Phil Hellmuth’s Texas Hold’Em
I just finished reading poker pro Phil Hellmuth’s little green paperback Phil Hellmuth’s Texas Hold’Em“>Phil Hellmuth’s Texas Hold’Em. (Not to be confused with Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book, which I’m reading next.)
Phil H’s book is actually an excerpt from his bestselling Play Poker Like the Pros“>Play Poker Like the Pros. I live in a relatively small Canadian city but had to check 3 bookstores before I could find a copy. It was sold out over Christmas in a lot of stores. And with good reason.
It’s easy to read. While Phil H does mention his own tournament victories often, I never feel as if he’s being elitist or pretentious. The book is very down-to-earth and I came away feeling as if I’d learned a great deal about Texas Hold’Em. More importantly, I learned what it is that I’ll need to learn, if I want to become a professional player.
The most revealing chapter for me was the one about the different types of poker “animals”, and their playing characteristics. Not everyone believes in this theory, but to me, what he says seems to make sense: that there are some distinct playing styles, and for easy reference, Phil H labelled them with animal names.
The final two chapters are probably the perfect end to the book: Poker on the Internet and Cyber Hold’em Strategy, and How to Win a No-Limit Hold’em Tournament. Since I plan to play online for quite some time, to see if I can earn a partial living, I don’t intend on playing live tourneys for a few years. Phil H’s strategy for online Hold’em in a nutshell? Play top ten hands only, as low-limit online players tend to play very badly. To quote Phil H:
… you will have decent shot at turning $100 into a lot more money over 40 hours of play using my strategy.
He does caution that you could lose your first $100, but says to not let it discourage you from playing further.
All in all an informative read that I plan to repeat shortly. If you are a Texas Hold’em newbie, consider reading this book, and doing it slowly. I stretched out my reading over 3 weeks so that I could let the dense advice sink in.
Notes: Phil Hellmuth’s Texas Hold’Em, published by HarperCollins Gem, US$7.95, Cdn$10.95. ISBN-13: 978-0-06-083460-9
Technorati Tags: poker, texas holdem, cards, newbie poker, online poker, poker books
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