Rating: 
Summary: Good and Bad
Review: I was hesitant to read this book because it was not well received by several boards/newsgroups. I think it is a mistake not to read this book, partially because Phil Hellmuth can be a great player when his game is on. But more because I think there is some useful information in the book and the book is cheap compared to other poker books.Be prepared for self glorification from Phil and try to read past it for some useful, but not earth shattering, poker info.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book... would like a little more.
Review: World Champion poker player Phil Helmuth is a great author and this book "Play Poker Like the Pros" is very clearly written. I have read it about 3 times now... it is not boring by any means. Don't expect it to make you play like a pro though, you need a lot of practice and need to read more than this one book! Anyways, above all, i think it is a really good book and I recommend it... the only thing i would like to see is a little more... it doesn't go in depth very much.
Rating:
Summary: Play like a Huh? My Head Hurts.
Review: Phil Hellmuth has enjoyed a truly meteoric rise to poker fame. Not only is he the youngest player ever to win "The Big One", the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship at the World Series of Poker in 1989, but he has won almost innumerable titles since then. Most folks who'd know consider Hellmuth to be among the finest tournament players in the world, and when he's not playing tournaments he can be found playing either in some of the highest limit money games around, or online at UltimateBet.com. With the veritable explosion in poker popularity in recent years and with Hellmuth's success, it's only natural that this attention-grabbing poker star share his knowledge of the game he loves. Play Poker Like the Pros jumps right in by explaining Texas Hold'em at an introductory level. This primer on the mechanics of the game does a pretty thorough job of covering the basics with an economy of words, and we progress to Hellmuth's strategic advice almost immediately. Limit Hold'em isn't the only game covered, the author also discusses No-Limit and Pot-Limit Hold'em, Limit and Pot-Limit Omaha High, Omaha High-Low, Seven-card Stud, Razz, and Seven-card Stud High-Low. The last chapter in the book covers playing poker online. The book concludes with some appendices covering the rank of poker hands, a description of Hellmuth's Champion of the Year award, a list of the most prestigious poker tournaments, and some brief information on what it's like to play in the World Series of Poker. Overall, Hellmuth's explanations on game strategy are an enigma to me. While there is a great deal of worthwhile advice, there are also places where I was left dumbfounded by some of the suggestions he makes. Does he really believe that a pair of sevens to be one of the top ten hands in low-limit Limit Hold'em? Should you really raise with it on the flop if you haven't made a set or you don't have an over pair to the board? His advice seems most applicable to games where folks play tight and passive, where they can be run over by sheer aggression. This just isn't the case in the 3-6 games I've seen, even if you name is Phil Hellmuth, Jr.. Heck, I'd expect that his advice on Limit Hold'em probably works better in a No-limit tournament than it would in a 3-6 game at the Commerce. Another thing that bothers me is that in almost all his examples Hellmuth tacitly assumes you're up against only one other player when it's time to bet (or not bet) on the end. While this is often true, I would prefer if he had spent the extra effort to lay out each situation he discusses more precisely, although once you understand the situation, his advice usually makes a great deal of sense. In fact, some of the plays and strategies he espouses are downright inspired. In my opinion, the problem is that a great deal of this book doesn't maintain that level of excellence. Each of the games Hellmuth discusses obviously warrants its own book, if not several. Consequently, there is much that is left unsaid on each particular game. While the strategies printed in this book are not the most complete in print, that doesn't mean they don't contain useful information. Sometimes, though, crucial information is left out. In order from best to worst, I'd rank his strategies as follows: Omaha High, Omaha High-Low, No-limit Hold'em, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Limit Hold'em. Even after a significant amount of reflection, I still can't easily categorize his chapter on Seven-card Stud High-Low. Others may certainly disagree, and I don't consider myself to be an expert in all these games. Play Poker Like the Pros seems to be targeted at a relatively inexperienced audience, which makes me of two minds about this book. Those true beginners who read, digest, understand, and follow Hellmuth's advice will almost certainly become much better poker players as a consequence. However, I believe that as the reader grows in experience, they will probably need to unlearn a great deal of what they read in this book, and they will have to understand a great deal that isn't covered. I fear that this might be a painful process. On the other hand, despite the descriptions of games that are oriented toward beginners, there are enough good tricks in here that an experienced poker player will likely have enough to think about to make reading the book worthwhile, if for no other reason than to glean how some of the biggest names in poker approach certain games. So, do I recommend this book or not? After some soul searching, I would have to say, "Yes, with some reservations." Play Poker Like the Pros can certainly make weak players better, but I don't believe all of the advice on all games is good. In places, this book provides some thought-provoking ideas for more advanced players, but there are a lot of gaps in its coverage. Even the places where I think Hellmuth's strategies are flawed, though, they can often be useful as an extra "gear" to have available under certain circumstances, even if the reader wouldn't want to play that way all the time. If you are a new poker player and would like to start playing poker online at www.partypoker.com - make sure you use the bonus code: "AMAZON25" and you will receive $25 free on your first purchase at www.PartyPoker.com. If you already play at PartyPoker, you can also play at www.Pokerroom.com. Use the promotion code "100BONUS" and you will receive 20% up to $100. Good Luck and Play Well,
PokerMan
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT BOOK FOR BEGINNERS / NOT FOR THE ADVANCED
Review: This book starts from the VERY beginning and explains things clearly; it assumes you know nothing about Hold 'Em, so it's an excellent book for someone who has never played before. Intermediate or advanced players should already be familiar with the information presented here. ** for I/A players, but ***** for beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Way too many exclamation points!!!!!!!
