Just skip to the last section if you don't feel like reading a whole lot.
@Sickbeatz Well, Phil Hellmuth thinks he is the greatest player in the world. I beg to differ. I have no thoughts on how good he is other than in the contexts that I've seen him play. I don't think that tournament success and cash game failure equates to the greatest player of all time. Greatest tournament player? Yes, I'll agree to that. Not however greatest player in the world. If you feel I'm making an incorrect assumption on his perception of himself, well, then you're wrong. The way he insults other players and their plays. To think that his way is the only way and if someone else plays differently they must be a bad player, he feels his way is superior and that any action he wouldn't take is a bad play. He also claims to get unlucky against amateurs, when really he played badly. Now I'm sure Phil Hellmuth is a great player, even in cash games, and I'm not saying he doesn't have a lifetime profit there. But if I were to put him in the context where he claims to belong I don't think he would stand a chance, I've seen him in this context multiple times (HSP, PAD) and not once have I seen him play anywhere near the level he thinks he plays at.
As for tournament cashes etc. I agree with you on him being the most successful tournament player.
Are you saying he has a right to his ego? That him berating other players because they didn't do what he would do, or wanted them to do, is therefore justified? If you feel that because he has a higher level of success he should be able to get away with horrible etiquette, and is justified in the beratement of other players then you need to reassess your thought process. All these detrimental actions are a direct product of his ego. So I'll blame him for being a **** and lacking in humility. I'm not against having an ego, if someone thinks they are good, then fine. I have no problem with that. The problem is when it is so big that you become a hypocrite, and feel you should get away with things other people cannot.
@Dunning I have no doubt he is great. Compare him to myself and he is practically a God. I have no idea how good his game is in the context that I play and I never will. So I have no way to say that he is bad or good. I just don't think that he is the best player in the world, which is what he thinks. Again, one dimensional success isn't evidence of the best player in the world.
If he were to sit down at a table, whether six max or full ring (or HU), cash or tournament, with players like Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Sam Trickett, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Galfond, Tom Dwan and Viktor Blom. Then I think he would be a losing player. I think like placing him among these players would be accurate according to his perception of himself as a poker player. In reality, I wouldn't place him among these guys.
