Review of Play Poker Like the Pros

Title:

Play Poker Like the Pros

Author:

Phil Hellmuth, Jr.

Publisher:

Quill

Date:

2003

ISBN:

0-06-000572-6

Pages:

394

Price:

$15.95

Reviewed by Nick Christenson, npc@lvrevealed.com

June 10, 2003

Phil Hellmuth has enjoyed a truly meteoric rise to poker fame. Not only is he the youngest player ever to win "The Big One", the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship at the World Series of Poker in 1989, but he has won almost innumerable titles since then. Most folks who'd know consider Hellmuth to be among the finest tournament players in the world, and when he's not playing tournaments he can be found playing either in some of the highest limit money games around, or online at UltimateBet.com. With the veritable explosion in poker popularity in recent years and with Hellmuth's success, it's only natural that this attention-grabbing poker star share his knowledge of the game he loves.

Play Poker Like the Pros jumps right in by explaining Texas Hold'em at an introductory level. This primer on the mechanics of the game does a pretty thorough job of covering the basics with an economy of words, and we progress to Hellmuth's strategic advice almost immediately. Limit Hold'em isn't the only game covered, the author also discusses No-Limit and Pot-Limit Hold'em, Limit and Pot-Limit Omaha High, Omaha High-Low, Seven-card Stud, Razz, and Seven-card Stud High-Low. The last chapter in the book covers playing poker online. The book concludes with some appendices covering the rank of poker hands, a description of Hellmuth's Champion of the Year award, a list of the most prestigious poker tournaments, and some brief information on what it's like to play in the World Series of Poker.

Overall, Hellmuth's explanations on game strategy are a enigma to me. While there is a great deal of worthwhile advice, there are also places where I was left dumbfounded by some of the suggestions he makes. Does he really believe that a pair of sevens to be one of the top ten hands in low-limit Limit Hold'em? Should you really raise with it on the flop if you haven't made a set or you don't have an over pair to the board? His advice seems most applicable to games where folks play tight and passive, where they can be run over by sheer aggression. This just isn't the case in the 3-6 games I've seen, even if you name is Phil Hellmuth, Jr.. Heck, I'd expect that his advice on Limit Hold'em probably works better in a No-limit tournament than it would in a 3-6 game at the Commerce.

Another thing that bothers me is that in almost all his examples Hellmuth tacitly assumes you're up against only one other player when it's time to bet (or not bet) on the end. While this is often true, I would prefer if he had spent the extra effort to lay out each situation he discusses more precisely, although once you understand the situation, his advice usually makes a great deal of sense. In fact, some of the plays and strategies he espouses are downright inspired. In my opinion, the problem is that a great deal of this book doesn't maintain that level of excellence.

Each of the games Hellmuth discusses obviously warrants its own book, if not several. Consequently, there is much that is left unsaid on each particular game. While the strategies printed in this book are not the most complete in print, that doesn't mean they don't contain useful information. Sometimes, though, crucial information is left out. In order from best to worst, I'd rank his strategies as follows: Omaha High, Omaha High-Low, No-limit Hold'em, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Limit Hold'em. Even after a significant amount of reflection, I still can't easily categorize his chapter on Seven-card Stud High-Low. Others may certainly disagree, and I don't consider myself to be an expert in all these games.

Play Poker Like the Pros seems to be targeted at a relatively inexperienced audience, which makes me of two minds about this book. Those true beginners who read, digest, understand, and follow Hellmuth's advice will almost certainly become much better poker players as a consequence. However, I believe that as the reader grows in experience, they will probably need to unlearn a great deal of what they read in this book, and they will have to understand a great deal that isn't covered. I fear that this might be a painful process. On the other hand, despite the descriptions of games that are oriented toward beginners, there are enough good tricks in here that an experienced poker player will likely have enough to think about to make reading the book worthwhile, if for no other reason than to glean how some of the biggest names in poker approach certain games.

So, do I recommend this book or not? After some soul searching, I would have to say, "Yes, with some reservations." Play Poker Like the Pros can certainly make weak players better, but I don't believe all of the advice on all games is good. In places, this book provides some thought-provoking ideas for more advanced players, but there are a lot of gaps in its coverage. Even the places where I think Hellmuth's strategies are flawed, though, they can often be useful as an extra "gear" to have available under certain circumstances, even if the reader wouldn't want to play that way all the time.

Capsule:

While Play Poker Like the Pros seems to be aimed toward the novice poker player, I believe it would be more useful in the hands of a more advanced student who can evaluate when Hellmuth's suggestions are appropriate and when they are not. Beginning players who follow Hellmuth's advice will almost certainly improve their play, but there is a serious risk they'll learn strategies they'll need to unlearn later on, especially if they're trying to play low-limit casino poker. The quality of the material is uneven, and due to the attempted reach of the book it's strategies are not complete, but there's enough material here that is thought provoking for me to recommend the book, but with some significant reservations.