Professional poker player Phil Hellmuth needs no introduction – known as famously for his nickname “poker brat” due to his personality and table temperament, as he is for his record 15 World Series of Poker bracelets.
Altogether he has made a total of 57 final tables and 136 money finishes at the World Series. He sits fifth in the WSOP all-time money list, with earnings totalling $14,625,825 and 19th in the all-time money list with $22,999,083. Hellmuth was even inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2007. Here, we take a look at some of his biggest successes.
First bracelet
Hellmuth won his first WSOP gold bracelet in 1989. At the age of 24, he was the youngest player to win the Main Event at the World Series – a record he held onto until 2008, when it was broken by 22-year-old Peter Eastgate. Hellmuth also beat the two-time defending champion Johnny Chan in the Main Event, denying him of a third Main Event victory.
Three bracelets in one Series
At the 1993 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth made history when he became the second player ever to win three bracelets in a single Series. Walter “Puggy” Pearson was the first man to do so in 1973, receiving one of those bracelets for winning the Main Event. Hellmuth didn’t win the Main Event that year, but he did win the $1,500 and $2,500 No Limit Hold’em and the $5,000 Limit Hold’em, receiving over $470,000 in prize money. Interestingly, those three bracelets were won on consecutive days – and at the same World Series. Ted Forrest also won three WSOP bracelets to match the record and become the third player in the history of the Series to win three bracelets in a single WSOP.
1990s success
As well as the triple success in 1993, Hellmuth also won a gold bracelet a year earlier, at the 1992 World Series, before going on to win again. This time, it was in 1997, with the $3,000 Pot Limit Hold’em. Winning the fifth bracelet in a single decade saw the Poker Brat become the most coveted player at the World Series in the 1990s. Although he managed five wins, it wasn’t the record, which was held by Johnny Moss in the 1970s, with seven bracelets in a decade. This ‘lucky seven’ was matched by Phil Ivey in the 2000s and he too, won three bracelets in a single World Series in 2002.
Away from Hold’em
Thirteen of Hellmuth’s fifteen bracelets have been won playing Hold’em; however, he has had success in other events. He has won two bracelets playing Seven-Card Razz: the first in 2012 and the second in 2015, with his earnings in those two events exceeding $450,000. As well as those two wins, he has made the final table at a number of other variations of Poker, including: 2-7 Lowball, Omaha, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo and H.O.R.S.E. In fact, 22 of his 52 final tables are games which aren’t Hold’em and on those occasions, the Poker Brat has finished as runner-up six times.
World Series of Poker Europe
Hellmuth’s thirteenth gold bracelet was a memorable one, as he won it at the World Series of Poker Europe. Winning the Main Event at Le Croisette Casino Barrière in Cannes, France; he became the first player ever to win both the World Series of Poker (Las Vegas) and World Series of Poker Europe.
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