Reading and studying is essential for developing any skill. I'm on Schoonmaker and Sklansky's "The Psychology of Poker" and Vorhaus' "Killer Poker." For the psychology book, it's about textbooking your opponents and your own playing style (i.e. tight-aggressive), and playing accordingly. For the killer book, it's about you, and there is actually more self-actualization and interpersonal connection in "Killer Poker" than the psychology book. Both books are great poker-reading, and while I was already familiar with most of their concepts, I am starting to see a positive change in my thought-process.
"The Psychology of Poker" is an advanced book that has exercises to get you thinking about your individual style as well as that of other players. Basic-strategy is not discussed except to make certain examples. What this means is that you're going deeper into people's heads. For example: if player A calls often with very few bets or raises, he is loose-passive. Then it goes into depths about what to do when playing these types, the fluctuations these players may have in a session, and how other players may play your type.
The greatest change I've noticed after reading "The Psychology of Poker" is that I am starting to engage in objective discussions with myself while playing hands, which have helped make decisions easier. For example, in the middle of a tourney, this tight-passive guy 2X-raised under-the-gun, everyone folded, and I had pocket Queens in the Big Blind. I made it 6X total, and he flat-calls. I talk to myself: "I'm putting him on AK, Tens, or Nines. He would have bet more in UTG with anything better. A medium flop comes out, T98. I bet 2/3 and he smooth-calls. Something's going on here... If he had Jacks, Kings, or Aces he would have shoved confidently. He's not drawing with AK. The 7 hits the Turn. I "request time" and think about why I shouldn't bet. I check and he checks. Okay, that was nice he didn't bet the turn. The River hits a 6, so now there's a straight on board. I'm pretty sure he didn't UTG-2X with Jacks for a higher straight, and maybe he puts me on Jacks. I check, he shoves all of his chips in, and I call. He shows 99 for a flopped set."
"Killer Poker" is about kicking your own ass, and choosing the harsh reality of change. Vorhaus subtitles his book: "Strategy and Tactics for Winning Poker Play." Basic strategy is not really mentioned, but I do remember him asking something along the lines of "have you ever driven down the [insert highway] to [favorite casino] and thought about turning around?" Vorhaus instigates a lot of questions that we all should be asking ourselves, and his topics base themselves around self-actualization and knowing why we do what we do and why we play loser-poker when we'd be better off analyzing rather than playing. There is a lot of discussion about taking yourself out of your comfort zone in order to understand and build your poker play. Being a professional of anything takes nothing less than hard work, declining indulgences, and developing a fearless attitude. Being a professional poker player also takes discipline, skill, and bankroll management, and in order to develop and understand these three things, we must put ourselves in uncomfortable situations to the point we can understand them and make appropriate decisions without fear, confusion, or compulsion.
Developing any skill requires learning, making necessary changes, and adjusting your play, whether in life or in poker or both. It is not always about learning the new things. It is more about challenging and fine-tuning what we already know, putting it into positive action, and collecting "books" that remind us what we're supposed to be doing. I know a lot of this stuff already, as you probably should, too. But I think it always helps to have a reminder of reinforcement to strengthen what we do got.
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