POKER INFO - PROILE - Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth never had trouble paying the bills except for when he was just starting out. He's a smart guy and a hell of a poker player. Besides how can you go broke when you wife is a dr. at Stanford. Everyone gets upset from a bad beat, and besides espn pays him to act the way he does just so people will watch to "see what hellmuth does next".

Maybe all 9 bracelets for Johnny and Doyle didn't come from holdem, but Hellmuth has still only won the big one once.Not to mention Action Dan Harrington, who made the final table in 2003 and 2004 against the biggest fields ever. Heck, phil got put out before day 2 this year, and barely ever ranks anymore other than a brief stint in 2002.I do not deny that Phil is an excellent player. But like Josh Arieh, he absolutely whines up a storm when other people gamble. He seems to think that they should not be able to gamble(Even though it has been proven that those who take chances often are the ones who advance)From what i gather, Phil intentionally acts the brat to get more airtime and sell books.The problem with Phil is that he is useless outside of a tournament. He has NEVER won any big stakes games, where Chan, Doyle, Harrington, and others make their real money. Most poker players want to make a name for themselves just for the simple fact that they will attract Rich "Dead money" to the high limit tables. It has been this way for years. The above 3 I mentioned are all former champs, and they all have been proven to have made 20x more money on the high limit tables than they have winning the tourneys. Hellmuth has never been able to do this. He consistantly goes bust trying to. Sheesh, he was just talking about his financial problems at the tourney of champions. I fail to see how you could win that many tourneys and have financial problems, except that he let it slip in an interview that he has "Horrible luck lol" at high stakes games.All in all, he needs an attitude adjustment, and he needs to learn to play high limit with the other champs aside from tourneys.

eldan, u got to be kidding, 3 bracelets and 15 or more cashes in the 2000's is anything.. wat the hell do u expect..with the fields so large its guna make it a lot harder to win tournys, but phil will get his 10th bracelet this year, good luck phil..(odd year)

Phil, had great oppurtuntiy to win the big one from 2000- to 2003 only to be outdrawn in big crucail hands. He had one of the best world series ever in 2003 winning three bracelets and deserved to make the final table at the bi one. Tournaments are what is in, and when he is dedicated he is the best no limit player in the world today, and probalby second best ever behind Stu Ungar

amazing player but thinks everyone plays the game with the same stragey he does. He has to face facts that there are idiots or as he likes to call "elephants" who will call everything. Although him and doyle are tied obvioulsy he has a lot more time to win more.

also he says what most of the other players are thinking

Phil can put you on a hand like he's looking right through you. I am continually impressed.

phil is one of the best nl holdem players ever....its that simple...funny how ppl that only know poker since 2003 think they know it all because they watch espn....phil is a legend..he always has his money in when he has the best hand...ppl do make some loose calls and suck out on him....thats poker...and yes he whines, but thats him being the "poker brat" that sells millions of books...guys a legend , so give him the respect he deserves

If you are a great poker player, you're also great in taking down people physically. However, an old, small man named sizzle or something knocked the best of Phil Helmuth, embarassing.

Yeah, it is. Phil's a good player though. However, I have seen him get outplayed before.

Bless you, Phil Hellmuth. Everyone else please grow up and be mature.

well hes been playing poker for a few decades, so im sure hes been outplayed on a few hands before ....lol...im sure that if we had ppl watching every hand that we played, we wouldnt play EVERY one to perfection...he always has all his chips in with the best hand..he does try to "overread" some of his opponets..he made a few bad laydowns to that toto guy i believe it was a wpt even, but im not sure..might have been a lowel level wsop event....made a toughlaydown to chan in the toc...all in all the 9 braclets all in NL HOLDEM speak for themselves

Ironic. I guess your name's Horse's Ass for a reason.

phil stop thinking u have the best hand u r beat

about 95% of the time he does have all his money in with the best hand...ppl just suckout on him alot...

