Search - How a Poker Champ Thinks His Way to Success on DVD

Thank you Netflix...

J. Rubino | Simi Valley,Ca USA | 06/02/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I am very happy I got this from Netflix instead of buying it. With no other reviews sometimes you just say what the heck; this is the poorest poker DVD I have watched. McEvoy has been around a long while and has been a poker coach to numerous players but this effort is terrible. The title is a bit misleading..."How a Poker Champ Thinks His Way to Success" is a very low-budget attempt to teach no limit holdem. The set up is laughable...you have nine almost complete beginner players playing a single table tournament, at least half of them have a beer. They do not have any concept of hand values or position or betting and McEvoy interjects commentary of what he would have done. It does not seem to be scripted or structured and McEvoy is fairly monotone in his delivery. I couldn't find anything to highlight for the positive so I say spend your time and money elsewhere."

Low budget, beginner Dvd.

Poker Face | Toronto, Canada | 08/21/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"PREFLOP:
Since most of the poker instructional Dvds on the market, are best suited for beginners (regardless of how advanced they claim to be), it's not surprising that this is again the case, for this Dvd. If you've read a few books and watched poker on tv (like I have), all of these Dvd's are basically just refresher courses. I rented it just to see how Tom McEvoy would play certain hands. That's exactly what I got, so I'm not disappointed.

Yes, he was rather dull to listen to, and the fact that you don't get to hear any of the players talk or hear any sound from the actual game, makes this even duller than normal. I still thought it was good enough for beginners and McEvoy fans, like myself. They also sometimes used slo-motion during the game, while McEvoy talked, so that he had more time to explain the hands. I would have given it three stars if the production was better. Again, I'm assuming you're a beginner.

Even the better produced "Final Table Poker with Phil Gordon", taught me absolutely nothing (I still liked it though) that I hadn't already picked up from his tv show, "Celebrity Poker Showdown", or elsewhere. I suppose, I picked up a few things from Annie Duke's Dvd's, and some other's, but usually, unless you're a beginner, buying any poker instuctional Dvd will almost always be a waste of money. I watch them usually just because I like the poker pro involved, rather than to really learn anything wonderful from them.


THE FLOP:
With this full-screen Dvd, you get a ten player poker tournament (McEvoy and 9 amateurs), held at the Ameristar Casino, in Kasas City, Missouri. It looks very similar to an episode of "Ultimate Poker Challenge". The outcomes are NOT pre-determined (Phil Gordon's Dvd tournament was all scripted beforehand), and although the card graphics are nice and easy to read, there are NO win percentages, pot totals, or chip leader stats shown. They do list the blinds, antes and positions of each player before the hand though.

Although this 40 minute (NOT including the 5 minute intro), No-Limit Texas Hold 'em tournament, is 51 hands in duration, they only show 25 of them (a 26th hand is just briefly mentioned-but not shown, to illustrate that antes, have now kicked in). Each hand is shown to illustrate a point, however, many are silly, such as, "Getting lucky in the big blind". After the tournament ends, someone just reads a poker glossary for 12 minutes (40+5+12= 57 minutes total running time). By the way, even though McEvoy mentions the term "set", in his commentary, it is not mentioned in the glossary. So, if you're a true beginner, you still might need the internet to help with some poker lingo that's not covered.

As well, McEvoy assumes you understand that playing suited connecters (8-9 diamonds, for example), is best done when there are many players in the pot, so that if you hit a flush or straight, you can often win a lot of money, which makes up for most of the times you will lose with suited connectors. There are a few other things he assumes you know, so I wouldn't call this a pure beginner Dvd.


THE TURN:
In this Dvd, you get to see all the player's cards, like on tv. However, for a different twist, you can also try the "Final Table Poker with Phil Gordon" Dvd, which only shows you Phil's cards, so it's more like a real life poker tournament, even though it's all staged.


THE RIVER :
Rather short and dull Dvd, but still an okay way for a beginner to pick up some pointers from WSOP champ- Tom McEvoy, while also refreshing some of their poker knowledge as well."