Phil Hellmuth - Phil Hellmuths Texas Holdem

For my parents, Lynn and Phil, who helped me believe I could do anything and who supported me even after they freaked out over my newfound occupation.

To Grandma Aggie, who loved a good game of cards.

In memory of one of my best friends, Andy Glazer.

The first thing that should be said about this book is this: The content is the same as that in the Texas Holdem chapters in Play Poker Like the Pros, with a few scattered refinements. And there is also an added chapter that should knock your socks off: How to Win a No-Limit Holdem Tournament. To me, this new chapter alone should be worth hundreds of dollars, for it will help you to understand the basic game theory that has allowed me to win dozens of no-limit Holdem tournaments over the years.

I am proud of the fact that hundreds of people have come up to me and said, Thanks for Play Poker Like the Pros . It turned my game around. The Holdem strategy in that book (and now in this book) is solid and immutable; there is only one mathematically viable way to play winning limit Holdem. As to pot-limit Holdem and no-limit Holdem, many styles work, but you can never travel too far off campus (away from the math and fundamentals) without risking crushing failure. This book teaches you the fundamentals, as well as advanced theories, for all forms and levels of Holdem.

When I penned these chapters, my goal was to help the worldwide public learn, appreciate, and convert to the poker games that the pros play. I felt that it was important to point out that the version of poker that most people play on their kitchen tables, with red, white, and blue plastic chips, is a world away from the games that the pros play, in both skill level and complexity. In those home games, people toss their money into virtually every pot, in a sort of no foldem poker that is designed to keep everyone in to the end, and award the luckiest player the pot.

In these types of poker games the player who draws the luckiest card on the last possible card dealt wins the pot. Where is the skill in that? Where are the well-timed bluffs, the great calls, the tough lay downs, the judicious reads of opponents, the constantly shifting odds calculations, and the patience involved in the poker games that the pros play? These skills are inherent in real poker games like Seven-Card Stud, Omaha, and the ultimate, Texas Holdem. Suddenly, people all over the world are playing one-table $5 buy-in (or higher) no-limit Holdem tournaments with their buddies. Nine players lose $5, and when all is said and done, one winner receives the $45 first-place prize. Its the same game in the major tournaments, but there might be 700 buy-ins at $5,000 apiece, a $1 million first-place prize, and 44 others in the money. And it might take four days to get there. No-limit Holdem, where you can bet any amount at any timenow thats poker!

Although I would like to take some credit for the explosion of poker worldwide, I believe everyone knows that the growth of the game has been fueled by ESPNs World Series of Poker (WSOP), Travel Channels World Poker Tour (WPT), FOXs new poker coverage, and various internet poker sites such as UltimateBet.com. (By the way, to read about some ballsy bluffs, amazing calls, and memorable key pots on the professional poker tour, see my book Bad Beats and Lucky Draws .) Of course the WPT deserves most of the credit with its introductionin this countryof an innovative way of showing the players hole cards to the TV audience.

Now players worldwide are saying, I didnt know Holdem was such an easy game to play. Four rounds of betting, five common cards in the middle of the table, and two hole cards, simple. Simple indeed, unless you actually want to win while playing Holdem. In this case, there is a learning curve that needs to be mastered. Some of you will learn quickly, scaling the poker mountain in short order; others will need more time and effort. In either case, mastering the information in this book is essential to scaling that learning curve. Texas Holdem, so the classic characterization goes, takes five or ten minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master.

Those of you who do master the learning curve for Holdem, whether quickly or slowly, can expect to see me sooner or later at the WSOP. Ill be the tall one wearing the black UltimateBet.com baseball cap and the Oakley sunglasses, being cantankerous at times (Poker Brat!) but happily grinding away at a poker hand, at the poker table, while slowly chasing poker history.

Most people today misunderstand poker. Lets be frank: most people know poker from the low-stakes games they now play (or grew up playing) with their family and friends. In these low-stakes home games, luck often plays a much bigger role than skill.