Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth: Correcting The 50 Worst Pieces Of Poker Advice You've Ever Heard

Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth* Correcting The 50 Worst Pieces of Poker Advice You’ve Ever Heard *Or a host of other ‘world champs’, TV commentators and other self-proclaimed experts DUSTY SCHMIDT & PAUL CHRISTOPHER HOPPE Imagine Media, LLC 2010 Imagine Media Trade Paperback Edition Copyright © 2010 by Dusty Schmidt and Paul Christopher Hoppe All rights reserved Published in the United States by Imagine Media, LLC Imagine Media is a trademark of Imagine Media, LLC Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schmidt, Dusty & Hoppe, Paul Christopher Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth, Correcting the 50 Worst Pieces of Poker Advice You’ve Ever Heard By Dusty Schmidt and Paul Christopher Hoppe ISBN: 978-0-9843363-0-2 Printed in the United States of America www.dustyschmidt.net www.giantbuddhapoker.com Edited by Scott Brown Book design by Tracy Hopper DEDICATION D.S. For Matt Amen, who persevered with me through my early mistakes, and for all the new players starting out. May your mistakes be few and short-lived. P.C.H For Phil Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker, Mike Sexton, David Sklansky, and all the other authors, announcers, players and champions who've given advice ranging from excellent to awful, relevant to outdated. For our readers who have sifted through it all and not known which advice to follow. And to members of the next generation, watchful for the time when any of our advice becomes antique. CONTENTS DedicationI AcknowledgmentsV IntroductionVII PART 1 CORRECTING THE 50 WORST PIECES OF POKER ADVICE YOU’VE EVER HEARD 1. Avoid Tough Decisions 4 2. Preflop Play Doesn’t Matter That Much 8 3. Starting Hand Charts Are For Beginners 10 4. Pick A Style And Stick With It 15 5. The Key To Getting Paid Off Is Playing Loose So No One Can Put You On A Hand 22 6. Supertight Is Better Than Tight 26 7. Make All Your Preflop Raises The Same Size 29 8. Punish The Limpers! 36 9. Punish The Nits! 40 10. 3-Betting A Lot Makes Me Tough 43 11. Do Not Touch My Blinds 49 12. The Small Blind Is Impossible To Play 53 13. Suited Connectors Win All The Big Pots In No Limit Holdem 56 14. Bring Your Big Guns To A War! 61 15. Bigger 3-Bets Get More Folds 67 16. Make One Decision At A Time 72 17. “The key to No Limit Hold’em is to put a man to a decision for all his chips.” 81 18. Calling Is Weak 91 19. You Can’t Make That Play Unless You Balance It 97 20. I Have To Bet This Flop Because I Don’t Want To Give Up 103 21. Checking And Folding The Flop Is Weak 108 22. Never Leave Your Children Out There 111 23. Always C-bet The Same Amount 113 24. Save The Small Bets For The Kiddie Game 117 25. Call now. Re-evaluate The Turn. 122 26. Great Players Never Fold The Best Hand 125 27. If You Have The Best Hand, Raise! 128 28. Raise To Find Out Where You Stand 131 29. Lead Out To Find Out Where You Stand 135 30. Don’t Donk 142 31. Always Play Your Draws Aggressively 147 32. Don’t Get Blown Off Your Hand 151 33. Never Bet The Minimum 162 34. Real Men Make Real Raises 167 35. You Need A Monster To Get Involved Against A Bet And A Raise 170 36. Don’t Bluff In Multiway Pots 174 37. Your Bluff Should Tell A Story 177 38. Sell Your Han