Despite its misleading title, Play Poker Like the Pros does not actually reveal any professional poker secrets. Written in a conversational style, Play Poker Like the Pros merely provides an interesting, but incomplete, introduction to Limit Texas Hold’em.

This book has one core message: Only play premium hands and play those hands aggressively. This is good advice for all novice players. But such advice is standard mantra among all poker strategy books; in fact, you can probably find the exact same information surfing the web or watching Celebrity Poker Showdown.

What sets Play Poker Like the Pros apart from other poker books is its readability. Phil Hellmuth illustrates his points with simple examples, and never overwhelms his readers with needless jargon. While other poker books read like technical manuals, Play Poker Like the Pros is filled with humor and interesting tidbits about the professional poker tour.

If you are looking for a easy and fun introduction to Limit Hold’em, this book is perfect. But if you are serious about improving your game, Play Poker Like the Prosis not for you.

Hellmuth tends to oversimplify his material, which can undermine a beginner’s development in the long run. For example, Hellmuth frequently glosses over fundamental poker concepts such as implied pot odds, semi-bluffing, and bankroll management. Instead of explaining these important concepts, Hellmuth fudges with statements like “the best way is to play by feel.”

Play Poker Like the Pros: Hellmuth's Strategy in a Nutshell

The “play by feel” suggestion comes up a lot because Hellmuth does not offer a lot of concrete strategies. Hellmuth’s strategy can be easily summarized in a few paragraphs:

1. Categorize your opponents based on their betting tendencies. Hellmuth identifies four main types of players:
   • The jackal - an extremely aggressive and unpredictable player.
   • The elephant - a loose player who will call many bets with weak hands.
   • The mouse - a timid player who only plays premium hands.
   • The lion - a tight player who bets aggressively with good hands.
2. Only play the top ten starting hands: AA, KK, QQ, AK, JJ, TT, 99, 88, AQ, 77.
3. Before the flop, play your hands aggressively. Raise and reraise whenever possible.
4. After the flop comes, raise if you believe your hand is the strongest. Even if the flop did not improve your hand, you should raise anyway, just to test how strong your opponents are.
5. On fourth street, bet again if you think you have a good hand. However, if a tight player (mouse) reraised on the flop and reraised again on fourth street, you should consider folding.
6. You should almost always call on the river. The only exception is when there are two or more opponents left, and one opponent raises while the other calls or reraises. It is a good idea to fold in this situation, for you are most certainly beat, regardless of pot odds.

That is all the strategic advice you will get with Hellmuth’s book. If you want more advanced strategies, I recommend Matthew Hilger’s Internet Texas Hold’em and David Sklansky’s The Theory of Poker. These two other books might be harder to read, but they are required reading if you truly want to play poker like a pro.

Note: According to the book’s back jacket, Play Poker Like the Pros also offers winning strategies for No Limit Hold’em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, and Razz. However, half of the book is clearly dedicated to Limit Hold’em strategies. The other poker variations--each complex enough to warrant their own books--receives just bare-bone introductions.