Online Poker: Your Guide to Playing Online Poker Safely and Winning Money

by Doyle Brunson

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Reviewer: Footnote75

In the UK, poker books can be ridiculously expensive. No halving the dollar price for us, oh no, because they have to be imported. After browsing my local bookshop, I decided to purchase this because it was one of the cheaper ones and was written by a poker legend. It also dealt specifically with online poker, and as someone who doesn't play live that seemed like a good idea.

When I got it home, something compelled me to have a look at the Amazon reviews. The three readers had given it....one star. Oops. It was 'short on content', a 'complete waste of money' and 'one big advertisement for Doyle's poker room'.

Well, there's no arguing with that last one. If you can find me a piece of text (other than the Doyle's Room website) than mentions the words 'Doyle's Room' as much as this does, you probably deserve a prize. The front cover has four tables from the site pictured, and it gets plug after plug in the most unnecessary of places.

The other two comments need more explanation. Doyle Brunson himself – although I admit it takes him until page 129 to do so – says that “I need to remind you this isn't a book on poker strategy. It's a book intended to get you familiar with the idea of player poker online, to show the advantages and disadvantages, and to suggest ways you might modify your real-world strategy when you play poker on your computer”. It's a shame this wasn't printed in the blurb – although they'd sell far fewer copies if it was, it would pretty much be truth. A lot of the book is given over to the discussion of online poker as a product, as opposed to a game – it's an interesting read to see what Brunson makes of it all, but it's not going to help your game.

All of this is a pity, as the tips sections are actually very good. They're short, to the point, and offer some alternative thoughts to those given by other writers. Of course, this is also their downfall – they are very short, and won't help anyone other than the novice. If you are a complete and total beginner, it's actually not a bad buy. But if you're expecting to learn Brunson's advanced techniques and how to improve your game using them, this is not the book that's going to do it.

What rescues the book from being a complete waste of money is the inclusion of a CD-ROM. Of course it's another big advert for Doyle's Room, but it also contains some very watchable biographies of Brunson and Mike Caro, tips from their books, and two heads-up matches where they play each other online. The matches are the best bit of the package – watching Brunson and Caro explain their moves will teach you far more than the book, and are fascinating. Also, if you join Doyle's Room through the CD you'll actually get another of Brunson's books for free – which is worth a punt! (Ed. Note – or you can join one of the poker rooms featured at VegasPokerPro.com and receive TWO free books of your choice, including Doyle Brunson’s Super System and Super System II).

The CD saves Online Poker, because it has a stack of tips not in the text. If you ignore it, you'll be ignoring a good bit of the useful material on offer here. If you're a beginner, I think this could help you enormously – but for the player already versed in poker, it's not what you're looking for. Just be aware that it IS for beginners – others should buy Super System. One star? Only if you buy it for the wrong reasons.

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