Phil Hellmuth: Is The Poker Champ A Few Cards Short Of A Full Brat Pack?

It seems as though nearly every sport in the world has at least one hot headed player and they bring an elevated level of drama, excitement and irritation to the game.  While many poker players are hot-tempered and prone to bratty tantrums, you don’t know them because they can’t beat the ten-cent game with Grandma.  Becoming the official “brat” of poker requires the rare combination of temper, outspokenness and the ability to win titles and cash repeatedly.  Phil Hellmuth was born to be that brat.

Okay, yeah, opening with Phil’s is cheap, easy and clichéd.  If you’re so smart and can do better then stop reading, start writing and quit whining…See, acting like a brat is easy if you don’t mind being dropped and ignored.  Throwing a tantrum and acting snotty while remaining popular takes an almost magical innate charisma that Phil has plenty of (and this author clearly lacks).

Seriously though, Phil is a lot more than an emotional volcano and it’s the rare combination of the talent, intelligence and (gasp) friendliness underneath the boiling tip that allows us to enjoy his hot headedness. 

Phil started playing poker while in college, at the University of Wisconsin, which is far later than many of the best known poker players who started as children.  Even though Phil wasn’t gambling with cards before he rode a bike, he had a natural aptitude for the game and eventually quit school to play professionally.

Saying that Phil’s parents were not happy with his decision is another obvious cliché, since most parents don’t want their kids to drop out of college with “play cards for money” as their business plan.  It’s only worth mentioning in Phil’s story because he turned their negative feelings into elated support the old-fashioned American way…

Frequent and expensive bribes.

Sure, there was probably some family stuff like communication involved too, but the bribes helped.  Some people think bribery is too strong a word here so they call them gifts.  And the gifts and trips Phil lavished on his parents didn’t actually change their mind about poker.  No, it was the fact that they proved Phil could make a good living and enjoy a successful life playing cards.  Once they knew this, beyond a doubt, they dropped their concern and started cheering him on.  Feel better? 

Of the bribes…er…gifts, one trip in particular does bear mentioning both because his dad was almost arrested and it sparked a unique lifelong collection of jewelry.  Basically, Phil told his dad to pick a place because he wanted to send him on a trip.  His dad decided that he wanted to go to Las Vegas.  The date his dad had in mind was an exceptionally busy time in the always busy town but Phil was able to get the trip arranged for his dad.

The trip, of course, was to watch his soon play in the 1989 World Series of Poker when Phil Hellmuth beat poker legend Johnny Chan in the main event, earning his first WSOP bracelet while preventing Chan from earning his third in a row. 

When the final hand ended with Chan defeated, the reactions of the crowd can only be imagined.  Phil’s reaction was one of joy and triumph, hands raised in the universal position of a champion.  His dad, flushed with excitement and pride, jumped from his seat and raced toward the table to congratulate his kid.

Of course, by the final hand, the WSOP was covered with the prize money of one million dollars, so Phil’s dad was met by some very large and very serious security guards.  Maybe they got a tip to look out for somebody pretending to be the new champ’s dad while actually intent on stealing the money, who knows. 

Regardless, Phil was able to convince them that his dad was relatively safe and finally get his well deserved congratulatory hug (and his very own Las Vegas security story).

In that one game, Phil laid a powerful foundation for his own legend and legacy.  After all, Johnny Chan came into the tournament looking to three-peat and ended up being beaten heads-up by a 24-year-old kid.  At the time, Phil was the youngest player to even win the WSOP main event and has since earned 9 more bracelets.

Having 10 WSOP bracelets, the most of any single player, is a feat shared only by Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan which basically makes it the single most exclusive club in all of poker.  Even within the highly elite double-digit club ranks, Phil manages to stand out as the only one to win all 10 bracelets playing hold ‘em. 

Because he frequently and consistently wins money in a wide-variety of tournaments, Phil has become one of the highest earning and most recognizable players in all of poker.  While he’s been busy winning tournaments, Phil also served as an official spokesman for UltimateBet.com and published a number of poker strategy books. 

Which brings us back to where we began with the poker brat.  Phil is extremely competitive and expresses that drive in some ways that other plays simply wouldn’t think of doing: tirades, tantrums and trash talking at the table.  It’s sort of like the game of poker mixed with the entertainment of professional wrestling (thankfully the pretty spandex  stays hidden while Phil plays)

He may not be the picture of poker a purist would paint, people do tend to fixate on the world-class hot-heads.  It may be the fact that most temperamentally bratty people never make it to the top because they are, well, temperamentally bratty.  Since it is so rare, a top-performing brat could be considered a modern day sideshow freak.

Phil’s autobiography is appropriately titled “Poker Brat,” and the persona has pushed his wealth and stardom into atmosphere. It’s an extreme reputation that doesn’t leave much room in the middle: most folks either love him or hate him. 

Whichever side you ultimately fall on isn’t really the important point.  If you know you can’t stand him then you do know who he is and the recognition helps separate Phil Hellmuth from all of the extremely talented, and much more polite, players whose names you can’t quite recall. 

Well, that and the unspoken wish that one day, one very lucky day, he’ll stomp his feet and threaten to take his cards, chips and other toys and go home forever and ever!