Hey guys sorry for the long post from a new user, but I'm really hoping I can get a bit of help here. I wanted to start taking poker more seriously, and Im really hoping I can get some help to escape this rut I'm in.

I love the game of poker, and Im not going to lie, I like the money that comes along with it, and there isn't a feeling out there that matches the feeling of outlasting 10-15 guys and taking down the amount of money i'd make in two weeks in a single night. The though of making a few grand a month on the side excites me, maybe even going pro one day and making money playing a game, the thought just really excites me. However it feels like lately the more I study the less successful I've been lately. I am by nature a really tight player, i don't enjoy getting my money in unless I'm sure, however lately every time I try something new, I get slammed because I'm making bad moves, I can accept that I'm not playing as well trying new things at the moment.

I turn 21 next may, and that gives me 40 weeks. I would love to make a detailed lesson plan, on what to study and go through it, and check off all the boxes to make sure I am prepared for when i go down to the states and try to make a couple bucks. I have a few years of online experience ( I'm not proud of the results because i used to like to gamble, like a donk and now I'm trying to play more serious. ) What I am hoping to get out of this thread is some more resources I can use to study, and maybe your opinions of some of the books I already have. I'll also explain how I intend to use these books because I also feel thats important, the list I have is as follows:

The mathematics of Poker by Bill Chen
The Applications of No Limit Hold em by Matthew Janda
The Myth of Poker Talent, By Alex Fitzgerald
Peak poker Performance By Patricia Cardner
And The Super System.

Tools I have:

HM2
Cardrunners EV
Flopzilla
Equity calculator


I plan of using the super system as a means of getting the beginner math learned inside out, sort of like a starter crash course in all the beginner things I need to know, and then advance to the more difficult stuff hopefully after my first month of study. I also want to throw in some mental stuff in order to get over my anxieties, and the hopefully the negative thought patterns that come with losing, I've always hated losing, and I don't want to see it as a reason to quit but as an opportunity to grow. All the harder Stuff like learning how to play out of position on the turn, and stuff like that, i plan on cross referencing the books, cherry picking chapters, and learning those things in say a weeks time.

I was wondering is there are any more resources I should go after, or maybe some assistance on how i should spread this work all out in order to accomplish my goals, to at least be a theoretically sound player by May of 2018. (about 47 weeks). Sorry again about the super long post, I'm just really looking forward to trying my best to getting out there and improving my game.

First, it's Super System, no "the." Second, don't read that math book. It's too dense and will go way over your head unless you're some kind of 20 year-old math prodigy and even then, it will still go way over your head. Third, books are no substitute for actually getting in there and playing. Fourth, while it's good to have your enthusiasm, you need to maintain realistic expectations. To think studying some books will make you a competent live poker player in a matter of weeks when you acknowledge you are a losing online player is foolhardy. Don't rush the process in your endeavor to "make an extra few grand a month" and realize the VAST majority of people who go pro eventually go broke. There are many who were considered the elite of the elite who went busto. It's not easy money as you make it sound.

You didn't say what you want to play. Cash games or tournaments? What's your bankroll? What games do you plan on playing? What anxieties do you have about live playing? Where will you play? When will you play? All of these factors are important in trying to help choose the best course of study for you.

I would ditch Super System. Instead I would get Harrington on Online Cash Games, to get some basic starting ranges. I would also get The Theory of Poker by Sklansky. In my mind it is still the best book for understanding poker on the conceptual level. Sklanskys book on no limit holdem is also good.

Don't ditch Super System. It's a must read for any serious poker player. It's not necessarily the most relevant but that'd be like an English major skipping Shakespeare because it isn't as relevant to today's society as more recent works. Harrington on Hold'em should also be read as well as Kill Everyone and maybe consider Mike Caro's poker tell book.

When you read your material, devise a way to ease what you learned into your game slowly. For example, the book says play a suited connector in this spot, your original game does not advise that. Or perhaps to make more semi-bluffs. You compromise with the book by doing it seldomly, and as it turns-out to work, incorporate it more and more into your game. Also, I am find with forgoing Super System at this point. And, take a free online statistics class, or game theory class on YouTube before reading Mathematics of Poker by Chen as a primer. Or skip it all together. Also Zachary Elwood on Poker Tells may be of interest as well as Mike Caro's. If I chose one tells book it would be Elwood's.

I really liked his Verbal Tells book, as well.