Review of Kill Phil

Title:

Kill Phil: The Fast Track to Success in No-Limit Hold'em Poker Tournaments

Author:

Blair Rodman and Lee Nelson

Publisher:

Huntington Press

Date:

2005

ISBN:

0-929712-24-2

Pages:

275

Price:

$24.95

Reviewed by Nick Christenson, npc@lvrevealed.com

January 2, 2007, updated November 1, 2007

Note: This review was updated on November 1, 2007 to address some inaccuracies in the original review.

For a while now there has been a type of no-limit Hold'em tournament specialist known derogatively as the "move-in artist". These players generally play a hand in one of two ways. Usually, they fold, but their other option is just to push all-in. The problem is, that in a no-limit game without deep stacks, this can be a remarkably effective strategy, frustrating those who prefer to "play poker". The all-in strategy is examined in considerable detail in Kill Phil by accomplished tournament veterans Blair Rodman and Lee Nelson.

Part One of the book sets the table. It provides a brief history of tournament poker, as well as a qualitative explanation of why the move-in strategy works so well. Rodman and Nelson do a good job of justifying why this playing style is an effective way for those without advanced poker skills to close the gap with tournament poker professionals.

Parts Two through Four cover increasingly detailed revisions to the Kill Phil move-in strategy. Rodman and Nelson do a good job of covering all the bases. Their complete strategy considers position, stack size, limpers, playing in the blinds, the number of opponents, and many other factors that may affect play. I am impressed by the thoroughness of the authors. This comes at a price. The complete strategy is fairly complex, but it is within reach of any diligent student. At the same time, there were a few situations in which I thought additional specifics could have been provided, but only at the risk of confusing the target audience. Overall, I think the book does an excellent job of balancing simplicity and thoroughness.

The authors acknowledge that the Kill Phil strategy is not their own whole cloth invention. Specifically, they cite David Sklansky's refined version of "The System" from the second edition of his book Tournament Poker for Advanced Players . Those who own the first edition may be confused by this, as the revised "System" was a second edition addition. In any case, I appreciate that Rodman and Nelson provide more and better citations than the average poker book.

The book concludes with some ancillary material. The authors provide a sample tournament where most of the principles discussed in the book are applied. Of course, in this story the protagonist using the Kill Phil strategy does extremely well, but it wouldn't have been much of an example if our hero had been out drawn on the first pot he plays. The example is useful, but the readers should note that few tournaments they play will go any where near this well, no matter how good their strategy is.

Another late chapter provides suggestions for how poker players can improve their mental acuity when traveling. I was interested some of the authors' suggestions until they recommended taking homeopathic remedies to help the body adjust. Frankly, the fact that Lee Nelson, a medical doctor, was willing to endorse homeopathy made me sick to my stomach. It also makes me call into question their other health-related suggestions.

Another minor objection I have to the book is that they state their strategy in terms of how their opponents play. This is fine as far as it goes, but it weakens some of their claims. A more mathematically rigorous approach would be to adopt a strategy one that was indifferent to whether one's opponents were playing tight or loose, and then adjust it based on opponent playing styles. I was disappointed that the authors didn't provide information on the foundations for their strategy.

These issues aside, Kill Phil is a good book on no-limit poker tournaments. It fulfills its promise of providing a strong tournament strategy that even a beginning poker player can employ to make them a threat in any poker tournament. I expect that successful tournament players will also benefit greatly from reading this book. Not only is the Kill Phil strategy entirely appropriate for even skilled poker players during later stages of tournaments, but it is important to understand this strategy as tournament players will face opponents who have adopted it. While I don't think the book lives up to Russ Hamilton's back cover endorsement as the "best book on tournament no-limit hold'em", it is well worth reading, and I recommend it.

Capsule:

Kill Phil aims to provide an effective strategy that can be used by beginners in no-limit Hold'em poker tournaments. It definitely succeeds in this regard. I believe the book has some flaws, but none that cripple the strong advice the authors provide. I believe that all serious no-limit poker tournament players would benefit from reading this book. Even if one doesn't adopt these strategies, and there are certainly points in a tournament where it is correct to do so, having an understanding of what opposing players who do play the Kill Phil strategy are doing will certainly be beneficial.