Play Poker like the Pros

[dimitrix]

I just finished readin this book and some of the stuff for holdem i found shocking... Helmuth recommended rasing and reraising any pocket pair prefop? Has anyone read this? I really dont see the point of reraising pocket 2s preflop. The only chance of winning is when you hit a set. which doesnt come that often... What do you think about this method..
I took the infomation from this book..and tryed to apply it online.. Well i did bluff some people off the pot with my pocket 4s and such... but i still lost more than i won.. When i win with his theory its only a small pot..when i lose it usually is big...

[TomCollins]

No way, jamming with 22 is awesome because your opponent might fold KK preflop. This book is the BIBLE of poker. If you follow its advice and lose, it is because you are a poor player. Best book ever written.

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]
Best book ever written.

[/ QUOTE ]

Must be true. It says right on the cover that Phil is the greatest poker player in the world today. Well, maybe not today, but certainly on the day that the book was published. That being before the day that Annie cleaned his clock and had him talking to himself like he was Hamlet.

But seriously folks. I have the book and have read parts of it, and found those parts OK, but not great. I have not read the part on limit holdem yet. All reviews of this book say that his limit holdem advice is somewhere in the range of below average to bizarre, and should be avoided. If Phil is respected for anything, it is for being a no-limit tournament player.

Anyone looking for limit holdem strategy should search this forum, and read the comments and reviews. You will quickly find what best suits your stage of development and the limits you play.

[mrjim]

Throw this book in the trash and do your best to forget what you've read.

[maurile]

[ QUOTE ]
Throw this book in the trash and do your best to forget what you've read.

[/ QUOTE ]
He's already forgotten what he's read if he thinks Hellmuth advocates raising and reraising with any pocket pair.

[Neil Stevens]

Just keep in mind who Hellmuth's audience is and there's nothing wrong with the book

[bilyin]

It is a fun book to read. Some of the advice is a little strange. However, even those if applied selectively can be positive EV. The book is not meant to be followed blindly. For those with some experience this book can be helpful because it covers many games and learning strategies for different games is the best way to understand poker theory. I think this is a worthwhile book for those who exercise their critical thinking faculties.
PS: I remember he did not recommend raising with any pairs. I remember he suggests raising with 77 and bet out on the flop regardless what comes. In a tight game, this might be correct sometimes.

[River2Pair]

[ QUOTE ]
It is a fun book to read. Some of the advice is a little strange. However, even those if applied selectively can be positive EV. The book is not meant to be followed blindly. For those with some experience this book can be helpful because it covers many games and learning strategies for different games is the best way to understand poker theory. I think this is a worthwhile book for those who exercise their critical thinking faculties.
PS: I remember he did not recommend raising with any pairs. I remember he suggests raising with 77 and bet out on the flop regardless what comes. In a tight game, this might be correct sometimes.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not going to go back and refer to the book, because I'm lazy. But I believe Phil had a disclaimer to not try this in loose-low limit games.

I think he was referring to hands where it is possible to win a pot with a single flop bet, particularly tight, high-limit games, of which I know nothing, so I don't know.

[Qhorin]

I just finished the book last week as well.

Amarillo Slim lost some serious respect in my book for his quote on the back that this WAS the best poker book written.
It almost completely ignores the concept of position, which makes it laughable.

The one thing I took from it is making a game of trying to guess your opponents 2 hole cards every hand, and tracking your success in doing so.

[deacsoft]

You can do searches in the archives and find tons of threads on this topic/book.

I say take from the book what you can and move on to he next one. I suggest Theory of Poker (TOP) by, 2+2's own, David Sklansky.