I’ve read some columns by John Vorhaus online and enjoyed what I read. His book, Killer Poker Online: Crushing the Internet Game, is a completely different story. The book is a waste of time and money. I’m glad a friend bought the book for me or I would have been very disappointed in the read.

I read the book expecting to get some new insights into online poker. I was looking for strategy and examples of online play. In the first paragraph of the Introduction, Vorhaus writes:

…I want to put forth the startling idea that, hey, maybe Internet poker’s not such a hot idea…

What? Is this really in a book about crushing the Internet game? Instead of reading about poker strategy, the book taught me the basics of how online poker works. Chapter 2 is titled “The Mechanics of the Thing” and explains the computer recommendations for running a poker client, what a screen name is, what the lobby is, play money tables, hand history logs, setting your options and various other things.

Chapter 3 is all about money management and goes into way too much detail on depositing money into an online poker site. It’s as if Vorhaus is trying to scare everyone from playing online. In this section he makes a huge mistake in my opinion. He claims that with a $500 bankroll, $3/6 is a good place to start. Hold on…that’s not even 100 big bets. Every other place piece of advice I’ve ever seen advises at least 300 big bets. That would be at least $1800 for $3/6. He’s not even close. This is a piece of advice that I wish new players reading his book would actually follow. It would mean I’m playing against people playing too high for their bankroll and without the experience.

The next couple of chapters are about mood, mind, and data management and it seems as if he was simply trying to fill pages. To be fair, some of the data management advice is pretty good about keeping book on your play and the play of your opponents.

Finally on page 187 (of 275) I came to chapter 9, titled “Winning Tactics for Online Play.” The chapter is less than 30 pages long and can be summed up rather quickly. Find the fish, play straightforward poker, don’t show your cards, and play more tournaments. After reading the chapter I thought, “I just read over 180 pages of trash for this?”

The chapter about online tells is pretty good, but nothing that isn’t documented (if not better) in other books. Chapter 12 is nothing more than a listing of quotes about online poker that he found around the Internet and chapter 13 is a collection of tips, which is nothing more than the highlights of the entire book. The final tip is actually a good one, so I’ll quote it here:

Ten “Nevers”

1. Never play drunk
2. Never play tired
3. Never start a session you can’t end on your own terms
4. Never show a hand you don’t have to
5. Never use the pre-action buttons
6. Never let your chat betray your real skill level
7. Never play bigger than your bankroll allows
8. Never play against known superior foes
9. Never forget that the money is real
10. NEVER GAMBLE MORE THAN YOU CAN STAND TO LOSE

The final chapter is one where Vorhaus writes about the future of online poker. Again, it seems like a lot of unnecessary filler information. If you couldn’t tell, I was sorely disappointed in the quality of the book. I wouldn’t recommend anyone wasting their time on it. Even someone that has never played online poker shouldn’t waste their time with it. Internet Texas Hold’em is 100 times more useful and is filled with strategy along with things to get your started.

I’ll leave you with one final quote from Killer Poker Online…

I’m not saying that b&m poker is to sex as Internet poker is to masturbation, but…okay, I am.