Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth

That’s the name of the book I just finished writing with Dusty “leatherass” Schmidt. I finished my final edits yesterday, and in a marvel of modern technology and book design, you can already purchase and download the e-book at giantbuddhapoker.com. The hard copy ships January 2^nd. That’s fast.

Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth took over four months to write, rewrite and revise. It felt like a long time because I expected the book to take just two months, and the delay pushed back my Supernova Elite chase to the point of extinction. Looking at the process, though, four months is an extremely short time frame for a project like this. After all, Dusty had to teach me the finer points of No Limit Holdem, then I had to put them into writing, and then we had to refine and reinforce the material to the point where it can teach you the finer points of No Limit Holdem. Learning something to the point of being able to teach it is an intense process.

When Dusty asked me to work with him on this project, I said yes for three reasons. First of all, there’s the money. I’ve never been overly motivated by the greenbacks, but the prospect of making good money as a writer appeals to me. Dusty’s first book Treat Your Poker Like A Business has sold very well, so I figure this book is a good bet to sell at least as well, maybe better since it’s bigger and jam-packed with strategy advice.

The second thing that appealed to me about writing this book was the chance to develop a bigger name as a writer. Ten years from now, I think I’d rather be writing than playing poker, although I imagine I’ll still be doing both. Having the opportunity to hone my craft, put my name on a book that will end up in a lot of hands, and get paid for it, was not something I could pass up.

Finally, there was the chance to work with Dusty Schmidt. He’s a polarizing figure in the poker world and possibly the biggest online winner outside of the nosebleeds. I admired his work ethic and assumed he must be doing something right strategically to be making all that money. So I thought talking to him for a hundred hours or so might be fun and would certainly be educational.

Well, we’ll see how motivations #1 and #2 pan out, but I have to say the book’s already worth it for me on account of #3. Not only is Dusty a thoroughly good dude, he possesses a keen mind for poker strategy and an ability to articulate the logic behind all of his plays. He never says, “Well, I usually do this here because I feel like it’s the best play.” Or, “I like a bet here.” Or to borrow a line from the book, “I led out here to find out where I stood.” He always has a well-defined reason for each play, and I think you’ll see that in our book. The second part of the book, “25 Hands With Dusty,” showcases this particularly well.

We had a hell of a lot of fun writing this book, and we hope you have a lot of fun reading it.

Paperback Writer

I received a package slip from UPS two days ago. "Could it be my book?" I wondered. As I hustled downstairs, I employed a tilt-avoidance technique described in Way of the Poker Warrior. (I developed it for poker and martial arts to prepare for the full range of possibilities, but it's just as effective for avoiding wrong-package tilt.) There was a decent chance that this was not my book. In fact, I had three separate packages, and not one of them was my book.

It was six weeks ago that Way of the Poker Warrior was officially published, but the hard copies were not printed until last Wednesday. The ebooks went out immediately, but there were delays at the printing house. Still, in the publishing business, 4 months from inception to production is outstanding. I can't complain. Today I can finally hold one in my hands.

If you ordered the printed version, I hope you have your own copy by now. I apologize for the delay, and if you send an email to info@imagine-media.net, we'll more than make up for it.

So I've got a stack of 20 books ready to be distributed among my friends, family, and teachers. All I have left to do is figure out which page I'm supposed to sign, what pen to use, and what to say. There was a Seinfeld episode about this.

Nothing makes you feel like a writer so much as holding a book with your name on the cover. And now I feel like a writer.

Way of the Poker Warrior

It turns out that writing a book is both difficult and time consuming. It's also a hell of a lot of fun. I am proud to announce that I have spent the past six weeks writing and revising my first book, titled Way of the Poker Warrior: A black belt's guide to conquering the tables. Better yet, it will be published by Imagine Media and available on my new website and elsewhere within the next few weeks.

This is not the first book I have written, but it is the first book I have finished. They say that writing is rewriting, and that's the difference between a completed book and a finished book. Completed first drafts of a novel and a screenplay sit on my shelves, but I never got around to sanding the edges and making them the best they can be. I only spent six weeks doing that for Way of the Poker Warrior, but I had two huge advantages: an editor and a deadline.

Writing for a deadline is tough. Harnessing creativity on command is not simple. But being on a mission can be inspiring in its own way. Knowing that I had a deadline to make and that this was actually getting published provided the drive to push through to 4 PM on days when I had to. 4 PM may sound like an early quitting time to some, but when you begin work at 8 PM the night before, it has a different feel.

Writing for an editor is easy. Well, writing for a good editor is easy. Criticism can be hard to take, but when it's constructive criticism attached to intelligent suggestions, it makes the process more efficient and productive. While I did all of my own writing for this book, Scott Brown made sure to get the most out of my poker, teaching, and writing abilities.

I'd like to thank Scott for helping me write the best first book I could. I'd also like to thank my teacher, Grandmaster Suk Jun Kim, legendary grinder Dusty Schmidt, and DragTheBar CEO Hunter Bick for contributing awesome forewords and afterwords on my behalf.

So what's this book about? It's about martial arts and poker; learning and teaching; and a way of life. There is blood and sweat; peace and discipline; and sexy river check/raises. I do my best to be honest, introspective, and informative while switching gears from entertaining narrative to broad poker lessons to in-depth hand analysis, with the pride of a samurai and the humility of a monk. Or some crap like that.

You can read it soon enough and let me know if I hit my marks.