Phil Helmuth - Great player or overrated ?

Sixes Full

Sixes Full

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Total posts
119
Chips
0
I just witnessed PH performance in the wsop 2010 ME. Needless to say I was unimpressed and even annoyed when he put down the other player who obviously outplayed him. Any thoughts?
 
M

Marginal

Junior Member
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 28, 2009
Total posts
10,426
Awards
3
Chips
2
He is an asshat but he is poker's asshat.
 
ckickenking

ckickenking

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Total posts
1,006
Awards
1
Chips
1
Great player

Hey, Helmuth may never win another bracelet, but he can still get to a final table. Just look at his results in event #41 of WSOP 2010. Also earlier in the year he made a Bay 101 final table too. He may not be like, but he is still skilled enough to be consider as one of the greats:cool:.
 
B

Big Daddy K

Rising Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Total posts
6
Chips
0
He is garbage and he knows it. He is probably acting a lot though, but he is still a tool.
 
M

mikejm

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 13, 2010
Total posts
212
Chips
0
yea i saw him get wrecked tonight also. it was actually embarassing he shows up late and in a boxers robe. he needs to stop worrying about outside stuff and just play poker.
 
M

mosseyAJ

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Total posts
116
Chips
0
He is garbage and he knows it. He is probably acting a lot though, but he is still a tool.

Garbage? I guess they let garbage poker players in the poker hall of fame, that makes sense. And there is probably a lot of garbage poker players with 11 bracelets.

He is a tool? AGREED.

Is it awesome to watch any table where he and Matusow are at? YES
 
rounder22

rounder22

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Total posts
297
Chips
0
I think Phil is a great player he's proven that over a long period of time, but his antics annoy people but it is also good television.
 
T

thejuanupsman

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 19, 2008
Total posts
409
Chips
0
As much as I dislike Phil's personality he is without a doubt one of the greatest tournament players.
 
M

Mr Whatever

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Total posts
232
Chips
0
guy is a poker tournament immortal lolo

pay attention to his results, and not the side show.

hes great for poker, like an earlier poster wrote. because 1 way or the other ppl start to care about poker because of his nonsense at the table.

i tune in sometimes just to see what he does, but i havent watched poker on tv in awhile.

hes great for poker, whether u like him or not.

it is sooo sad he represents that awful online poker site. those ub costumes that he shows up to the ME are stupid. boxer outfit this yr? ugh.
 
Sixes Full

Sixes Full

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Total posts
119
Chips
0
I agree with everyone who says he is great TV, no doubt. The whining and insults just make more people want to tune in to see what kind of blow up is next. It also makes people want to target him. I agree he is a great NLHE tourney player, but lately he has been less than great, or at least less great than he says he is.
11 bracelets is great, but that took 20 years with smaller, less intelligent fields. The young guns these days will have 40 bracelets in 20 years...
 
Rldetheflop

Rldetheflop

Head Ranger
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 11, 2009
Total posts
1,959
Chips
0
well I am not sure that it is fair to judge his play just on what we see on TV since it is so very edited

however the hands that were shown on TV sure did make him look like a donk.

2 hands in specifically come to mind.

hand #1 he calls a LP raise from the BB with 76o. Now I understand the idea of blind defense but in the very early stages of a huge tourney like that I am not sure this it is a good play.

hand #2 he flats a button raise with JJ in the BB. then check/calls the flop and then checks the turn with no overs and then bets the river once the button hits the nut flush. Then calls the guy the worst player at the table for open raising the button with a suited A. C-bet with the nut flush draw. checked the turn for a free card then raised once he had the nuts. How was this a bad play?
 
R

RamdeeBen

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Total posts
7,745
Chips
0
I think Phil Hellmuth is great to watch in both ways, controversy as well as great playing style.

His outbursts are what gives the game a bit of some excitement. Obviously when he goes over the top and keeps on be-rating the player i don't agree with but to watch him blow up over something he wouldn't of played makes excellent television in my opinion. Just like any sort of competitive league there's always one and i think it needs someone like Hellmuth. His results speak for themselves and i do believe he is one of the best past/present.
 
dmorris68

dmorris68

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
May 27, 2008
Total posts
6,788
Awards
2
Chips
0
The persona is *mostly* an act. He's an attention whore, yes, and his persona fulfills that need, but he admits some of it comes from being a sore loser and letting his emotions take over. He's usually very apologetic after he goes off on someone, and has said many times that he wants to curb that negative energy. But I think it's too much a part of him now and he's not been able to control it lately. Witness his near fetal position breakdown when he was sucked out on and eliminated in that WPT event.

Virtually everyone who knows Helmuth personally says that away from the table he's the best friend you could ever want, extremely loyal and will give the shirt off his back to anyone who needs help. You see Mikey giving him grief all the time on TV but the truth is they're best friends. In Mikey's book he speaks very highly of Helmuth as a person and a friend even while insulting his poker abilities.

