Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. is a professional poker player from the United States who has won a total of sixteen World Series of Poker bracelets.
On the all-time money list, he is ranked 19th. He has surpassed T. J. Cloutier for the most WSOP cashes (154) and most WSOP final tables (64).
Hellmuth is infamous for arriving at poker events much after the action has started.
His live tournament wins have surpassed $26,000,000 as of November 2021.
Hellmuth’s first in-the-money result came in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Split, the 6th event, at the 1988 World Series of Poker.
He finished 33rd in the 1988 World Series of Poker after being ousted by eventual champion Johnny Chan.
By defeating two-time defending champion Johnny Chan in heads-up play in 1989, Hellmuth became the youngest player to win the WSOP Main Event; Hellmuth’s record was broken by Peter Eastgate (22) in 2008.
Hellmuth had won almost $15 million at the WSOP as of September 2020 and was ranked fourth on the WSOP All-Time Money List after Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Colman, and Daniel Negreanu.
Hellmuth also holds the record for most WSOP Main Event cashes with five.
He finished eighth in the Main Event eight times (1988, 1989, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2009, and 2015), trailing only Berry Johnston ten times and Humberto Brenes, Doyle Brunson, and Bobby Baldwin.
Hellmuth is noted for his “Poker Brat” persona, which he developed after losing a game.
Hellmuth requested fellow pros Shawn Sheikhan, Steve Zolotow, Gus Hansen, and Huck Seed to stop talking during his turn to act on his hand after Annie Duke raised him during the first week of Poker After Dark on NBC.
They first agreed, but when Hellmuth started talking, Seed mocked him, saying, “Please be quiet so I can talk,” which elicited laughter from the other players.
Hellmuth then walked off the set, threatening to never play on the show again. Hellmuth reappeared after the show’s producers intervened, only to be eliminated by Sheikhan a few hands later.
Duke kept silent throughout the scene, though she later described Hellmuth’s actions as “one of the worst overreactions I have ever witnessed” in an interview.
Hellmuth folded A K to Cristian Dragomir’s bet on a flop of 9 10 7 on Day 5 of the 2008 WSOP. Dragomir admitted that he had called Hellmuth’s pre-flop re-raise with 10 4 when the table asked him to display his hand.
Hellmuth then proceeded to criticize Dragomir, calling him an “idiot” and receiving a warning from the floorperson for his continuing berating of another player.
What Does Phil Hellmuth Do?
Phil Hellmuth is a professional poker and an author
