Phil Hellmuth

“I got in the door because of my poker greatness, but I stayed in the door because I’m a really great person.”

Accomplishments:

• Record-holder at WSOP, winning 17 gold bracelets
• Won just under $30 million in live ranking tournaments
• Won 1989 WSOP Main Event, beating Johnny Chan
• Born and raised in Wisconsin, lives in California
• Wrote the motivational book POSITIVITY

Biography

Philip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. is possibly the best-known poker player in the history of the game. A World Series of Poker legend, no-one has won more than the 17 WSOP bracelets that Hellmuth has over his long and illustrious career. The man known as The Poker Brat is out on his own, with closest rivals Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey a long way back with 10 bracelets each. Hellmuth, who live in California, also holds the record for both the most cashes and final tables at the World Series of Poker.

The young Phil Hellmuth was a prodigy who was gifted in mathematics, but in his own words was the ‘ugly duckling’ of his family. That all changed in 1989 when he won the WSOP Main Event for $755,000, defeating Johnny Chan. Aged just 24 years old, he became the youngest-ever World Champion, a record which stood for 19 years until Peter Eastgate’s victory in 2008.

Hellmuth’s opponent in 1989, Johnny Chan, known as ‘The Orient Express’, had knocked him out in 1988 on his way to winning back-to-back titles. Hellmuth’s victory after the two men battled heads-up a year later not only won his first World Championship but prevented Chan winning an unprecedented three in a row.

Since his first bracelet victory, Hellmuth winning gold has become a regular occurrence at the WSOP, and he is one of only two men – along with Josh Arieh – to have won gold bracelets at all three venues for the World Series – Binion’s, The Rio and The Horseshoe in Las Vegas.

As famous for his blow-ups at the felt as he is for his success, Hellmuth was christened The Poker Brat for his outspoken and at times explosive rants at opponents, such as in 2008 when he was penalised at the WSOP for abusing another player.

Phil Hellmuth treads a fine line between venting his anger in order to clear his frustration and stepping over the line but is one of the true greats of the game and considers himself the ‘G.O.A.T.’ – the Greatest of All-Time. Do you agree?

Phil Hellmuth’s WSOP Bracelet Wins

Phil Hellmuth in Action