Yes and no
Yes for poker being a very difficult game to play very well, as difficult as chess or bridge at the higher levels. Case in point, a computer program has not yet been devised that could play with the top pro's. Just too much missing information for it to make higher level evaluations. Mike Caro believes poker to be more intellectually demanding than chess for this, among other reasons. I seriously doubt it as the skills demanded are not comparable. Chess is heavy on calculation, pattern recognition and intuition; poker relies on memory and psychology, much more subjective areas.
Now at the low levels, such as $3-$6 and perhaps as high as $10-$20 Hold 'em -- at the casino anyway -- the skill a player needs is not very high in my opinion. I'd recommend purchasing Wilson's Turbo Hold 'em and a few books, such as those by Sklansky or Malmuth. If you're starting from scratch you should be doing ok within a few months.