This weekend before last I went down to Biloxi. It was my first time, ever, in a casino. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Few times in my life have I ever encountered such a true stereotype. It was like a deposit station with neon lights. An incredible business model if you ask me. People giving you their money…and enjoying every minute of it. Though there is one game on the floor that stands apart from the rest. The competitors do not compete against the house at soaring odds; they go head to head in a fight to the death, using all the weapons and skill that they have to try and overcome their opponents (at least that’s what it feels like sometimes). And Poker is the game.
I bought in with what little I could spare and was short-stacked by at least triple what every other player had. Two days later I had more than doubled my money, feeling pretty good about myself. Then the Lady smiled on me and God gave me a miracle from heaven. Our table hit a Jackpot hand and I won $1200 cash right there on the spot. It was opportune to say the least (having impending dept on my car). Even though it just seemed to be my day, I wouldn’t have even been on the table if I had busted early on that first day.
I have played a decent amount of poker I suppose, a home game every now and then. I have watched a little TV and a few World Series of Poker tournaments, most people have since the sport took off almost a decade ago. But I can definitely say that one thing has helped me more than any other. Playing Poker Like the Pros by Phil Hellmuth. Before this book I had just enough experience to get me in trouble and had reached a point where I wasn’t learning anything new. This book has laid a firm foundation of poker thought from which I am able to grow and learn, giving insight into the mind of arguably the best poker player in history.
Phil Hellmuth has won 11 WSOP bracelets and an incredible figure in tournament winnings. He is the mountain over which others must climb if they want to put their mark in poker history. He starts the book at the very beginning, a very good place to start. He goes through game theory and techniques at different levels in all the popular games. His strategy gives you the knowledge of the game that then gives you confidence, the key to any poker game. Giving you important rules to follow…like not playing over your level but to build in small increments. Although the game has changed a bit in the upper skill levels over the years since it was written, the “poker-craze” allows for many little fish to be eaten in the big pond of small stakes poker. If one applies oneself, one can use Phil’s work to cash out on these donating machines.
-John P.
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