Scott Fischman’s ONLINE ACE is CRAP

mialtman · #1 07-30-2006, 12:06 PM

Don’t make the mistake of buying this worthless “notepad”. I thought since Fischman was an online pro, he would write some decent stuff about the different nuances between live and online play. I found about two things worthwhile, the rest is so elementary I can’t even read the book (the red ink doesn’t help either). Scott claims to have never read a book on poker. Well that’s easy when your buddy is Dutch Boyd, who I’m sure has read everything in print. He is also able to play 6 tables at the same time with no mention of software, but because he a ROBOT who picks up on patterns. Anyways, I respect his success in the game, but his book simply SUCKS.

theRabbit · #2 07-30-2006, 12:37 PM

Your seem to be equivocating about this book. Please tell us what you really think.

RussianBear · #3 07-30-2006, 01:17 PM

Having read your post, sir, I'm not sure if I should buy the book or if you feel I would be better off not purchasing said book. Could you be so kind as to clarify that for me?

icemanjmw · #4 07-30-2006, 01:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Having read your post, sir, I'm not sure if I should buy the book or if you feel I would be better off not purchasing said book. Could you be so kind as to clarify that for me?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's pretty obvious, you should immediately walk....no RUN to your nearest bookstore and purchase at least one copy of this book, perhaps two.

Leavenfish · #5 07-30-2006, 01:57 PM

I've spent a good hour look at it in a bookstore...largely I agree. However I found his approach to some S&G's and Stud tourneys of interest...I just don't play that way though.

---Leavenfish

grazza · #6 08-07-2006, 05:21 PM

I'm inclined to agree with the title of this post. Here are my thoughts on the book:

This book is described as being suitable for beginners through to seasoned pro's (always a bad sign). However, if you have ever played online poker (even for just 30 minutes) you can probably comfortably skip the first three chapters. Given that the book is printed in double spaced large type, these first three chapters amount to a good third of the book. In summary, they tell you how to download a poker site, how to use the lobby, and how much you should spend.

Fischman devotes a whole chapter of the book to "sit and go" strategy, which I can sum up in one sentence: play tight at the start, pick your spots in the middle, and aggressively push in at the end. That is it. No further insight.

He even dedicates a whole chapter to multi-tabling. Multi-tabling? A whole chapter? Again it really needs that double spacing as this too can be summed up in one sentence: if you can make 4 BB / hour profit playing one table, and 3 BB / hour profit per table if you multi-table, then you should try multi-tabling as you will make a bigger profit. Genius.

We are also treated to a chapter on "beyond hold em", where we are given a crash course in strategy for most other poker variants. Given the fact that the chapter is only a few hundred words long, this means that you learn very little about anything and the chapter itself is a complete waste of time.

But hang on, fortunately there is a chapter on "advanced techniques". Good - this'll be where the real insight comes in. Oh no. This chapter really sums up the poor quality of the whole book..and here's an excerpt to allow you to make your own mind up - this is the section where Fischman is explaining about the "inner voice" that advanced players have:

"...Scotty opened with a $4,400 raise. It seemed just as clear when I looked down at Ah Jh, that I would push all-in. Except I didn't. The inner voice told me to wait for a better spot. I listened. I folded. The big blind pushed all-in and Scotty called. At first, it seemed as if the voice had led me astray. Scotty turned over AT - a hand I had beat - and the big blind was making a move with K9....Scotty caught a T on the flop. A jack never came....You may be thinking that the voice gave me bad advice...but my sub-conscious must have latched on to some other factors."

Some other factors?? Are you kidding me? This guy reckons he can predict the cards that are coming - now that really is advanced technique.

In summary, save your money.

SamG · #7 08-07-2006, 05:32 PM

Nice review, grazza.

NDPDuke · #8 08-07-2006, 06:13 PM

I glanced through this book at Barnes & Noble the other day and I believe there was a decent chapter on bankroll management. I think it had some helpful tidbits. That was pretty much the extent of it.

I could be mistaking it with something else though.

Mason Malmuth · #9 08-07-2006, 08:38 PM

Hi grazza:

[ QUOTE ]
"...Scotty opened with a $4,400 raise. It seemed just as clear when I looked down at Ah Jh, that I would push all-in. Except I didn't. The inner voice told me to wait for a better spot. I listened. I folded. The big blind pushed all-in and Scotty called. At first, it seemed as if the voice had led me astray. Scotty turned over AT - a hand I had beat - and the big blind was making a move with K9....Scotty caught a T on the flop. A jack never came....You may be thinking that the voice gave me bad advice...but my sub-conscious must have latched on to some other factors."

[/ QUOTE ]

This is unbelievable. Just to be fair to Fischman, are you sure that this is exactly what it says?

Best wishes,
Mason

Dastone · #10 08-07-2006, 10:08 PM

This book is definately a waste of cash. I enjoy an easy read, provided there is something worthwhile in it.

The only thing I got from the book is, play, play, play. Not much else of value.

But, my main disappointment in it as a poker book is that it has no re-reading value. One go at this book is enough. There isn't anything that struck me as needing further analysis, and this book will become just another dust collector.