FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Schmidt Turns Tables On Fellow Pros With New ‘Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth’
‘Leatherass’ Takes On Poker Establishment In Book Announced Today
PORTLAND, Ore. — November 20, 2010 — Poker pro and noted author Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt, whose year-old Treat Your Poker Like A Business confronted conventional wisdom in how the game is viewed and evaluated, is not backing down with his audacious second title, Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth: Correcting The 50 Worst Pieces of Poker Advice You’ve Ever Heard. Schmidt announced on his website today the book will debut for the public Dec. 6 and can be pre-ordered now.
Schmidt, a legendary online “grinder,” has played more than 9 million hands and won nearly $4 million in his five-year career. Since his career began in June 2005, Schmidt has strung together 66 consecutive winning months without ever experiencing a losing one. Treat Your Poker Like A Business, well on its way toward selling tens of thousands of copies internationally, has been published in eight languages since its celebrated debut in December 2009. With Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth, which he co-wrote with fellow pro Paul Christopher Hoppe, Schmidt says he’s upping the ante when it comes to providing his readers with completely original poker education.
In the book, Schmidt and Hoppe systematically correct what they consider to be poker’s 50 greatest misconceptions, many of which were first put forth by some of the game’s luminaries. No one is spared, be they world champions, television commentators or other self-proclaimed experts.
“The point of the book is not to be disrespectful or to suggest I’m smart and they’re not,” Schmidt says. “It’s because of poker’s explosive popularity that instruction that should never have been sacred became just that. The common perception of what constitutes good play is based almost entirely on what comes from the mouths of prominent names. Despite this advice being flawed, misapplied or flat-out wrong, much of it represents the foundation of what we think we know about poker.
“The book is meant to question some of the things we consider fundamental about the game. We don’t just say that something is wrong; we prove it. I like to think that while other books take jabs at conventional wisdom, this one goes 15 rounds and takes on all comers. I’m very proud of it. Whether it’s revolutionary is for others to say, but I do feel it is evolutionary.”
Scott Brown, CEO of Imagine Media, LLC, which published Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth, thinks the book will have as large an impact as Treat Your Poker Like A Business, if not larger.
“The book is like a FactCheck.org or ‘Mythbusters’ for poker,” he said. “I’m constantly amazed at what great thinkers Dusty and Paul are. They truly write things that you’ve never seen written anywhere else, and they don’t do it for the sake of being sensational. I think they both have ‘beautiful minds,’ I really do.
“The book tips a lot of sacred cows, but not in a way that’s bratty. They respectfully disagree with conventional poker wisdom and craft their arguments intelligently. I feel unequivocally that people will play more profitable poker instantly by virtue of reading the book.”
What is at the root of the misinformation that has become conventional poker wisdom? Schmidt and Hoppe say the answer is twofold.
First, when the poker boom happened in 2003, television needed celebrities, and Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, et al, were the luminaries of the day despite competing against lesser competition. Their advice became gospel by virtue of their filling an information void. “It’s a cult of personality,” Schmidt said.
Second, because poker — particularly tournament poker — involves an element of luck, players are given the title of World Poker Tour champion without truly earning the credential. Seizing the moment, these players write books, produce DVDs, and accept announcing contracts, all of which are forums for the proffering of advice that is just waiting to be misapplied.
“Think of it in golf terms,” Schmidt said. “Say we played a nine-hole tournament, and under blue skies I went out and shot a 29. Then Tiger Woods goes out in rain and sleet and shoots 30. Am I a better player than Tiger? Of course not. But poker would reward me as if I was, despite the fact that I just got lucky.”
Though he is far from the only pro mentioned in the book, Schmidt and Hoppe take issue with Hellmuth because of his stubborn refusal to let his game evolve.
“Phil was once a great player,” Schmidt says. “But his game has stood completely still. His ego won’t let him accept change, and I feel he’s rested on his laurels. Even worse, he will tell you the game he was playing in 1988 is the best style ever, and how dare you question the champ? To me this would be like Lee Iacocca — visionary that he was — arguing that his 1983 K-cars were superior to today’s models with hybrid technology, front-wheel steering and computer-assisted design.”
The authors agree that a fondness or distaste for a particular player did not have any bearing on the misconceptions they corrected in the book.
“We held each piece of advice to two standards: First, does this advice get in the way of players being profitable; and second, can we prove it?”
Schmidt and Hoppe are both lead instructors at poker instruction website DragTheBar.com. In the book, they openly question that while golfers have one swing coach and baseball players have one hitting coach, why do poker players entertain advice so indiscriminately from multiple sources?
“Unlike other sports, poker advice comes with a profit motive,” Schmidt says. “It’s as much an investment tip as it is about technique. Everyone is trying to get a jump on the competition, so they’re less discriminating about who they listen to.”
Schmidt and Hoppe argue it’s best to winnow down your coaches to just a few who have a track record of success. If they become those trusted advisors, so much the better.
“A player can be great playing online or live,” Schmidt said. “But as an online player, I have the luxury of being able to prove my success. I can put up a graph that no mathematician can dispute. I typically play more hands in a week than most live players do in a year. If I play 52 weeks of poker in a year, by live standards I have five decades worth of hands at the end of 12 months. Being this is my sixth year playing professionally, you could say I have at least a couple centuries worth of hands behind me relative to a live player. I succeed or fail very publicly. It’s all a matter of record, and I can’t hide from it. If I’m trusting my game to someone, I’d bet on the person with millions of hands in the rear view versus someone who might be good but might not.”
A No Limit pro who plays mostly at the 5/10 level, Schmidt is also a columnist for Card Player magazine.
Hoppe is both a successful mid-stakes Limit player and a fourth-degree black belt. His earlier book, Way of the Poker Warrior, was released in July 2010 to great critical acclaim. Warrior blends Eastern philosophy with theories about poker, as Hoppe skillfully applies his hard-won martial arts knowledge to game theory, balance and heads-up play.
Hoppe said it didn’t take long to accept Schmidt’s offer to co-author the book.
“Twenty minutes after he asked me, I called him back and told him there was nothing to think about,” Hoppe said. “Passing up an opportunity to work with the most successful grinder in the history of online poker would have been idiotic. As more of a Limit player myself, I learned a ton about No Limit and discovered a level of beauty and craft in bet sizing of which I was previously unaware.”
“Paul is a great player and writer,” Brown said. “You’re going to see a lot more of him on both fronts. He’s one you should be paying close attention to. He’s very smart and very creative, as well as being a super teacher. He’s going to be a huge part of our writer family.”
Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth: Correcting The 50 Worst Pieces Of Poker Advice You’ve Ever Heard, is available at www.dustyschmidt.net. The book is more than pages, and costs $49.99. It is available in both hard copy and e-book format.
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Press contact:
Scott Brown
831-224-3187
Scott@imagine-books.net
