Phil Hellmuth – The Poker Brat
When it comes to poker players, one of the top names has to be Phil Hellmuth or, as he’s also known, The Poker Brat. He is actually considered to be the best poker player to have ever played, with a staggering eleven WSOP titles to his name.
The Poker Brat
Phil Hellmuth comes from Wisconsin and was the oldest in a family of five children. He began playing cards at home but learned the Texas Hold ‘Em trade while a student at the University of Wisconsin.
His flair for poker and the fact that he soon started to win money from the game meant that after three years attending university, he decided to drop out and focus instead on playing poker. It took him ten attempts in Las Vegas before he started to make any money to speak of.
It was in 1989 that Phil Hellmuth became the youngest ever winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event, at the tender age of 24. One of his opponents at the time was Johnny Chan who was defending his title of the previous two years. Hellmuth faced Chan heads-up and ultimately defeated the former champion to take down the coveted title. Hellmuth held his record of being the youngest player to win that title for nineteen years.
He also set another record in 1993 by winning three bracelets that year and finishing second in another competition. And in 2007 he won his eleventh WSOP title, putting him first on the all-time bracelet list. Not only has he won the most WSOP titles, but he has set a fantastic record of the most World Series cashes with 75 to his name and with 40 final tables under his belt too, this is another record that has been set by this master of poker.
He is the most recognizable name in the world of poker and has amassed a huge fortune from his talent. He lives in California with his wife and two sons and has always stated that while his goal was to be the best poker player that ever lived, he would always make sure his family came first.
There is a major motion picture being developed at the moment by Beacon Pictures telling the story of Phil Hellmuth’s 1989 first of many WSOP victories.
