REVIEW
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.
Nick
Christenson
Gambling
Book Reviews
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