Killer Poker Online by John Vorhaus - Review
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Title: Killer Poker Online
Author: John Vorhaus
Publisher: Lyle Stuart
Length: 278 pages
Date: August 2003
Rating: 
Intended audience: Players of all skill levels looking to improve their psychological edge in poker.
Available at: Amazon.com ($9.72 w/Free Shipping available)
TightPoker Promotion: $50 Free Amazon Gift Certificate
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Book Review by Blatman25
Killer Poker Online This book is unique from many poker books in that it
focuses on you, the player. It doesn't give charts of which hands to play,
or how to play them. It doesn't tell you what strategies to implement to win
a multi-table tournament. There are many books which cover basic poker strategies.
Instead, this book focuses on "managing" yourself to maximize profits. Parts of the
book seem intended for beginners, but true beginners will need to learn poker strategy
elsewhere before reading this book, and I caution any beginner to get more experience before
you dive into this book. Some of the ideas in this book could be hazardous to players without
the experience to back them up. That being said, there is a wealth of information here even
for advanced players, especially those looking to explore the psychological aspects of poker.
Overview of Killer Poker
The strength of this book lies not in strategies for playing specific hands, or a huge overall
concept that will drastically change your play. The strength of the book is in the author's
ability to question even the smallest of details. Most players wouldn't give much thought to
something like choosing a screen name, or how to deal with a power outage while playing poker.
Most of their focus is on the strategies of playing different hands. And to be truthful, do
these things really have much affect on your poker profits? Probably not a lot, but if poker
is a game where every tiny advantage adds up, then it pays to question even the small details.
First, Vorhaus gives you a primer on Online Poker. He discusses choosing a screen name that will
have an effect on other players, whether or not to start at the play money tables, and moving money
in and out of site, and he explains options like "auto-muck" and chat restrictions. Experienced
players might be inclined to skip this section, but there are some interesting points made here,
and it is worth a look by players of any skill level.
Next, he delves into the topics of Money Management, Mood Management, Mind Management, and Data
Management. These are easily the best sections in the book. Here, he invites players to take a
good, hard look at themselves and see where they can spot leaks in their personalities or playing styles.
Money Management deals not only with the usual concepts of bankroll management, but also the way that
virtual chips have "less value" in your mind then cash. He discusses how to deal with the psychological
effects of swings in your bankroll and introduces what he calls the "double/half rule". This rule states
that as you grow your bankroll, each time your bankroll doubles, you withdraw half of your profit. For
example, you start with $400. When that $400 doubles to $800, you withdraw half of the profit, $200.
Then, when the $600 you have left is doubled to $1200, you cash out half the profit, $300. This way you
are always growing your bankroll, but are also withdrawing and enjoying the fruits of your labor. Poor
bankroll management is one of the most common mistakes of online players. Too many players are depositing
small amounts and playing stakes much too high for their bankroll, and then wondering why they lose their
entire deposit. This is hardly the first book to talk about bankroll management, and it won't be the last,
but Vorhaus's treatment of this subject is as good as any.
Mood Management discusses the personal, psychological aspects of online poker. One of the most
interesting ideas is his assertion that the worst thing about online poker is the "loneliness" of it.
You have no one to share your victories, and no one to share your losses. This isolation may make
players more prone to tilt, as they have no physical person to yell at, or physical cards to throw.
He also talks about planning for problems, as you WILL have power outages, internet disconnects, and
many other problems, and you shouldn't let them affect your play. This is a very good chapter on
dealing with tilt, and helps you gain perspective on how to look at your game in the long-term.
Tilting is another common problem with internet players, and any player could benefit from Vorhaus's
ideas on the subject.
Mind Management deals with topics like multi-tabling, boredom, and planning your poker sessions.
He also talks about distractions, and how to deal with them without letting them affect your play.
I have adapted some of his ideas about distractions and seen improvement in my game.
Data Management deals with "keeping book" as he calls it, or note-taking, as most online players call it.
While the value of note-taking is obvious, he gets a bit obsessive on this topic. He suggests keeping
extremely detailed records of every player you meet. What he doesn't take into account is the fact that
most online players do not often encounter the same players repeatedly. This level of detail in
note-taking would be wasted unless you knew you would see this person at least once a week. In his
defense, Vorhaus likely plays at a limit where the player pool is smaller, and this amount of data
would be beneficial.
The chapter on "Online Pitfalls" may be useful in spotting some leaks in your game (or your psyche),
and the "Online Tells" chapter has a few tells you might not have considered before. "The Dark Side"
is a brief chapter on cheating and collusion. "Found Objects" is a nice collection of poker quotes
from a wide variety of sources. The "Tips" section contains tidbits that would not fit elsewhere in
the book. These tips are as varied as "Don't be a kid in a candy store" to "Don't over-assign value
to your stats". As with other sections of the book, you'll be surprised how often Vorhaus finds a
little corner of thought about poker that you hadn't considered before.
Conclusion - Not so much poker, but more on thinking
The problem with a book like this one is that it is barely about poker. It deals more with the
psychological aspects and pitfalls that a person has to deal with than the cards on the table
(or screen). Consequently, many players will overlook a book like this, as they want to focus
on "strategy". This is understandable, but day after day I see players with psychological leaks,
trying to fix it with strategy. Having read many strategy books myself, I love reading books like
this one. Every poker player needs to examine all the aspects of their play, and not just their
strategies. This book invites the player to look beyond the strategy and fix those psychological
leaks that may be holding them back. What might be frustrating to some readers is that Vorhaus
doesn't always give specific answers to all the questions he poses, but instead invites you to
find your own answers. If you are tired of reading strategy books and are looking to expand your
game in other directions, as well as plug some leaks, I highly recommend this book.
Chapters for Killer Poker Online
- True Facts of Online Poker
- The Mechanics of the Thing
- Money Management
- Mood Management
- Mind Management
- Data Management
- The Dark Side
- Online Pitfalls
- Winning Tactics for Online Play
- Phenomena of Online Play
- Online Tells
- Found Objects
- Tips
- The Future of Online Poker
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