| Phil Hellmuth | |
|---|---|
Hellmuth at the 2008 World Series of Poker
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| Nickname(s) | The Poker Brat |
| Born | July 16, 1964 Madison, Wisconsin |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 14 |
| Final table(s) | 54 |
| Money finish(es) | 113 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish |
Winner, 1989 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 4 |
| Money finish(es) | 13 |
| Information accurate as of 30 June 2015. | |
Phillip Jerome Hellmuth, Jr. (born July 16, 1964) is an American professional poker player who has captured a record fourteen World Series of Poker bracelets. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the Main Event of the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), and he is a member of the WSOP's Poker Hall of Fame. Hellmuth is also known for his temperamental "poker brat" personality.
Hellmuth was born in Madison, Wisconsin and attended Madison West High School before moving on to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for three years, where he dropped out to play poker full-time.
Since 1992, he has lived in Palo Alto, California with his wife Katherine Sanborn (a psychiatrist at Stanford University) and their two sons Philip III and Nicholas.
As of March 2015, his total live tournament winnings is $18,282,014. He is ranked seventh on the all-time money list. Hellmuth is known for usually taking his seat at poker tournaments long after they begin. On October 18, 2015, Hellmuth is ranked #119 on the Global Poker Index. (He has been ranked as high as #4 in December 2012.)
Phil Hellmuth at the 2006 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; Hellmuth's record was broken by Peter Eastgate in 2008. Hellmuth holds the records for most WSOP cashes (108) and most WSOP final tables (52), overtaking T. J. Cloutier.
As of March 2015, Hellmuth has won over $12,000,000 at the WSOP and ranks fourth on the WSOP All Time Money List, behind Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Colman, and Daniel Negreanu. Hellmuth also is tied for fifth all time in number of times cashed in the WSOP Main Event. He has seven Main Event cashes (1988, 1989, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2008, and 2009), placing him behind Berry Johnston (10), and Humberto Brenes, Doyle Brunson, and Bobby Baldwin (9).
Twelve of Hellmuth's fourteen bracelets have been in Texas hold'em, though he has had quite a bit of success in non-hold'em events. As of the start of the 2015 World Series, 22 of his 52 final tables are for a variety of games, including 2-7 Lowball, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, Seven Card Razz, and Omaha hold'em (Pot Limit, Limit, and Hi-Lo), as well as mixed gamed like H.O.R.S.E and the Poker Player's Championship; his first-ever WSOP final table (and first-ever WSOP cash) was in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo in 1988, and his second-ever WSOP final table (and third-ever WSOP cash) was in Pot Limit Omaha hold'em w/Rebuys in 1989. (His third-ever WSOP final table (and fifth-ever WSOP cash) was his Main Event victory in 1989.) Of those 22 events, Hellmuth has finished runner-up six times.
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$/EU€) |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship | $755,000 |
| 1992 | $5,000 Limit Hold'em | $168,000 |
| 1993 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em | $161,400 |
| 1993 | $2,500 No Limit Hold'em | $173,000 |
| 1993 | $5,000 Limit Hold'em | $138,000 |
| 1997 | $3,000 Pot Limit Hold'em | $204,000 |
| 2001 | $2,000 No Limit Hold'em | $316,550 |
| 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 |
| 2012 | $2,500 Seven-Card Razz | $182,793 |
| 2012E | €10,450 No Limit Hold'em Main Event | €1,022,376 |
| 2015 | $10,000 Seven-Card Razz | $271,105 |
At the 1993 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth became the second player in WSOP history to win three bracelets in one WSOP. (Walter "Puggy" Pearson was the first to do so in 1973; one of those bracelets was for winning the Main Event.) Hellmuth's three victories came in three consecutive days; incredibly, Ted Forrest also won three bracelets in three consecutive days at the 1993 WSOP to become the third player in WSOP history to win three bracelets in one WSOP.
At the 1997 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth won his 5th bracelet of the decade. At the conclusion of the 1999 World Series of Poker, his five bracelets would stand to lead the decade for most WSOP bracelets won by one player in the 1990s.
At the 2006 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth captured his 10th World Series of Poker bracelet in the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with rebuys event. At the time, it tied him with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan for most bracelets. At the 2007 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth won his record-breaking 11th bracelet in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Event.
Hellmuth's sponsor arranged for him to arrive at the 2007 WSOP Main Event in a race car. Hellmuth lost control of the car in the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino parking lot and hit a light fixture. He gave up the car for a limo, arriving at the Main Event two hours late.
At the 2008 WSOP Main Event Hellmuth verbally abused another player and received a one-round penalty. After a private meeting with WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack the penalty was overruled and Hellmuth finished the tournament in 45th place.
In the 2011 World Series of Poker, Phil finished second in three tournaments, in the 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship, the Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship, and The Poker Player's Championship eight-game mix.
On June 11, 2012, Hellmuth won his 12th World Series of Poker bracelet in the $2,500 Seven-Card Razz event, defeating Don Zewin and earning $182,793. Zewin had finished third to Chan and Hellmuth when Hellmuth won his first bracelet in 1989. This is the first bracelet Hellmuth has won in a non-hold'em event, and made him the first player to win at least one bracelet in each of the last four decades, and only the third player in WSOP history to win a bracelet in four different decades (Jay Heimowitz won 6 bracelets, spanning the 1970s through the 2000s, and Billy Baxter won 7 bracelets, also spanning the 1970s through the 2000s). Hellmuth also collected $2,645,333 for his fourth place finish in the $1,000,000 buy-in "Big One for One Drop" tournament, by far the largest single cash of his career.
