Phil Hellmuth was born July 16th, 1964 in Madison Wisconsin where he lived until deciding to become a professional poker player. Phil currently lives in Palo Alto, CA with his wife (Katherine) and two sons (Phil jr. and Nicholas).
Often referred to as “The Poker Brat”, unafraid to display both attitude and ego Phil’s self defined career goal is to become the poker player ever to live. While it is arguable whether he is the best poker player or not, he certainly could lay claim to the best tournament poker player alive, especially in hold’em where he has accumulated all of his WSOP bracelets.
Phil began playing poker while studying at the University of WI - Madison. Phil started small buy playing small games with $20 buyins, and playing low limit poker at a local bar. Soon, Phil was taking on the biggest games in town and after he had built up a bankroll started venturing to Las Vegas to try out his luck. Rumor has it that Phil came home broke the first ten times he went to Las Vegas, but after one winning session worth more than $10,000 he decided to buy into the World Series Of Poker Main Event, and some would say the rest is history.
World Series Of Poker Achievements
Phil Hellmuth has won more WSOP bracelets than any player in the history of the tournament, breaking his tie and rival with Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson in 2008 by winning a $1,500 No Limit Holde’em bracelet event at the Rio in Las Vegas. Phil has also cashed in sixty three WSOP events making him the current record holder for most cashes, and he is tied for the most final tables at thirty nine appearances! Winning eleven times out of thirty nine appearances (better than 1 out of 4) is solid evidence of Phil’s closing abilities.
Here is a list of Phil’s WSOP bracelet wins:
1989 - Phil wins the $10,000 No Limit World Championship (WSOP Main Event) and slams the door on Johnny Chan’s amazing run at a three peat. Phil won $755,000 for this outstanding victory, and while the record has since been broken he was at the time the youngest player to eve win the main event at the age of 24-years-old.
1992 - $5,000 Limit Hold’em - $188,000
1993 - $1,500 Limit Hold’em $138,000
1993 - $2,500 No Limit Hold’em $161,400
1993 - $5,000 No Limit Hold’em $173,000
1997 - $3,000 Pot Limit Hold’em $204,000
2001 - $2,000 No Limit Hold’em $316,000
2003 - $2,500 Limit Hold’em $171,400
2003 - $3,000 No Limit Hold’em $410,860
2006 - $1,000 No Limit Hold’em (Re-buys) $631,863
2007 - $1,500 No Limit Hold’em $637,254 - This was Phil’s record breaking 11th WSOP bracelet.
At the time of this writing Phil Hellmuth also held the record for the most ever WSOP cashes at 64, as well as holding the record for the making an appearance at more WSOP final tables than anyone else. Phil has made an astounding 40 final tables in his quest for more bracelets. By the end of the 2007 WSOP Phil Hellmuth had amassed $5,604,386 in WSOP earnings making him 7th on the all time money list.
World Poker Tour Achievements
A WPT victory has eluded Phil Hellmuth thus far, though he has cashed 10 times and made several final table appearances. He has finished in 3rd place four times, and most recently took sixth place in 2008 at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic. Even though he has been denied a WPT victory so far, Phil has made a few good pay days winning $814,869 so far in lifetime earnings at WPT events.
Other Significant Wins
Phil Hellmuth has claimed a national heads up championship title, besting sixty four other poker players for a $500,000 pay day. After the win, he actually bought champagne for the whole crowd!
Phil Hellmuth - Marketing Guru
Phil Hellmuth has authored four books in his career, most notably “Play Poker LIke The Pro’s”. He also authored “Bad Beats and Lucky Draws” and “Texas-Hold’em”, as well as an autobiography aptly titled “The Poker Brat”. There has been rumors of plans for a movie about Phil called “The Madison Kid”, but nothing is confirmed or under way at this time. A true offline marketing genius, Phil Hellmuth even launched his own line of clothing - and has been rumored to be developing special poker sunglasses in conjunction with Oakley. In June 2008, Milwaukee’s Best Light beer company launched a limited edition beer can with Phil Hellmuth’s face on them! In a limited edition run twelve million of these beer cans were released to the public, and some poker fans were said to be buying them for future collectors value.
Famous Phil Hellmuth Quotes
“If it weren’t for luck, I’d win’em all!”
“I can dodge bullets baby!”
“This guy can’t even spell poker”
“What’s my name, am I Phil Hellmuth?”
“I am the Tiger Woods of poker”
“It’s like I can look into their souls”.
Phil is well known as “The Poker Brat” and this attitude has without doubt made for some good poker television over the years. Phil is a looming figure at the poker table, standing over six ft. five inches tall, and he hangs his emotions on his shirt without abandon. He taunts his opponents, he complains, he has even been known to cry at the poker table before. His ego is selfless, and he often reminds you of all his poker achievements - but Phil Hellmuth is without a doubt the most recognized poker face on the planet and we hope to see quite a bit more of him in years to come.