His cash poker skills are as bad as his tournament skills have been good, but the game has changed a lot since his heyday and although he can still be a force I don't forsee any more bracelets in his future. I have no doubt that players like Ivey and Sidell will break his bracelet record in the next few years. But unlike most other pros (with the exception of the FT founding pros Lederer/Ivey/Ferguson/et al), Helmuth is a marketing juggernaut who clears way more money away from the poker table than any other pro. His endorsements, appearance fees, and investments/business ventures earn him far more than even the biggest poker winnings, so you have to give the guy some credit for being smart. The vast majority of pros can only dream of the success Helmuth has had.
 
J

jmill

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 22, 2010
Total posts
165
Chips
0
I agree with everyone who says he is great TV, no doubt. The whining and insults just make more people want to tune in to see what kind of blow up is next. It also makes people want to target him. I agree he is a great NLHE tourney player, but lately he has been less than great, or at least less great than he says he is.
11 bracelets is great, but that took 20 years with smaller, less intelligent fields. The young guns these days will have 40 bracelets in 20 years...


Its going to be virtually impossible for anyone including pros to get more than 10 braclets now. The fields are so large now that even the pros can get knocked out by new players anytime. You are seeing a lot more amature players going deep and not as many pros going real deep.

However, Phil is a good player. 11 bracelets means something. His attitude at the tables is of course annoying, but then again he may be paid to act like that. Its drama, and everybody loves watching drama. Makes for good tv and good ratings and profits for the stations.
 
GCB

GCB

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 3, 2009
Total posts
153
Chips
0
Phil Helmuth probably has some redeeming qualities, but none of that excuses the way he verbally berates players who are of lower status than him when they beat him fair and square. That's just being a jerk.

I can tell Phil exactly how to overcome his problem. Make it a point to personally and sincerely apologize to every player he insults right after he does it, and do it in the presence of others and when the cameras are running.

Something about humbly apologizing makes it less likely you'll continue abusing others, and something about excusing yourself from apologizing makes it more likely you'll continue.
 
coolnout

coolnout

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Total posts
1,750
Chips
0
I just witnessed PH performance in the WSOP 2010 ME. Needless to say I was unimpressed and even annoyed when he put down the other player who obviously outplayed him. Any thoughts?

I really don't think he cares at this point. He got paid to make his entrance, and he's basically freerolling the Main Event.
 
B

Bovinity

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 16, 2009
Total posts
526
Chips
0
The young guns these days will have 40 bracelets in 20 years...

Its going to be virtually impossible for anyone including pros to get more than 10 braclets now. The fields are so large now that even the pros can get knocked out by new players anytime. You are seeing a lot more amature players going deep and not as many pros going real deep.

The flip side of that is that there are SO MANY MORE events in which you can win a bracelet now. Really hard to compare the different eras.
 
Daniel72

Daniel72

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Total posts
2,284
Awards
2
Chips
18
These entertaining guys are important for poker !
His live results show, that he is one of the best.
I think online he would be not that great, does he play online ?!
I "love" The Hellmouth lol.
 
O

onemorechance

live free or die
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Total posts
2,925
Chips
0
God that entrance at this years ME was awful
 
5TR8 FLUSH

5TR8 FLUSH

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
May 26, 2009
Total posts
1,681
Awards
4
US
Chips
181
He's a great player but has to be the most annoying, some of his acts are hilarious but once he start to insult he gets very annoying and makes himself look like an idiot. :)
 
O

onemorechance

live free or die
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Total posts
2,925
Chips
0
The A4 hand v that Carroll guy is pretty hilarious
 
M

Mr Whatever

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Total posts
232
Chips
0
ur nutty if u dont think this guy will win another bracelet in the next few yrs.

he won bracelets in back to back yrs only a few yrs ago. hes near the top of the most money won list at the wsop, most cashes, most bracelets. . . .it goes on and on.

and u cant go by what he wins or loses at cash games on tv. thats only a small portion and its against the top players in the world sitting all at 1 table. to judge his ability on that sampling isnt right.
 
T

ThunderPT

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 28, 2010
Total posts
336
Chips
0
hand #1 he calls a LP raise from the BB with 76o. Now I understand the idea of blind defense but in the very early stages of a huge tourney like that I am not sure this it is a good play.

It's a good play for a variety of reasons:

1) He's defending his blind like he shouls.
2) He may think he can outplay his opponent after the flop, even out of position
3 and most important) Don't forget they are very deep. 76 is a hand with potential. If he misses, he can easily let his hand go without losing much. If he hits his straight (or maybe a full house), he may get his opponent's whole stack. The implied odds are definitely there.

In deepstack tournaments these kind of hands (preferably suited) are way better than AK.
 
dmorris68

dmorris68

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
May 27, 2008
Total posts
6,788
Awards
2
Chips
0
ur nutty if u dont think this guy will win another bracelet in the next few yrs.
I'm nutty then. The game has mostly evolved past him, and he's a bit delusional about it. He has skils, and he's had his day in the spotlight, but there's a ton of better players than him now.

and u cant go by what he wins or loses at cash games on tv. thats only a small portion and its against the top players in the world sitting all at 1 table. to judge his ability on that sampling isnt right.
Even though it's pretty obvious by his TV play, who said I'm going by TV? It's widely said and written by the people who play with him regularly. He's a cash donk by all accounts, and not just on TV. Even his friends say that. When he walks into a room all the cash grinders and old-timers start salivating uncontrollably.
 
Top