Phil Hellmuth – The Poker Brat

Phil Hellmuth

Nationality: United States of America
Total Live Earnings: $30,058,954 (23rd All-time)
HendonMob Ranking: 14th US All-time
Info courtesy of TheHendonMob
WSOP Bracelets

17

WSOP Main Event Winner

2

PGT Titles

1

Last update: 2024/05/30

Early Life

Phil Hellmuth. Born on July 16, 1964, in Madison, Wisconsin, Phil Hellmuth Jr. didn’t thrive in school and had problems making friends. He was introduced to poker by his family, but his father put a lot of pressure on him to be the best in school and sports.

Phil dropped out of University and became a full-time poker player, making him the family’s black sheep.

Hellmuth came onto the professional poker scene in 1989 with a bang when he won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event at 24 years old, making him the youngest player to achieve this feat before, in 2008, he lost the title of the youngest winner. He earned “only” $755,000 for the win.

This win also made him one of the poker community’s biggest stars and most-known names.


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World Series of Poker

Phil is the all-time leading WSOP bracelet winner with 17 bracelets, which is seven more than the 2nd (Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, and Johnny Chan), and he is considered by many to be the best poker player in the world. After the win in the WSOP Main Event, he won his 2nd bracelet in 1992 in Event #8: $5,000 Limit Hold’em, also earning him $188,000

In 1993, he won another three bracelets in $1,500, $2,500 No Limit Hold’em, and $5,000 Limit Hold’em events for a total of $472,000.

From then on, bracelets kept coming every few years, but in 2012. Phil won 4th place in The Big One for One Drop – $1,000,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $2,645,333, which ended up being his most significant ever live cash.

Also, the same year in WSOP Europe, he won Event #7: €10,540 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for $1,333,841, earning him his 13th bracelet.

His last bracelet came in 2023 in Event #72: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty, where he also earned $803,818.

Phil Hellmuth’s WSOP Bracelet Wins

YearEventPrize
1989$10,000 WSOP Main Event$755,000
1992Event #8: $5,000 Limit Hold’em$188,000
1993Event #7: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em$173,000
1993Event #8: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em$161,400
1993Event #9: $5,000 Limit Hold’em$138,000
1997Event #15: $3,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em$204,000
2001Event #3: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em$316,550
2003Event #12: $2,500 Limit Hold’em$171,400
2003Event #32: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em$410,860
2006Event #34: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em$631,863
2007Event #15: $1,500 No Limit Hold’em$637,250
2012Event #18: $2,500 Seven Card Razz$182,793
2012WSOPE €10,000 Main Event$1,333,841
2015Event #17: $10,000 Razz Championship$271,105
2018Event #71: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em$485,082
2021Event #31: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw$84,851
2023Event #72: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty$803,818

World Poker Tour

Surprisingly, Phil has never won a WPT event; his best score was 2nd place in the WPT Legends of Poker event in 2017, which earned him $364,370. He got 19 cashes and five final tables, earning him a total of $1,577.843.

Phil Hellmuth’s Top 5 WPT Results

YearEventPlacePrize
2017WPT Legends of Poker2nd$364,370
2003WPT World Finals3rd$281,700
2008WPT L.A. Poker Classic6th$229,820
2010WPT World Championship7th$152,856
2007WPT World Championship18th$123,760

PokerGo Tour

Phil got his first PGT cash in 2022 and managed to get two 2nd places, one 4th place, and a 13th place, for a total of $588,000.

Next year, he won $10,000 No Limit Hold’em – U.S. Poker Open #5 for $211,200 and got 5th place in $25,000 No Limit Hold’em – U.S. Poker Open #8 for $108,000.

Phil Hellmuth’s Top 5 PGT Results

YearEventPlacePrize
2022$15,000 8-Game Mix – US Poker Open #62nd$155,100
2022$15,000 Pot Limit Omaha – US Poker Open #84th$100,500
2022$25,000 No Limit Hold’em – US Poker Open #92nd$315,000
2023$10,000 No Limit Hold’em – U.S. Poker Open #51st$211,200
2023$25,000 No Limit Hold’em – U.S. Poker Open #85th$108,000

Avoiding Controversy

Phil managed to stay outside of controversy, making him a unicorn when it comes to famous poker players.
His tilted reactions on the poker table are the most controversial but also the most fun thing about him.

He also made some famous quotes like: “I guess if there weren’t luck involved, I’d win ’em all,” “They Don’t Even Know How to Spell Poker,” “Models are interested in me, mostly because of my ‘bad boy of poker’ image.”

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