John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

I've read a few reviews on these books and they all say it's just a long (but interesting/entertaining) lecture on why aggressive play pays off and helps the reader get into that mindset. I'm aggressive but I feel that sometimes I'm afraid to fire the second barrel or I make a few timid raises and was wondering if anyone had read these books.

I was thinking of picking up Killer Poker and Killer Poker Hold 'Em Handbook since they are not that expensive and I've already bought/read every 2+2 book concievable. Does anyone have any comments on this series of books?

As a bonus, double-whammy question I'd like to know if Phil Gordon's book is anything more than a bunch of stories with some advice thrown in, I'm having a hard time getting a straight answer on "The Real Deal," it seems.

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

I have all 3 books. They are different than any of the other poker books I've read. They don't really talk at all about stategy. The main thing I got from reading these books is about mindset and self honestly about your poker game. It stresses self discipline and hard work and diligence and all that kind of stuff. To me, it was really helpful. I find virtually all poker players love talking about how they got bad beat by this fish and whine about how the bad players are beating them and how cold their cards are etc.....they like to tell people how much they won last night but when they lose, they say stuff like "I broke even" ......
I think once your poker basics are solid and you a good winning player, these books can make you into a great player. But if u're just starting out, these books won't help you.

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

All I read was Killer Poker Online, and it must be the worst book ever written on poker. It barely has anything to do with poker. It focuses on online aspects, all of which are pretty much irrelevant.

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

like I said, it doesn't teach u poker concepts.....they teach or at least re-inforce proper attitude and mindset to be a great poker player. It's like being an athlete....you can have the best skill and physical attributes for a certain sport, but be a huge flop when u make it to the majors. That's why so many top draft picks in sports are busts.....they can't handle the spotlight or their huge egos get in the way of them continuously learning, which is one of the main points in the Killer series (continuously learning).

And BTW, as far as being well written, they are the best poker books I've read.

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

I'd consider myself an intermediate poker player and I don't feel like I need another "how to" book since S/S2 and Harrington's NL book are coming out shortly to fill that void. You considered this helpful? I was thinking of skipping the online one and going for the other two, does this seem like a good idea?

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

Killer Poker is beutifully written. It will help fix leaks in your game by stressing non-cardplaying aspects of poker. It is not a technical text. It is worthwhile if you have no other books of this type but there are probably better books of this type out there:

Zen And The Art Of Poker
The Tao Of Poker
Inside The Poker Mind

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

I'm sure they've been discussed before, but anyone have comments on these three books? I've glanced at them at the bookstore, but haven't read them.
[ QUOTE ]
Zen And The Art Of Poker
The Tao Of Poker
Inside The Poker Mind

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm sure they've been discussed before, but anyone have comments on these three books? I've glanced at them at the bookstore, but haven't read them.
[ QUOTE ]
Zen And The Art Of Poker
The Tao Of Poker
Inside The Poker Mind

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

Zen And The Art Of Poker
This teaches the detachment that one needs to play poker well. However, gets flamed because he believes in rushes. MM does not like this book. I think it 8/10.

The Tao Of Poker
This was the follow up to Zen..and it gets to the nuts and bolts of playing day in and day out. A few fallacious ideas but I think it is 7/10.

Inside The Poker Mind
It deals with Hold'em mainly and general poker concepts. However, it possesses an overlooked treasure in its understanding of emotion in poker. This is by the Two Plus Two boys. I rank it 9/10.

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

I cannot comment on any of his books except for "Killer Poker". A friend let me borrow this book, and I literally laughed out loud at many of the passages in the book. I felt the book was border line useless in terms of improving any aspect of my game (whether technical or psychological). It seems like the author spends most of the effort on writing elegant word combinations instead of actual content. I would not recommend buying this book.

I would recommend getting "Inside the Poker Mind". I believe it was written by a guy named Freeney (sp?). I felt like I came away with a lot from that book.

Hope this helps,
KoW

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

[ QUOTE ]
All I read was Killer Poker Online, and it must be the worst book ever written on poker. It barely has anything to do with poker. It focuses on online aspects, all of which are pretty much irrelevant.

[/ QUOTE ]

I read it and enjoyed it

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

[ QUOTE ]
As a bonus, double-whammy question I'd like to know if Phil Gordon's book is anything more than a bunch of stories with some advice thrown in, I'm having a hard time getting a straight answer on "The Real Deal," it seems.

[/ QUOTE ]

I flipped though it in two minutes at B & N. If you watch Celebrity Poker and find yourself learning something, then get his book...

Re: John Vorhaus\' Killer Poker Series
 

I was in Border's books yesterday and happened to thumb through a copy of Feeney's "Inside the Poker Mind". I took it home last night and it's a gem. I highly recommend this book to anyone who aspires to play professional middle limit poker or who just wants to improve his/her game.

Re: Gordon\'s book
 

I'm casually reading Phil Gordon's "The Real Deal" and I like it. My wife wanted to get started and I got her ITH, but switched her to this as a first step. The writing is very good IMHO and somewhat irreverent. I'm about half way through and I think he does a good job of introducing things like pot odds, outs, etc. and uses a lot of references to other books. And I mean the word "introducing" - explains concepts well, but don't expect Sklansky.

I think this is a great starter book since it covers a lot of ground, is easy to read, and points people in the right direction for more detailed info. I'd say it would make a good gift for someone that wants to get started or maybe for your mom or significant other so they can understand what the heck you're talking about all the time.

Probably the best all rounder intro book I've seen.