Phil Hellmuth
Phillip J. Hellmuth, Jr. (born
July 16,
1964 in
Madison,
Wisconsin) is a professional
poker player.
In
1989, the 24-year-old Hellmuth became the youngest World Champion of Poker by defeating the two-time defending champion,
Johnny Chan, in the
World Series of Poker main event.
Hellmuth attended the
University of Wisconsin for three years before dropping out to play poker full time. He is sometimes known as "poker brat" because of his perceived attitude and ego. Despite this reputation, his accomplishments are highly respected in the poker world. As of
2006 he has won ten WSOP bracelets, all in
Texas hold 'em events. Hellmuth is also the season three champion of
Late Night Poker.
In 2005 Hellmuth won the
inaugural 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.
As of 2006, his total live tournament winnings exceed $8,000,000
He appeared in the first season of the
GSN series
High Stakes Poker. A number of players commented on camera about Hellmuth's weak
cash game skills and their lack of respect for his game.
In the spring of 2006, Hellmuth replaced
Phil Gordon as commentator on
Bravo's
Celebrity Poker Showdown.
Hellmuth resides in
Palo Alto, California with his wife Katherine Sanborn (a psychiatrist at
Stanford University) and two sons, Phillip III and Nicholas.
| Year | Tournament!Prize (US$) | | 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 |
To date, Hellmuth has won $4,765,894 at the World Series of Poker.
Hellmuth is one of the most recognizable figures in poker and many fans have strong opinions of him, both negative and positive. While his ten WSOP bracelets bring him much recognition, his notoriety is also due to his perceived inability to gracefully handle adversity and defeat.
He has made many notable boasts while playing poker tournaments, usually after suffering a "
bad beat". Some televised examples include "If luck weren't involved I guess I'd win every one," and "I've revolutionized the way to play Texas hold 'em." During the 2005 Main Event at the
World Series of Poker, he stated that he could "dodge bullets" after making a laydown to an opponent with two Aces (the best possible starting hand), and even accused an amateur player of not even being able to spell poker (this after the player had beaten him). He is sometimes referred to as "Hell Mouth", a play on his surname. While many players may not like Hellmuth's antics, producers of televised poker tournaments certainly do, since there are rare times (especially during the World Series of Poker) when a camera is not on him to capture a moment where he speaks his mind.
At the 2002 WSOP, he offered to have his head shaved if amateur
Robert Varkonyi, who was short-stacked at the time, won the event. When Varkonyi went on to win, Hellmuth followed through; ESPN's coverage of the event ends with Hellmuth's locks getting shorn.
Hellmuth wrote a book titled
Poker Brat, which contains autobiographical material as well as poker advice.
While many professional players, amateurs, and fans alike consider his antics distasteful and abrasive at times, they respect his talent for the game and his personality when he is away from the table. It can be contended that Hellmuth engages in some bad etiquette purposely, since a large part of selling his image is as a "poker brat."
There are several instances where he does do helpful things for poker and its participants (fans and players alike). For example, during the WSOP 2005 main event final table,
Card Player Magazine decided to have top pros like Hellmuth,
Daniel Negreanu,
Jennifer Harman, and
Erick Lindgren comment on the action live on streaming audio hand by hand until a champion was declared. The event lasted a substantial time, starting at around mid evening and lasting until early morning the next day. Despite all the other scheduled commentators leaving to go out to play poker or sleep, Hellmuth stayed behind the mic for the duration of the tournament in order to comment for the listeners. During the broadcast, Hellmuth turned 41 years old.
He has participated in numerous charities and events and also likes to voice his opinion in several segments during the World Series of Poker and in
World Poker Tour events. He has also been in several podcasts related to poker, including Phil Gordon's covering the 2005 World Series of Poker.
Internet personality
Kevin Bowen created a series of videos available online where he acts as "Bill Fillmaff", a character who mimics Hellmuth's appearance and behavior. Fillmaff exaggerates Hellmuth's idiosyncrasies and mannerisms and epitomizes the term "poker brat." Hellmuth even made a cameo in the final episode of Bowen's online video series, and goes head-to-head against Bowen (as Fillmaff) in the online series "Ultimatebet.com's Bill vs. Phil".
Hellmuth is involved in many endeavors away from the felt. He is the author of many articles for Card Player Magazine and poker books, including
Play Poker like the Pros,
Bad Beats and Lucky Draws, and
The Greatest Poker Hands ever Played. He has made several instructional poker videos, including
Phil Hellmuth's Million Dollar Poker Secrets. Hellmuth is also a spokesperson for (and player at)
Ultimate Bet, an online poker room. More recently, he has worked with
Oakley to develop his signature series of poker style sunglasses as well as currently working on a clothing line, Hellmuth even appeared in promotional commercials for the
Arena Football League during the 2006 season. In an online interview with ESPN he estimated that he could earn anywhere up to $400 million off the poker table.
*
Official site*
Camp Hellmuth*
Cardplayer Magazine articles*
World Poker Tour profile*
Poker Pages profile*
Poker Babes profile*
All In Magazine interview*
PokerPlayer magazine interview*
Online Poker Center book review*
Hendon Mob tournament results
