily written by

who, at the time of publication in 1979, had won the main event of the

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

. The book was one of the first comprehensive books on strategies for various poker games. Many notable poker players and tournament champions contributed sections to the book. The title of the book was originally ''How I Made Over $1,000,000 Playing Poker''. The title is also sometimes written as ''Super System'', without a slash; ''Doyle Brunson's Super System''; or ''Super/System: A Course in Power Poker''.

The book begins with a biographical sketch of Doyle Brunson and then quickly discusses general poker strategy. The general strategy includes controlling emotion, watching competitors play, reasoning outplay, and other similar tips that benefit all forms of poker play. The sections of the book dedicated to strategy were divided as follows: *Draw poker written by Mike Caro. Among other things, Caro writes in detail about tells, how to gain information about an opponent's hand based on how they act. He is regarded as an expert on poker psychology and behavior and would later go on to write his own seminal book on tells. * Seven-card stud written by

Chip Reese David Edward "Chip" Reese (March 28, 1951 – December 4, 2007) was an American professional poker player and gambler from Centerville, Ohio. He is widely regarded as having been the greatest cash game poker player. Early life Reese suff ...

* Lowball written by Joey Hawthorne and

*Seven-card stud high-low split (with no qualifier for low) by

David Sklansky David Sklansky (born December 22, 1947) is an American professional poker player and author. An early writer on poker strategy, he is known for his mathematical approach to the game. His key work ''The Theory of Poker'' presents fundamental p ...

*Limit

Texas hold 'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt fa ...

Bobby Baldwin Bobby Baldwin (born c. 1950)MGM Mirage's 2006 proxy statement, filed on April 30, 2006, recorded Baldwin's age as 55 is a professional poker player and casino executive. As a poker player, Baldwin is best known as the winner of the 1978 World ...

*No-limit Texas hold 'em by

Finally, there is a comprehensive list of probability and statistics calculated by Mike Caro. In addition to raw numbers, many scenarios are investigated and common questions are answered.

Influence

Many of today's top poker players, young and old, swear by ''Super/System''. Although many years have passed since the original publication, it still contains relevant strategies and statistics. Brunson himself believes that because the book has been so influential, it probably cost him more money than he was paid for writing it. Many of the poker variants are played differently today, and there are many new variants that are not covered in ''Super/System'', so the book has been superseded in some areas.

Super System 2

A sequel titled ''Super System 2'' was published in October 2004 (). The second book is broken up into several sections, each covering a different variant of poker, and written by experts on those games. Contributors include:

Daniel Negreanu Daniel Negreanu (; born July 26, 1974) is a Canadian professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. In 2014, independent poker ranking service Global Poker I ...

;

Lyle Berman Lyle Arnold Berman (born August 6, 1941, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American professional poker player and business executive. Business Berman grew up in Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota where he was graduated in 1964 wi ...

, founder of the

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the f ...

;

; Johnny Chan; Mike Caro;

Jennifer Harman Jennifer C. Harman (born November 29, 1964) is an American professional poker player. She has won two World Series of Poker bracelets in open events, one of only four women to have done so. Career Harman won her first World Series of Poker bra ...

;

Todd Brunson Todd Alan Brunson (born August 7, 1969) is an American professional poker player and the son of poker player Doyle Brunson. Doyle Brunson did not teach Todd how to play; it was not until he was studying law at Texas Tech University that he lear ...

;

Steve Zolotow Steve Zolotow (born March 30, 1945) is an American businessman and professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker. He was one of the regulars at the famed Mayfair Club while he lived in ...

; and

Crandell Addington Crandell Addington (born June 2, 1938, in Graham, Texas) is an entrepreneur and poker player who is best known as one of the founders of the World Series of Poker, and is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Poker Known as "Dandy" because he ...

References

Bibliography

External links