Phil Helmuth - Poker Pro, Poker Brat

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Player Profile: Name: Phil Hellmuth Date of Birth: July 16, 1964 Nicknames: Poker Brat, Hell Mouth Clame to Fame: -Most WSOP bracelets as of 2006 -one of the top players in total tournament cashes.

9, 33, 24; these numbers have little weight to most people, but these three numbers are the reasons you will respect Phil Hellmuth, regardless of your personal opinion. Nine: The number of World Series of Poker bracelets won in his career. Only two other people have collected more bracelets than Hellmuth. Those two are legends in their own right: Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson. Thirty-Three: The number of final table appearances in the WSOP events since the start of his career. 24: The age at which he won the World Series of Poker main event, the youngest player to win the Main Event.

Phil attended the University of Wisconsin and dropped after three years to pursue the profession of poker full time. In his first outing to the World Series of Poker in 1988, Phil Hellmuth placed 33rd getting busted out by Johnny Chan. Ironically, the following year he would go head to head with Chan for the WSOP Championship. Pushing all in with Pocket 9s against Chan’s A-7, his pair held up winning him the WSOP main event. Hellmuth’s career started fast and has not slowed down. With nine bracelets, thirty-three final table appearances, a person would be hard pressed to find another player with the type of consistency Hellmuth has had at the WSOP. Since the beginning of his professional career, Phil has amassed over $7 million in winnings.

Poker Legend and Celebrity

Hellmuth is one of the most recognizable faces of the game with his black hat, turtleneck and Oakley sunglasses that are accompanied with his appalling manners and antics. Only Mike “the Mouth” Mathusow has more abrasive antics. Phil Hellmuth has many nicknames, most notably Poker Brat and Hell Mouth. While his antics are over exaggerated, many players contend that he conducts himself in that way in order to portray the bad boy image he is known for.

Hellmuth makes a lot of money outside of the poker room. Currently he is a contributing writer to Cardplayer magazine. He also has a variety of Poker Books for strategy as well as the autobiography Poker Brat. Hellmuth is endorsed by Ultimate Bet, an online poker room, where he is a spokesman/player for the site. During the 2005 WSOP he provided online commentary of Cardplayer. Oakley has completed a deal to manufacture a line of Phil Hellmuth signature glasses.

Strong Tournament Skills But No Cash Game

Many players believe his best skill is at No Limit Hold ‘Em tournament games. In fact all of his WSOP Bracelets are from Hold ‘Em tourneys. On his recent appearance on High Stakes Poker, many players commented that he lacked the skills of high stakes cash games. Some argue that is the reason why he cannot be compared to the skills of some of the other Poker legends like Chan and Brunson who are skilled at No Limit and Cash games as well as other styles of poker.

His personality has led to some interesting quotes and antics:
“I can dodge bullets baby!” – Against Chris “Jesus” Ferguson
“You can’t even spell poker.” –speaking to an amateur who busted him in the ’05 WSOP

Phil Helmuth, hate him or love him, he's here to stay.