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Phil Hellmuth

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Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth at the 2006 World Series of Poker
Nickname(s)The Poker Brat
ResidencePalo Alto, California
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)11
Money finish(es)63(+1)
Highest ITM
Main Event finish		Winner, 1989
World Poker Tour
Title(s)None
Final table(s)3(+2)
Money finish(es)10

Phillip J. Hellmuth, Jr. (born July 16, 1964) is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record eleven World Series of Poker bracelets,[1] and for his "poker brat" personality. He is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.[2]

Poker accomplishments

World Series of Poker

In 1989, the 24-year-old Hellmuth became the youngest player to win the Main Event of the WSOP by defeating the two-time defending champion, Johnny Chan in heads up play. At the 2006 World Series of Poker, he captured his record 10th World Series of Poker bracelet in the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with rebuys event.[3] At the time, this tied him with fellow poker legends Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan. However, unlike Brunson and Chan, all of his bracelets are in Texas hold'em.

At the 2007 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth won his record-breaking 11th bracelet in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Event.[4] Hellmuth also holds the record for most WSOP cashes (63)[5] and is tied with TJ Cloutier for most WSOP final tables (39).

Hellmuth has won $5,604,386 at the WSOP and is ranked 7th on the WSOP All Time Money List.[6]

World Series of Poker bracelets[7]

Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1989 $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship $755,000
1992 $5,000 Limit Hold'em $188,000
1993 $1,500 Limit Hold'em $138,000
1993 $2,500 No Limit Hold'em $161,400
1993 $5,000 No Limit Hold'em $173,000
1997 $3,000 Pot Limit Hold'em $204,000
2001 $2,000 No Limit Hold'em $316,000
2003 $2,500 Limit Hold'em $171,400
2003 $3,000 No Limit Hold'em $410,860
2006 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with rebuys $631,863
2007 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em $637,254

World Poker Tour

Hellmuth has not won a World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament. He has cashed 10 times and made 3 final tables. He finished 4th in the $3,000 No Limit Hold'em WPT Event at the 3rd Annual 49'er Gold Rush Bonanza in 2002 and 3rd in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em WPT Event at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods in 2003 and at the 2008 WPT L.A. Poker Classic Hellmuth finished in sixth place earning $229,480 in a final table that included both Phil Ivey and Nam Le. He also played in two WPT Invitational Events, the World Poker Tour by The Book in 2004 and the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II in 2006 and finished 3rd both times.[8]

To date, Hellmuth has won $589,964 in WPT tournaments.

Other tournaments

Hellmuth is the season 3 champion of Late Night Poker.[9]

In 2005, Hellmuth won the first National Heads-Up Poker Championship[10]. He defeated Men Nguyen, Paul Phillips, Huck Seed, Lyle Berman and Antonio Esfandiari on the way to the final against Chris Ferguson whom he defeated in two out of three games. While trying to repeat in 2006, he lost in the first round to Chip Reese[11]. In 2007, Hellmuth did not play due to the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker, a British tournament in which he took part. He won 4 out of his 6 group matches and eventually finished 3rd in the finals. Hellmuth took part in the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship[12], losing in the first round to Tom Dwan.

He makes regular appearances on episodes of Poker After Dark, both as a player and as a drop in commentator. Hellmuth won his first Poker After Dark tournament in the opening third season of 2008, winning $120,000. Hellmuth returned two weeks later and claimed his second Poker After Dark title, winning another $120,000.[8] He also appeared in the first and fourth seasons of GSN's cash game show, High Stakes Poker[13].

As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,000,000.[8] He is ranked 4th on the All Time Money List, behind Jamie Gold, Joe Hachem, and Allen Cunningham.[14]

Hellmuth has made several instructional poker videos, including his Ultimate White To Black Belt Course and Phil Hellmuth's Million Dollar Poker Secrets. He has written many articles for Cardplayer magazine and several poker books including Play Poker like the Pros, Bad Beats and Lucky Draws, The Greatest Poker Hands ever Played, and Poker Brat, which contains autobiographical material as well as poker advice. In May 2004 Phil Helmuth partnered with Oasys Mobile for the release of Texas Hold'em with Phil Hellmuth, the industry's first true multiplayer mobile phone game.[15] In spring 2006, Hellmuth replaced Phil Gordon as commentator on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown.[16]

Personality and controversy

Phil Hellmuth at the 2006 World Series of Poker.

Hellmuth is known for making scathing remarks about his opponents’ skills, especially after taking bad beats.[17]

During the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker he stated "I can dodge bullets, baby!" after laying down Ace King to an opponent's pocket Aces on a board of A 4 4 Q rainbow. He later accused Jim Pitman of not even being able to spell poker after Pitman put all of his money in the pot preflop with King Jack against Hellmuth's Ace King; Hellmuth's opponent hit a three-outer to win the pot.[18]

Other famous quotes include: "If luck weren't involved, I guess I'd win every one," and "I've revolutionized the way to play Texas hold 'em."[19]

In the first week of the show Poker After Dark on NBC, after fellow pros Shawn Sheikhan, Steve Zolotow, Gus Hansen and Huck Seed refused to stop talking while it was his turn to act on his hand after Annie Duke raised him, Hellmuth threatened to never play in these tournaments again. Duke was the only player at the table who remained quiet while the drama played out. Hellmuth eventually came back and was eliminated a few hands later.[20]

Hellmuth's sponsor, UltimateBet, arranged for him to arrive at the 2007 WSOP Main Event in an Ultimatebet race car, escorted by 11 Ultimatebet models (one for each of Hellmuth's 11 World Series of Poker bracelets). However, Hellmuth crashed the race car in the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino parking lot when he lost control of vehicle and hit a concrete light fixture. After the accident, Hellmuth showed up in a limo, met his escorts, and made his grand entrance to the Main Event two hours late.[21]The accident created some controversy because some people thought that the accident was staged, but Hellmuth said it wasn't.[22] He later made light of the accident in a television advertisement for Ultimatebet.

Personal life

Hellmuth was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for three years before dropping out to play poker full-time. He currently resides in Palo Alto, California with his wife Katherine Sanborn and two sons, Phillip and Nicholas.[23]

Hellmuth's wife played in the Ladies' Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker, where she was eliminated by eventual champion Jennifer Tilly.

References

  1. ^ "Record 11th bracelet".
  2. ^ Hellmuth, Enright Inducted into Poker Hall of Fame
  3. ^ Hellmuth wins 10th bracelet
  4. ^ Hellmuth wins 11th bracelet
  5. ^ "WSOP cashes".
  6. ^ WSOP All Time Money List
  7. ^ "Hellmuth poker victories".
  8. ^ a b c Hendon Mob Tournament Results
  9. ^ "Late Night Poker winners".
  10. ^ "Hellmuth wins NHUPC".
  11. ^ "Hellmuth can't defend".
  12. ^ "Hellmuth schedule".
  13. ^ ‘High Stakes Poker’ Featuring a $100,000 MINIMUM Buy-In PREMIERES ON GSN
  14. ^ All Time Money List
  15. ^ Wireless Developer Network
  16. ^ Hellmuth replaces Gordon on Bravo
  17. ^ Phil Hellmuth Jr. Biography
  18. ^ PHIL HELLMUTH Quotes, Rants, Raves and Famous Crybaby Moments!
  19. ^ Phil Hellmuth Jr. Biography
  20. ^ Phil Hellmuth's Blog
  21. ^ WSOP Updates, $10,000 Main Event, Day 1d
  22. ^ Phil Hellmuth Car Crash Raises More Questions Than Answers
  23. ^ Phil Hellmuth Biography
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