How to play poker like a jerk...er, like a pro.

I stopped by the Green Valley Book Fair this past weekend and to my pleasant surprise, I was able to pick up cheap a copy of Phil Hellmuth's Play Poker Like the Pros. Phil Hellmuth is the Bobby Fischer of poker, not simply in the sense that he is a mathematical genius and unarguably one of the greatest players of all time, but also because his childish antics at the table result in cringing embarrassment and derisive laughter for fans and players nationwide. His book, however, is reasonably benign in tone, and save a couple of asides set in paragraphs and a little bit of passive-aggressive snottiness (like referring to Robert Varkonyi, the guy who knocked him out in the 2002 World Series of Poker, as an "investment banker") it would be hard to figure out his table demeanor simply from reading this book.

The book is a page-turner if you love poker, but in terms of strategy he does not really go into the detail a beginner might like. He also seems to favor a very aggressive style of play, which seems to fit with his bullying style at the table, but again, this might be a little off-putting for a beginner (and indeed, hard for a beginner to pull off). He does talk about Omaha and Razz strategies in his book, which was a nice bonus for me (since I'm a novice low-limit Hold 'em player). Since I only paid $4.50 for this book, I can wholeheartedly recommend it as an interesting read and a good supplement to your poker knowledge, but total novices would probably be better off reading Lee Jones's book.