The Pros and Cons of Kill Phil
Are you a Kill Phil tournament player? If so, I consider your game to be pretty weak. That being said, there are some useful applications for even a strong player in this controversial little book by Blair Rodman and Lee Nelson. And following this playing style is a heck of a lot better than your otherwise total fish-newbie approach might be. But if you have been playing for a while, it’s time to get real. Step up and become a player.
This book was written for people that don’t have any game whatsoever, in an effort to give them at least some chance to progress in a poker tournament. And for that purpose, it works. If you Grandmother gives it a quick read before the after Thanksgiving dinner family poker tournament, she has a decent chance of doing all right.
It’s basically a list of hands to go all-in with before the flop. I mean, that’s about it. The book wants you to avoid having to actually play poker. No situational decisions, just go all-in whenever you have AK, AQs, or a pocket pair above fours. Nothing to it. Kind of sickening to a real poker player.
What’s surprising is how well that strategy actually performs in the early stages of a tournament. The reason is, so many other players are willing to flip coins with you for your stack. They want to build a big stack early or bust out and enter another tournament. Also, medium pocket pairs like 88 through JJ are so difficult to play after the flop that it really is better to just go all-in with them - that is, in a tournament! Try that in a cash game (of any reasonable size) and expect to do rather poorly.
Me, I’ll keep calling with my pocket pairs and trying to make a set on you. A Kill Phil player is going to have a very difficult time reaching the final table. Winning 7 or 8 coin flips in a row is hard!
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July 31st, 2011 at 5:04 am
really good article…
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