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Play Poker Like the Pros
By: Jay Greenspan October 05, 2003

Phil Hellmuth, Jr. is one of the world's greatest players. Watching him play, you can only marvel at his intuition: knowing when an opponent will lay down a big hand, or getting away from a strong but second-best holding. Before I started reading his book, Play Poker Like the Pros, I wondered if such an innate genius would be able to explain to his readers what he does so well. I thought of Magic Johnson and Joe Montana, who, despite their prowess, have no facility for coaching or commentating. How did they do it? They don't know; they just did it.

After reading the first chapters my concerns were completely allayed. Hellmuth offers well-considered, definitive techniques, and does so in well-organized, easily digested prose. In the forward, Hellmuth thanks Andy Glazer, one of the best poker writers around, for his help in making the book more readable. But Hellmuth can take credit for approaching this book with a seriousness and an eye for detail that make Like the Pros a pleasant and edifying read.

The majority of Play Poker Like the Pros discusses limit Texas hold'em, the dominant game in America's cardrooms. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 deal with beginning, intermediate, and advanced play, respectively. To understand much of what is said in the intermediate and advanced chapters, you need to read the beginner material.

In the chapter for beginners, Hellmuth recommends a style that is both extremely tight and extremely aggressive. He lists his top ten hands (pairs -- aces-sevens -- A-K, A-Q) and advises raises or re-raises with these holdings regardless of position or previous action. Clearly, this is advice a newbie can remember. While this method will quickly aid the calling-station, I have some concern that new players will lose a fair amount of money with medium pairs, which are easily beaten at loose, low-limit games.

His post-flop advice is equally absolute: bet, raise, or re-raise to find out where you are. This section was particularly interesting, and has already helped me in my middle-limit play. That said, I'm not sure Hellmuth offers enough caution for the low-limit tables, where players will regularly call two bets on the flop to chase a backdoor flush. Sure, you want people to be making these kind of mathematical mistakes, but betting or raising elicits only vague information in these circumstances.

The intermediate chapter discusses other playable hands: lower pair, A-x(s) and K-Q. He gives specific advice for the play of each. His advice for low pair is quite interesting and starkly contrasts with what most books teach. The expert section is relatively brief, but offers some suggestions worth attempting on occasion. Though, he warns, you need to be an expert hand-reader to make most of these plays profitable.

Other chapters discuss the major games available in casinos: stud, stud 8, Omaha, Omaha 8, and razz. None of these chapters are terrifically detailed, but there's some valuable advice in the pages devoted to these topics.

As most followers of professional poker know, Phil Hellmuth has developed a reputation as a petulant narcissist. His table antics, his whining and screaming, are legendary. While the petulance doesn't come though in the pages of the book, the narcissism does. He seems to enjoy regularly reminding the reader of his abilities, and many of the example hands highlight his brilliant play. His language lets you know that he's well aware of his own genius.

But such quibbling shouldn't discourage you from buying this book. One of the world's best players put a lot of work into creating an excellent text. It will be a valuable addition to your poker library.

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