On October 4, 2012, Hellmuth won his 13th World Series of Poker bracelet in the €10,450 WSOPE No Limit Hold'em Main Event, earning €1,022,376 ($1,333,841) and becoming the first player to ever win both the WSOP and WSOPE Main Events. This win also made Hellmuth the first player in WSOP history to win multiple bracelets in three different years (1993 (3), 2003 (2), and 2012 (2)). Also, Hellmuth finished runner-up in the WSOP Player of the Year race for a record third time (2006, 2011, and 2012).
On June 8, 2015, Hellmuth won his 14th World Series of Poker bracelet in the $10,000 Seven-Card Razz event, earning $271,105.
Hellmuth has cashed 13 times and made four final tables in WPT events. He finished fourth 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 third both times. In March 2010 Hellmuth made the final table in the $10,000 Shooting Star Event at the Bay 101 Casino second in chips only to bust out in sixth place when his QQ was cracked by AJ on the river. He earned $117,000 for his efforts. In April he was the TV bubble boy finishing seventh at the $25,000 WPT World Championship. The finish gave Hellmuth over $152,000 for the tournament and made him the 122nd player to win a million dollars in WPT events. As of May 2010, Hellmuth had won $1,106,345 in WPT tournaments.
Hellmuth 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 first episode of the third season, winning a net $100,000. Hellmuth returned two weeks later and claimed his second Poker After Dark title, winning another $100,000. Hellmuth is the season 3 champion of Late Night Poker.
In 2000 he won the Poker EM 7-Card Stud Main Event in Austria, billed the largest 7-Card Stud tournament in the world. Phil defeated 437 other players to win $106,250. In 2005, Hellmuth won the first National Heads-Up Poker Championship. 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. In 2007, Hellmuth did not play due to the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker, a British tournament in which he took part. He won four out of his six group matches and eventually finished third in the finals. Hellmuth took part in the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, losing in the first round to Tom Dwan. In 2013, Hellmuth finished in second place, losing to Mike Matusow in the final and earning $300,000.
Hellmuth appeared in seasons 1, 4 and 6 of GSN's cash game show, High Stakes Poker. Hellmuth was involved with creating the software for UltimateBet and was formerly a member of Team UB.
Hellmuth has made several instructional poker videos, including his Ultimate White To Black Belt Course and Phil Hellmuth's Million Dollar Poker System. He has written for Cardplayer magazine and authored several poker books including Play Poker like the Pros, Bad Beats and Lucky Draws, The Greatest Poker Hands ever Played, and Poker Brat. In May 2004 Hellmuth partnered with Oasys Mobile to create a mobile app called Texas Hold'em by Phil Hellmuth. In spring 2006, Hellmuth replaced Phil Gordon as commentator on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown. Hellmuth was a poker coach on Fox Sports Network’s Best Damn Poker Show.
In 2009 Hellmuth's publishing company, Phil's House Publishing, published the Stephen John and Marvin Karlins book Deal Me In: 20 Of The World's Top Poker Players Share The Heartbreaking and Inspiring Stories of How They Turned Pro.
Phil Hellmuth is known for his "Poker Brat" personality, especially after taking bad beats. In the first week of Poker After Dark on NBC, Hellmuth asked fellow pros Shawn Sheikhan, Steve Zolotow, Gus Hansen and Huck Seed to stop talking while it was his turn to act on his hand after Annie Duke raised him. They initially complied, but when Hellmuth began to talk, he was mocked by Seed, who said, "please be quiet so I can talk," eliciting laughter from the other players. Hellmuth then threatened never to play on the show again and walked off the set. After the show's producers intervened, Hellmuth returned and was eliminated a few hands later by Sheikhan. Duke remained quiet while the drama played out, though in a later interview, she described Hellmuth's behavior as "one of the biggest overreactions I have ever seen."
On Day 5 of the 2008 WSOP, Hellmuth folded A♠ K♥ to Cristian Dragomir's bet on a flop of 9♣ 10♣ 7♠. Asked by the table to show his hand, Dragomir revealed that he had called Hellmuth's pre-flop re-raise with 10♦ 4♦, a much weaker hand. Hellmuth proceeded to call Dragomir an "idiot," among other insults, and was eventually issued a warning by the floorperson for continued berating of another player. Other players including his friend Mike Matusow advised him to stop. Nonetheless, he continued to verbally abuse Dragomir until receiving a one-round penalty. The penalty was to be carried out at the beginning of play the next day. After Hellmuth had a private meeting with WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, Pollack overruled the floorperson's penalty. Hellmuth finished the tournament in 45th place, while Dragomir finished in 29th.
On December 20, 2008 Hellmuth was playing $200/$400 heads up limit hold em on UltimateBet, where he was at the time a spokesman, when an apparent software glitch occurred. The $5599 pot was awarded to Hellmuth, even though he held the worst hand. (His opponent held K♦ Q♥ for Three Kings and Hellmuth held 10x 2x for two pair.) This hand became the subject of considerable controversy in online forums due to Hellmuth's later comments about the hand. Immediately after the other player informed him of the error in awarding the pot, Hellmuth simply commented, "You wanna play or what?" and "I play U limit, right now." In addition, when later questioned about the hand, Hellmuth commented that he had experienced such errors a hundred times in his online career, "maybe 50 the wrong way to them and 50 the wrong way to me." (This contradicted the official statement of Ultimatebet that no other cases of this error had been found.) Finally, the previous cheating scandal at Ultimatebet led to suspicions about the plausibility of the company's explanation for the computer bug that they claim caused the error.