Phil Hellmuth is one of the greatest tournament poker players ever, with an almost unrivalled record in Hold’em events and a massive amount of tournament winnings to show for it. Hellmuth is also one of the world’s best known poker players, seemingly forever on the television and a regular feature in poker magazines across the globe.
Lying second in the all-time list for WSOP bracelets, and eighth in the WSOP all-time money list, Hellmuth holds the record as the youngest ever WSOP Championship winner for his victory in 1989, aged just 24.
A Texas Hold’em specialist, Hellmuth’s golden years were in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but he is still a force to be reckoned with today, and has won three WSOP bracelets since 2001. All nine of his bracelets have come in Hold’em events.
Famed for his saying that “if there was no luck in poker I would always win” Hellmuth is known as much for his attitude as he is for his play. If Doyle Brunson is the Jack Nicklaus of poker, it is fair to say that Phil Hellmuth is the John McEnroe. A television producers dream, Hellmuth is brash, outspoken, and a notoriously bad loser.
But while anyone who has watched TV will have seen the self-confessed “Poker Brat” whining about a beat (any kind of beat, it seems, is the result of someone else’s bad play), or boasting excessively about the extent of his own genius, off the table he is known to be an affable and generous man.
Strangely for such a successful tournament player, Hellmuth is a notoriously bad high stakes cash game player, so much so, that he is almost regarded as a fish by the more proficient players at that level.
THE EARLY YEARS
Born in Wisconsin in 1964 Hellmuth began playing poker at college, at the age of 21. Three years later, like so many others in his profession, he dropped out from the University of Wisconsin to play poker full time, a move that was sure to upset his father – the university Dean.
Hellmuth’s success was almost immediate; in 1989 he became the youngest ever winner of the World Series of Poker Championship event, aged just 24 years old. He never looked back.
WSOP
Phil Hellmuth’s WSOP career is up there with the greatest of them all. His nine WSOP bracelets puts him second in the all-time list, behind only Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan – two veritable titans of the game, and until 2005, when Chan and Brunson won a tenth bracelet, he was on level terms.
Hellmuth’s consistency in the WSOP is also almost unrivalled. At this point in time (February 2006) Hellmuth is currently 3rd in the all-time list for final table finishes with an incredible 34. He is 3rd in the all-time list for cashes with 48, and he is 8th in the all-time money list. Furthermore, his position in the money list is deceptive, as until the last three years, when first place in the championship event has been worth over $3 million (last year even second place was worth over $4 million) Hellmuth topped the list.
BEYOND WSOP
Hellmuth’s success has not just been limited to the WSOP. In the World Poker Tour, still a relatively new addition to the poker tournament circuit, he has already notched up an impressive four final tables. Despite this Hellmuth is practically inconsolable when the WPT is brought up, thinking his record so far to be a complete failure. In case you didn’t already know, the man places a high price on winning...
His most recent success outside the WSOP came last year in NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which he won. He beat Chris Ferguson in the final best-of-three match, to pocket a first prize of $500,000.
Hellmuth has won so many tournaments over the years he can barely remember them all. In 1995 he won the Hall of Fame Poker Classic – one victory he does remember. He has four other wins in the Hall of Fame, making him the most decorated competitor in the tournaments history.
In 2000 Hellmuth was the winner of the European Poker Championship, in Vienna, and in the same year he shot to fame in the UK when he won the 2000 Late Night Poker III title, broadcast on Channel 4.
WSOP BRACELETS
| Year |
Tournament |
Prize (US$) |
| 1989 |
$10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event |
$755,000 |
| 1992 |
$5,000 Limit Hold'em |
$168,000 |
| 1993 |
$1500 No-Limit Hold'em |
$161,400 |
| 1993 |
$2,000 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 |
$2500 Limit Hold'em |
$171,400 |
| 2003 |
$3,000 No-Limit Hold'em |
$410,860 |
| Total |
$2,498,210 |