First of all anyone putting down phil about going broke or not being the best poker player in the world is stupid and must have no poker expierence because every good poker player has gone broke atleast once in there poker career and having 9 wsop bracelets must mean he is a great player........what phil himself would say " I am a "eagle" soaring above all others"......neverless he is the best player of all time.....and thats a fact.

he's not the best poker player in the world! There! I said it!

first of all tobias...hellmuth is not best player of all time...for one he is too tight...he prides himself so much on laying down good hands in the face of a better one that he often folds the best hand...he is far to afraid of the bad beat that he doesn't gamble nearly enough...he thinks to much of the math and the pot odds that he forgets about the feel of the game and the fact that he already has the best hand...i think he was alot better back in the day...but he has lost his nerve...he is washed up....too afraid to lose his money...sometimes in poker u have to be willing to lose in order to win...gus hansen, antonio esfandiari, howard lederer, phil ivey, lane flack, annie duke, these are all players that would absolutely demolish this guy heads up...phil is a loser now...and he will be until he gets over himself, comes down off of his pedestal that he has put himself on, and starts to gamble a bit

Phil is a crybaby who needs his diaper changed. He give poker a bad name, now if we are talking class Howard takes the cake...a true poker player with class. Also Doyle, but that goes without saying.

what are you talking about???? Phil is the be NL Holdem player of all time. 9 WSOP titles. I also love to watch him bitch at the table.

howard lederer is wayyyy more tight than phil, so right away i know you have no clue...annie duke??i know she beat him heads up that time , but none of these ppl have done what hellmuth has...as far as losing his never, im more than sure you are not qualified to say one way or another...all the players you mentioned, while they are good players, would all agree that they are on a lower level than phil has been on through his poker carrer

phil made a very amazing call in the legends of poker tournament when howard lederer hit the belly buster, genius let down

I completly agree with you "doubt it". I agree I have seen him make some great lay downs but whenever I see that I do think how many great hands he must of laid down when he had the best of it. They probably don't show that on TV as much. But you gotta expect that he lays down hands when he does have the best of it. I do think he is a great player but I do not like him personally. Something about the way his play is..too mechanical, for me not enough heart. As good as he is something is missing. And I can't stand the way he crys about losing, even when he is sucked out. Why be a professional poker player if being sucked out effects you that much...THAT'S POKER!

i agree that getting sucked out on is part of poker ,but when it happens to a player like me ,i play low limit and baby nl i still get mad...let alone for the stakes phil plays for...calling phil tighter than lederer is just crazy...howard is as mechanical as they come..still a great player,but lets call a spade a spade

Regardless if you are a professional then you need to learn how to deal with the suck outs. If you can't don't play the game!

i agree,phil doesnt deal well with suckouts...does that make him any less of a great player??no.!!! he has the respect of the pros and the braclets to back it up...

For the record I do think he is a good poker player. However, his emotions at times with the "suck outs" makes him a weaker player. If you do not understand that his crying is not effecting his game then you don't understand poker at that top. One of the main differences of "professionals" vs. good poker players is the ability to deal with getting sucked out, losing and all the rest that comes along with gambling professional brings. I can't believe that he can be that focused on his game when his emotions are running that high.

I think the real question is whether Phil is a winning or losing player. IMHO Phil may be an overall loser. In ring games, I have personally heard him say he had lost all his tourney wins in cash games, and this was at a point when his total tourney wins were $3 mil. Who cares how much knowledge or how many bracelets he has if he can't get the money home.Look at it this way. If you took Phil's total tournament wins plus cash game wins and subtracted federal and state taxes, tournament travel and lodging, entree fees and all cash game losses, would you bet Phil is a lifetime winner or loser. I would pick loser. Furthermore in the 1990's, I would guess that Phil was 1 of the top 100 ring game losers for the decade.Phil certainly has poker knowledge and tournament knowledge --- the math, the logic, the psychology and the art. BUT so what if you're an overall loser. Some poker "greats" are there to get the money but some "greats" are there just to show others how great they are. Phil is in the latter category. I and many others (who are better than me) have seen Phil make a call knowing full well he had the worst hand just so he could prove to himself that he had guessed his opponent's hand correctly.Fame is one thing, being a cash winner is another.

Nicely said "longshot".

OK did anyone watch WPT "poker by the book" last night? What happened completly proved my point in that Phil completly let's his emotions effect his play. He was chip leader (by drawing out on his opentents 3 times I might add) then he gets drawn out by Doyle. He was his usual self and became very upset, of course when he drew out on players I'm sure he felt justified. From chip leader to out in 3 hands because he was on tilt. This is why he is not the worlds best at poker. He really needs to work on his steaming, it is not only annoying but it effects his play