Phil Hellmuth

Biography

Phil Hellmuth, Jr. is widely recognized as one of the best tournament-poker players in the world. He’s also widely recognized for being “The Poker Brat”. But despite the berating rants at the table and his non-stop complaints about bad beats or bad players, Hellmuth’s pride and joy are his 11 WSOP bracelets. Yes, that’s right, 11 gold bracelets.

Hellmuth was born in Madison, Wisconsin and attended his hometown college of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His college career was cut short though. Phil decided to drop out to focus solely on poker after building up a successful bankroll around $20,000 from playing while in school. It would only take him a few years to make his decision really pay off.

In 1989, Hellmuth captured to WSOP Main Event title as the youngest player to ever win the prestigious tournament. It wasn’t an easy road, as Hellmuth battled through a tough field of competitors with his final task being a heads-up match with two-time defending champion, Johnny Chan. Hellmuth was up to the task and successfully secured his place in WSOP history.

A one-hit wonder Hellmuth was not. Ever since big win in 1989, Phil has amassed one of the best tournament resumes around, including multiple bracelet wins in 1993 and 2003 where he won three gold pieces of WSOP jewelry and then two, respectively. By winning three in 1993, Hellmuth is one of only a few players to win that many bracelets in one year. What may be even more amazing is that when he won those bracelets, he did so on three consecutive days.

His great tournament success doesn’t end with the WSOP. Hellmuth has never won a WPT event, but he has numerous cashes and three final tables. He holds a win in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and also a couple wins on the late-night television show Poker After Dark. He’s also made a few appearances on High Stakes Poker throughout the years.

If that’s not enough to see that he’s one of the greatest poker players in the world, just ask him as he’s sure to tell you. With all his accolades and almost $9 million in tournament earnings, it’s hard to argue with him.

Off the felt, Hellmuth has made several instructional poker videos and authored quite a few poker books. Hellmuth also is a regular contributor to various poker publications and guest commentator of the game.