My Amazon review of Kill Phil

Cool .... looking forward to it :-)

[Matt Ruff]

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It's a great way to play SNGs, and in trying to incorporate the system into my MTT arsenal, I have used it for the last few days in four Stars $20+2 180 max SNG/MTT and in one $10 Rebuy.

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What level of the system were you using, KP Basic, Basic Plus, or Expert?

Maybe you should drop the UT hat and get more boobies in your avatar? But you already demonstrated that boobies = -EV in your experience.

[HatesLosing]

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The question all of us are asking is: What does this book contribute that makes it worth it after you have read Harrington ... what is the extra material, what sets it apart ??

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I agree.. that is the major question most people want answered, but reading a book can sometimes be useful even if it doesn't *directly* help your game. If a book becomes very popular and lots of people start reading the book and taking its advice, then reading it helps you to recognize who these players are, quickly get into their heads, and understand and exploit their strategy as best you can.

[binions]

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It's a great way to play SNGs, and in trying to incorporate the system into my MTT arsenal, I have used it for the last few days in four Stars $20+2 180 max SNG/MTT and in one $10 Rebuy.

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What level of the system were you using, KP Basic, Basic Plus, or Expert?

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Basic Plus with occasional expert variations along the way. Used it to qualify for today's 215 in a 500 FPP satellite.

[bookie socks]

I agree it's a good book but to put it on the same level as Harrington + Sklansky I think is really pushing it.

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Cool .... looking forward to it :-)

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Well, as usual Amazon overachieved and delivered my book 2 days early. I read the first couple chapters then skipped ahead to the basic, and basic-plus strategies. The first few chapters are informational and fluff, not bad, just not really going to help anyone who reads this board with any regularity.

Anyway, the basic program is nearly identical to the Sklansky "crash-course" program. He even makes the statement that he's basically referencing Sklansky. The basic-plus adds your chip stack relative to the blinds/antes. So instead of using the stage of the tourney, you're using your relative chip strength to determine your plays using a predetermined hand ranking. It's quite interesting. I won't go into details but I will say on the surface it seems very easy to pick up and apply quickly.

I have not gotten to the last 2 strategies so I'll save comment on that. Thus far I have really enoyed reading the book if nothing else. It's very well written and the foreward by Phil Helmuth is pretty good too.

Ok, as far as comparing this to HoH...

In HoH2 Dan refers to Slowball vs. Longball. Well, in Kill Phil they write about the same concept. This book basically teaches you longball so inexperienced players can beat Slowballers like Dan and other old-schoolers. So I'd say it is very valuabe to have read both HoH 1&2 and this book. You really get to see the 2 major contrasting styles. I think applying a combination of the Kill Phil early in tournaments and then having the knowledge and experience of post-flop play a la Harrington, you could really be a dangerous player. So while they are 2 contrasting styles, I feel understanding both could very helpful.

One funny thing, Kill Phil authors state that there will be companion cards, similar to the blackjack cards you can get at a casino, being released soon. I find that pretty amusing. I'm gonna crack up if I see people busting out these things at a tourney.

Overall, I give this book a high rating so far. This isn't a complete review, but to answer the question about how it compares to Harrington's books, it is pretty much the opposite approach, but I don't see how knowing about the 2 contrasting styles in tournament hold em is a bad thing. I'll try to come back and post more after I apply this strategy.

Cool ... alone that it is wellwritten and an enjoyable read makes me consider it strongly ... I guess I'll get it as soon as amazon.co.uk

[Toonces]

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The question all of us are asking is: What does this book contribute that makes it worth it after you have read Harrington ... what is the extra material, what sets it apart ??

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I think it's a little more specific than Harrington gets as to how to play in the Red Zone and Orange Zone. Harrington gives you some guidelines as to how your play differs in these zones. However, since this is the major focus of KP, the hands he goes all-in on are a little more specific.

There's also a good section on avoidong your own tells, since the typical reader is a newbie that should be far more concerned with giving tells than he is at reading tells.

Actually I'd like a litte more indepth coverage of how to play yellow zone strategy ... that kind a annoys me

I tend to just slowly drift in to the orange zone without making anything for myself in the yellow zone