Learning different variants

For now PhilipR is using this as a placeholder for some thoughts. Of course, feel free to edit or append to this as desired.

In this thread I wrote,


 * My position is you should learn whatever interests you. If you want to maximize your hourly earn, go to law school instead. :-) But more to the point, I agree GSIH is a good starting point to learn [both limit and no-limit hold 'em  ], and from there you can and should follow up whatever takes hold of your fancy. They're similar enough that learning one won't be a waste of time if you decide to specialize in the other -- just be aware that they are very different and much adjustment is needed before you blindly apply principles across games.

I should add that my natural tendency, in poker and in other pursuits, is to be a jack-of-all-trades, and I acknowledge some desirability to fighting it in the short run. Learning several variants poorly may be less satisfying or financially advantageous than learning one well. But in the long run they reinforce each other, so I don't think there's too much risk that following one's heart will prove detrimental to one's poker career.