Review: Online Ace -- Scott Fischman

[feint06]

Online Ace, A World Series of Poker Champion’s Guide to Mastering Internet Poker
Scott Fischman
Copyright 2006
List Price: $19.95
189 pages

Summary:
Online Ace begins with a basic guide on how to get started online: testing out sites using play money, making a deposit, picking games, and managing a bankroll. Fischman then goes into some very basic strategy – definitely not the specific situational advice often found from 2+2. Instead, Online Ace tries to teach readers how to develop strategies on their own (likening it to Doyle Brunson’s development). Fischman warns of the dangers in being predictable and suggests making intelligent decisions based on all the available Factors. There are some exceptions to the often vague advice; he does include SNG and MTT chapters – both of which do go into more situational strategy by dividing tournaments into three distinct stages. Online Ace also includes a very brief guide for Stud, Razz, and Omaha before concluding with a section on “advanced concepts.” There, Fischman glosses over the ups & downs in a professional poker player's life (throwing an occasional nugget of strategy along the way).

Impressions:
From what I’ve gathered, Fischman did not attend college and by his own account has never read a poker book. His writing reflects an intuitive approach to the game, often describing concepts like implied odds without mentioning them by name (he does attempt to define implied odds early in the book, yet does not use the term when he describes his early SNG strategy of playing Ax suited or small pocket pairs hoping to flop a monster and double-up). His book does contain some good information including his thoughts on aggression, tournament survival, and rigorous observation. The sections on newbie pitfalls (slow playing too often etc) and table selection both have particularly good advice for the beginner. And while it's not exactly a strategy you can bank on, Fischman's Zen-approach to poker in “advanced concepts” struck a chord with me as I’ve often been most successful at the table when I’m “in the blur.” But on the whole, the book just comes off as another superficial 'cash-in on the poker boom' book.

Critiques:
Fischman advises players to use 25% of their bankroll for cash games when starting out. Yikes.

Late in the book he describes a hunch where he folded to Scotty Nguyen’s early position preflop raise when Fischman held AJ (short stacked). He appears incredibly results oriented when he points to the fact that Nguyen spiked a 10 (Scotty had A10) as proof of some ESP.

Most (if not all) of Fischman’s good advice is detailed in depth in the poker canon that he so vehemently despises. Fischman seems to attribute predictable play to all those who study books. In reality, the good books advocate mixing things up (70% raise, 20% call, 10% fold etc) so the players he disdains really aren’t “by the book.”

Overall Recommendation:
Despite all the negatives, I actually enjoyed this book. Fischman has a great sense of humor that often left me laughing out loud (his glossary of online abbreviations, computer mice that were the real victims of the bad beats etc). And certain sections of this book offered genuinely valuable information. So I would recommend Online Ace to a beginner, but would strongly suggest they follow it up with HOH1 or TOP. Intermediate and advanced players will gain little from reading Online Ace, however, so save the $20 for a new mouse [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Gonso]

[ QUOTE ]
Late in the book he describes a hunch where he folded to Scotty Nguyen’s early position preflop raise when Fischman held AJ (short stacked). He appears incredibly results oriented when he points to the fact that Nguyen spiked a 10 (Scotty had A10) as proof of some ESP.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol

[dwf76]

Hate to be negative but its not a good book, I found very little in it that I hadn't already read and learnt from NLTAP or HOH and I have to say its the one book in my collection that I don't mind losing.

feint06 sums it up pretty well in his overall recommendation, theres just so many books that tell the same things but are better.

[ledders07]

i liked the book and the sit-n-go strategy he writes is the one that i now use to great effect.

[jeffnc]

I find it hard to believe anyone is using his "SnG strategy to great effect" because I don't even think he wrote a strategy. He just wrote some ad hoc tidbits, and even those weren't very good. He plays extremely tight early, folding pretty much everything except AA/KK, yet calls with hands like ace/rag suited, because he might flop the nut flush. Whatever.