Online Ace: A World Series of Poker Champion's Guide to Mastering Internet Poker 
asked by jazzman on November 19, 2006 11:48 PM
Nearly two million players go online each day to test their poker skills at virtual tables with real money. Few have made the transition from Internet poker to live tournament play as successfully as two-time World Series of Poker champion Scott Fischman, and in Online King he shares his expert insight, money-making wisdom, and priceless strategies for playing the game well. The first instructional book written by a renowned poker champion for Internet players (as well as those hoping to make the transition from computer games to live play) Online King gives readers invaluable instruction that can be put into practice immediately on his popular website, thefishtank.com. No matter what skill level you have now, Online King will raise your game.
Reviews
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I wouldn't say that the book was horrible, but it would only truly be valuable to someone who was just starting to play online poker. There were a few insights here and there that I picked up, but not enough to make the book worth what I paid for it.
If you've been playing online poker for any length of time you probably already know 90% of the strategies in this book. I've only been playing since July and most of the book was not new to me. His sitngo strategy is similar to one you can get from Roy Rounder free by signing up for his email newsletter. There's nothing advanced here. A good online player can use the sitngo strategy and make modifications for better results. If you're the kind of person who is constantly evaluating his game, reading forums and books then this book is not for you.
If you've been playing online poker for any length of time you probably already know 90% of the strategies in this book. I've only been playing since July and most of the book was not new to me. His sitngo strategy is similar to one you can get from Roy Rounder free by signing up for his email newsletter. There's nothing advanced here. A good online player can use the sitngo strategy and make modifications for better results. If you're the kind of person who is constantly evaluating his game, reading forums and books then this book is not for you.
reviewed by bricktop on November 21, 2006 6:42 PM
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If you're looking for your first poker book, this is not the one. If you're looking for your 20th poker book, this still isn't the one. If you're stuck on a plane for two hours and the choice is the in-flight magazine vs. this book, then this book is for you.
Scott Fishman said in an interview with Phil Gordon that he hates reading books, and that he wrote this book so you can skim it in a couple of hours. He's certainly accomplished that, as this book is almost completely devoid of any content. It is full of "filler" material, like the rules of the game, hand rankings, a bunch of blank forms for keeping track of session notes, sample tournament structures, etc.
Also, he asked a few pros "What is your #1 tip for aspiring players?" The result are platitudes like "practice makes perfect", "do not dwell on your mistakes", and "focus on exploiting weaknesses in players who are worse than you". This kind of stuff takes up another dozen pages.
His main "message" can be summed up like this: there isn't a single correct style, you'll have to find what works best for you. Don't read books (he didn't), just put in time at the tables, talk to experts, practice a lot, and you'll eventually get pretty good.
Here's my favorite bit of "advice" from his book: "Before I choose a Sit-n-Go, I like to take a look at two or three that are already running to find a 'lucky seat.'...I know this sounds ridiculous, but I'll talk more about positive superstitions in the next chapter." Now mind you, the book doesn't talk about pot-odds until the appendix, where he goes on to say that they're not really important, because "odds are nearly impossible to calculate accurately." Wow! Picking a lucky seat is worth talking about, but basic concepts like pot-odds aren't?!?!
The only thing that makes this book two stars rather than completely worthless is his chapter on Sit-n-Gos. He actually shares some specific strategy ideas that are pretty interesting.
Finally, there is almost nothing in this book that is specific to online poker. Any decent discussion would have to cover the tools specific to online, such as Pokertracker and how to interpret the various stats it generates, which he barely mentions.
I think you get the picture: a quick read, lots of generalities, a waste of time.
Scott Fishman said in an interview with Phil Gordon that he hates reading books, and that he wrote this book so you can skim it in a couple of hours. He's certainly accomplished that, as this book is almost completely devoid of any content. It is full of "filler" material, like the rules of the game, hand rankings, a bunch of blank forms for keeping track of session notes, sample tournament structures, etc.
Also, he asked a few pros "What is your #1 tip for aspiring players?" The result are platitudes like "practice makes perfect", "do not dwell on your mistakes", and "focus on exploiting weaknesses in players who are worse than you". This kind of stuff takes up another dozen pages.
His main "message" can be summed up like this: there isn't a single correct style, you'll have to find what works best for you. Don't read books (he didn't), just put in time at the tables, talk to experts, practice a lot, and you'll eventually get pretty good.
Here's my favorite bit of "advice" from his book: "Before I choose a Sit-n-Go, I like to take a look at two or three that are already running to find a 'lucky seat.'...I know this sounds ridiculous, but I'll talk more about positive superstitions in the next chapter." Now mind you, the book doesn't talk about pot-odds until the appendix, where he goes on to say that they're not really important, because "odds are nearly impossible to calculate accurately." Wow! Picking a lucky seat is worth talking about, but basic concepts like pot-odds aren't?!?!
The only thing that makes this book two stars rather than completely worthless is his chapter on Sit-n-Gos. He actually shares some specific strategy ideas that are pretty interesting.
Finally, there is almost nothing in this book that is specific to online poker. Any decent discussion would have to cover the tools specific to online, such as Pokertracker and how to interpret the various stats it generates, which he barely mentions.
I think you get the picture: a quick read, lots of generalities, a waste of time.
reviewed by smiling on November 28, 2006 8:57 PM
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Very original with more incites than any other book about online poker. There is no guarantees with poker as you may know, and even less of a guarantee with online poker. But there are new straties and ideas to consider in this book. If you can still play online poker i strongly recommened this book
reviewed by titanium7 on November 29, 2006 4:06 AM
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I give this book a thumbs up. I enjoy reading poker books, but many of them have the same advice. I found this book to have plenty of new, exciting strategies and tips.
reviewed by 78704 on November 29, 2006 2:52 PM
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Not much in there for anyone who has already migrated from the basics.
reviewed by costa on November 29, 2006 5:32 PM