Just so you know dwarffish, some of the most dangerous players at a table are amatuers. There have been more than one pro that said they would rather play another pro at a tourny than an amatuer. thats is becuase their play is sooo sporatic. They also tend to stay in on hands that should of been laid down and end up catching it on the river with pure luck. That will only get you so far. you might be able to get some of the tells on an amateur, but they usually dont really know what they are holding on to. Granted the amateur has to have some skill to make it that far on the world series of poker. But honestly alot of that is luck. what sets phil apart are his ability to calculate the odds and read people. That is something that will consistantly get you to the final table.i wish that i knew more abou his play as well, but I know that i couldn't apply it. I am not that kind of mind which makes me mediocre at best at the game.