Despite having won a record 13 World Series of Poker bracelets, including Main Event titles, and almost $18 million from live poker tournaments, Phil Hellmuth is best known for his rants and blow-ups at the table.
The self-proclaimed “Poker Brat,” has such a high opinion of himself that he once said that if it wasn’t for the luck element in poker he would win every tournament he entered. As Hellmuth is so highly strung and has such a high opinion of himself – and a low opinion of his opponent’s skill level – when he loses a key pot he is prone to explode into a barrage of F-bombs and other expletives. Here we take a look at six of the best Hellmuth blow-ups of all time.
Hellmuth Blows Up on Poker After Dark
This clip is classic Hellmuth. He starts the hand in front but then commits his stack when he is way behind, yet still managed to blame David “Viffer” Peat for his mistake. Notice how Antonio Esfandiari finds Hellmuths rants hilarious!
“This Guy Can’t Even Spell Poker!”
This next clip is one of Hellmuth’s most famous outbursts. Alongside his infamous “I dodge bullets, baby” outcry when he folded a strong hand only to be shown pocket aces by his opponent, this little Hellmuth gem has been used over and over again by members of the poker community. Apologies for the poor video quality.
Howard Lederer Sucks Out on Hellmuth
If you watch this clip you can see the volcano in Hellmuth start to slowly erupt as he loses and busts out of the tournament. On the outside he seems calm and collected as he shakes the hands of his former opponents, but we know something dark is brewing inside. As he walks away he can’t help himself and another Hellmuth rant is born.
Hellmuth Unhappy With Negreanu’s Play
Despite getting his money in badly preflop, on the flop, on the turn and then on the river, Hellmuth seems to think that Daniel Negreanu was the one who misplayed his hand and cost him the $165,700 pot. Well played Hellmuth, well played.
Hellmuth versus Dwan Heads-Up
The Hellmuth versus Tom Dwan match at the NBC National Heads Up Poker championships was one of the most eagerly anticipated matches of all the brackets, mainly because the poker community wanted to see Dwan bamboozle Hellmuth with his vastly superior heads-up skills.
The pair get it all in preflop early in the match, Hellmuth with pocket aces against the tens of Dwan and when Dwan spikes a third ten on the turn Hellmuth is not impressed and gives Dwan a lecture on how to play poker!
“The worst player in history!”
If you do not play exactly how Hellmuth thinks you should then you are setting yourself up for trouble. When Cristian Dragmomir called Hellmuth’s three-bet with ten-four, won a pot and then showed his meagre holding, Hellmuth erupted into what is a classic and legendary Hellmuth rant!
Let us know what your favourite Hellmuth rants – or any other player for that matter – in the comments box.
About the author
Matthew Pitt is a poker enthusiast hailing from Leeds, UK. When he’s not grinding tournaments or glued to his Xbox, Matthew can be found writing poker related news and strategy for a number of established outlets including PokerNews.
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