REVIEW
The
current boom in the popularity of poker
has many manifestations. Certainly online
and card room poker have seen their popularity
soar in recent years, but home poker is
also experiencing renewed popularity.
In many ways, though, building and maintaining
a successful home poker game is more difficult
than excelling at card room or online
poker. Certainly it is quite a different
beast. In his latest book, Poker Night,
John Vorhaus explores the ins and outs
of hosting and playing home poker games.
While Poker Night is intended to
be appealing to folks who are more than
familiar with the game of poker, its primary
audience is people who are not experts
at the game, including those who are complete
novices. To accommodate neophytes, Vorhaus
begins his book with some very introductory
remarks followed by a chapter that explains
the basics of poker.
Vorhaus
then moves on to discuss some of the decisions
that need to be made as a part of organizing
a home poker game. For example, considerations
of stakes, frequency of the game, numbers
of chips needed, and other aspects are
discussed in some detail. While the author
allows for many different preferences,
he's pretty forceful in advocating his
own opinions on the best ways to conduct
a home poker game. Most of these ideas
I think are pretty good, but some of them
I don't agree with, such as his seeming
preference for not enforcing strict table
stakes. This isn't to say that Vorhaus'
opinions are wrong, I'd just prefer that
with some of his more controversial positions
he would present the possibilities, list
the pros and cons of each side, and let
the readers decide what would work best
for them.
The
book then moves on to talk about poker
games themselves, combining discussions
of rules and strategy. Most of the popular
casino games, such as Hold'em, Omaha,
and Seven Card stud receive mention. Vorhaus
also devotes space to high-low split games,
considering both cards speak and chip
declare, a popular variant in home poker
games. Given its recent popularity, it's
natural that some mention be made of no-limit
poker, along with some suggestions for
home tournament play. The author only
provides cursory strategy information
on each game, so the reader should not
expect to become a poker master just by
reading this book. Nonetheless, those
who read this book and follow its advice
are likely to gain some advantage over
those who haven't thought about the game
as much.
Poker
Night concludes with paragraphs providing
advice for how someone who has been bitten
by the home poker bug can become more
serious about their game and eventually
make the transition to casino poker. Overall,
Vorhaus' advice is pretty light, even
lighter than his previous books, but there
is some good material here. In fact, I'd
heartily recommend Chapter 15, "From Poker
Night to Casinos and Beyond" as a brief
introduction to just about anyone preparing
to make their first jump from home games
to the "big time" of card room poker.
As
one would expect from John Vorhaus, Poker
Night is well written in an entertaining
and energetic manner. While this energy
occasionally seems a bit frenetic, his
skill with a phrase usually compensates
for the author's mercurial style. Still,
this leaves occasional gaps in his narrative.
Those who have enjoyed other writings
by this author will likely enjoy the act
of reading this book, those who don't
find his other writings to be especially
entertaining or informative aren't likely
to be dramatically surprised here.
Basically,
for those who are relatively new to the
concept of poker and want some advice
on how to build and maintain a successful
home game will likely find something of
value in what Vorhaus has to say. Those
who are already very familiar with poker,
at home, online, or in a casino and are
looking for strategic advice on improving
their game aren't likely to receive a
lot of enlightenment from Poker Night.
Personally, I enjoyed the book although
for me it was far more entertaining than
informative.
Capsule:
John
Vorhaus' latest book, Poker Night
provides some good advice on playing in
and running home poker games for those
who are relatively new to the excitement
of this great game. This book is written
in a very entertaining manner, the writing
itself is some of the author's best in
my opinion. Those who find this sort of
thing appealing may wish to check out
this book.
Nick
Christenson
Gambling
Book Reviews
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