Review: The high number of exclamation points was very annoying to me, but I blame that on the editor. I enjoyed reading Phil's book. The book supplies the reader with a beginning-level fundamental strategy. Follow Phil's Top 10 strategy and you will win some hands, and maybe even some games if you slowly add the other strategies he mentions. But, you will definitely be around the game long enough to learn how to play and practice reading others. It will take A LOT of patience to play this strategy, especially when you see other players taking pots with hands you could have beaten them with had you played your cards.
I enjoyed the examples of his tournament experiences and I think they helped the flow of the book (it is not a reference book). The stories are not all just him bragging (wait for his autobiography for that) - in one example he lost $100k on one hand and was eliminated from a tournament.
Remember, no book is going to make you a great Poker player. This book, however, can help turn you into a solid one.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Will Improve Your Game
Review: Poker pro, Phil Hellmuth is a bit of a crybaby on the poker circuit, but he's without question one of the world's greatest players. Hellmuth shares his poker wisdom on Hold 'Em and other poker games in this book, which is well worth the investment for any serious player. I only read the portion of the book which dealt with Hold 'Em, but I was very impressed by what I read. It sounds so easy, yet it's an extremely disciplined approach to the game which most players find impossible to consistantly maintain. Hellmuth relates not ony which hands to play, but how to play them, depending on what type of players you find yourself up against. If you are a beginning poker player, or even intermediate, you must read this book, which will be paid for by the first pot it enables you to rake.
Rating:
Summary: Hellmuth writes a Helluva Good Book.
Review: I am new to Texas Hold'em so I bought three books on the subject. I like this one the best because it is easy to read and has interesting references to Phil's poker pal's and personal experience. The poker strategy seems to work for me but I am also incorporating information learned from the other books as well as playing for a couple of hours every day on the computer before hitting the tables. If you like watching Phil Hellmuth on TV with the rest of the pros you will enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good if you understand what is being said
Review: Hellmuth's book was the first book I've read. Since then, I've read Brunson's and Slansky's. I took this strategy to a low limit game, and it worked well when I was playing GOOD players. I could bluff and take pots because my table image was tight. When I got into tables where people played loose and called everything down, it was over (i.e. low limit games). I got slaughtered. However, I really reccommend this book if you play tournaments. This book really will get you KILLED if you 1) play low limits, or if 2) you don't understand what is being said in this book. It really pays to be aggressive. Betting is your most powerful tool, after folding. The key here though is SELECTIVE aggression. Being aggressive wins you your lions share of uncontested pots, and increases your odds of taking down pots because it increases the chances of going heads heads up in a pot with someone (by virtue of betting everyone out), where you can proceed to destroy them, or fold if you sense they're strong. I think the reason why some players didn't like this book is because they're misinterpreting what agressive means. Its very EASY to learn how to be aggressive, but selective aggressiveness is DIFFICULT to learn. Being aggressive just means raising all the time. Being selective means knowing when to raise, and knowing when to FOLD and back off when sensing strength. The ability to know when to back off is a reading ability, but this can be learned, but is only learned through EXPERIENCE. Like Hellmuth says, you NEED to play in order to make this book useful. Experience gives you the understanding of two key ingredients to winning poker: 1) selective aggressiveness and 2) understanding the importance of table image. Get the experience, and keep referring to this book, and it'll all make sense eventually.
Rating:
Summary: A good Book for the Starter.
Review: First off, like many of you here it sure is funny to watch Phil lose. Now that being said I read the novice and intermediate chapters before I got in my first Live Tournament ($50 dollar buy-in, 49 players) and I Took 3rd place ($200). So I can say that this book paid for it self. I think its a good book with easy strategy to follow and I would recomend this book to the beginers, seeing thats me, a beginer. thanks Phil for giving me $200 return on my $15 investment.
Rating: 
Summary: Phil Hellmuth is Funny
Review: Wait-- no not funny, an ass. But this book is funny. I give it to my novice friends as a joke gift. I put Play Like the Pros on top of Lee Jones's book so Phil's ego and bad advice can flatten the cover of the Jones book since I like to bend the spines of books that I read. Oh man, Phil's a riot to watch though, when he loses.
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