[cbloom]

A lot of Phil's ability to play this way comes from image. If you are just some average guy and start attacking flops all the time, people will play back at you and it will be -EV. People are scared to play back at Phil because they know he can call down with middle pair when that's the best hand, or he can come back over the top when they're weak. Your little stab at the flop has no "weight" unless the people are afraid to tangle with you because you're known as smart and aggressive.

You can create a strong LAG image by backing up some of your little stabs with some big plays, but you have to be very good at reading when you're ahead to that. Phil puts himself in a lot of marginal situations that are very hard to play, and you must play them correctly for this style to be profitable.

Also, even if all the little pot steals are -EV they create a wonderful image for when you actually hit a big hand, it makes it much more likely that you double up with a hand like TPTK.

The High Stakes No Limit forum has a lot of discussions of LAG play.