Is Phil Hellmuth the best NLHE player in the world? Doyle Brunson says 'Yes!'

[Kenzie 96]

Who's Shirley??

Damn, I was hopin you knew her, she left her number BR-549, it brings back memories but

 

[ninjareal]

hi all , I'll add my 5c , it's not about $ earned, take Antonio Esfandiari, won the big one for one drop for 18 million yes ? that puts him ahead on the money list of other players who have consistency, perhaps 60% itm , imo high itm consistency is what proves how good a player is , winning one or two mtt out of say 300 played is not the same as cashing itm 30 out of 50 mtt played,
whether Helmuth is the best or not isn't a big concern for me, his results are awesome and those with no bracelets belittling him is just jealousy and pettiness.
the best way to prove you're better is to do better, simple

 

[ScottyDee]

Best player

I disagree. Many better players than Helmuth

 

[korbal29]

He is the best folder I believe, which in turn makes him at the very least one of the best. I have seen him lay down some killer hands, he just seems to know when the suck out comes. lol
I have also watched Negraneu state what he is sure his opponent has and calls anyway. Usually when he has a lot of chips though, making sure he is right?
I have to get back to not needing to know....and folding when I am sure I am beat at the river.

Thats what makes him the best in the world. I watched helmuth for over 20years and let me tell you something: When he puts his chips in the middle ,you better say a prayer because 99% you are done.

 

[TUGIN777]

Well, in fairness, I want to note that both the competition and the players in the tournaments used to be much less. But what you can't take away from Phil is his understanding of poker..If only he could be less "reactive" in his emotions....

 

[AKQ]

Heres the thing about being the best.
If you are the greatest driver but your car always stalls on the final lap. You can best everyone but not win and not cash.
MOST OF THE TIME
Phill cant beat Dwan or Polk
Dwan cant beat Brunson or Farha
Brunson can't beat Ivey
Ivey cant beat Gus Hansen
Gus can't beat Ferguson (legitly)

Phill Hellmuth is the best at winning the wsop bracelets and cashes.
He is not the best, but at one point he was on the path and founded the idea of GTO unknowingly. But then he got his head blown up by some bracelets and stopped trying.
Now for those of us with no bracelets and only got badbeats instead of FAME, we are killing the game.
Phill even befriended Doug Polk (smart move)
But theres alot of people that are the best .........and can lose in this game to ANYONE at any bad time
They never got to play me before
I'm the best
Who else here is too?

 

[unadonk]

Like the game itself we fittingly must access the question of "who is/was best" with incomplete information.

 

[ga25x]

I would never agree to that. He's good at WSOP only.
I think he is a fish in cash games.
Stu Ungar is considered by many GOT of tournament poker, but he's like Ronaldinho in football, didn't care much bout that.

 

[1nsomn1a]

in poker, anyone can win against anyone, but if you count by the number of trophies won, then everything is said correctly.

 

[pirateglenn]

There is no such thing as GOT, theres only most successful to date in terms of cash and titles so if you are basing it on that - Phil Helmuth has a shot but heads up is a totally different ball of wax.

 

[daddybrooks]

Not sure where Doyle got 200 from, last I read Phil had entered 397 total "named" tournaments. Cashing in 154 is a nice batting average number, one to aspire to by anyone. Best or not, can't argue that he's good at what he does. I would Freaky Friday trade with him anytime.

 

[dbchristy]

There is alot to be said of sportsmanship. If Tiger acted like Phil on the greens, well I just dont know. Yea hes good but I cant stand the man. I dont know about THE BEST!

 

[57noona]

What Doyle said was he was the best tournament player of all time. He didn’t say anything about heads up or cash game anywhere. I like Phil but I don’t think anyone should have the title of best anything in poker. He is a great tournament player. I don’t know how good a cash game player he is because I don’t his cash game abilities as often as we should.

 

[Natasha Veneska]

He does have more patience than others it seems. Thats the deciding factor, for me.

 

[antonis32123]

I've just read my previous post on this thread , written 1 year ago , I laughed . Exaggerations . No one is hater if he says that Hellmuth Is not the best
Hellmuth is good , one of the best , but the best , the very best of ALL ????
He is 19th in all time money list with his 16 bracelets , Negreanu is in 4th place in all time money list but he only has 6 bracelets ........ Maybe if he wins more millions of $$$ in the upcoming years ....

 

[Viper ChipIt]

He's probably the best tournament player in mid buy in large field mtts. He's definitely not better then the high stake regs but he also has never shown interest in being better then them. He's a pure poker professional he only plays in games that he has a significant edge and respect that.

 

[Pokerpoet2]

He is undoubtedly one of the best players in the Poker World, No one can deny that but! he needs to control his temper, as many of his opponent's try to put him on tilt by ridiculing him at every opportunity, they do it on purpose, so that he will go Ballistic! and throw one of his famous tantrums!
Phil got himself a personal trainer, but not for Physical fitness or playing better Poker, but to get him to a point where the insult's and jibe's didn't effect him or how he play's.
Poker is more than just a card game, and your opponent will fire every weapon in his arsenal to try and beat you, sometimes that can be in what he says to you over the table, Tony G is one player I hate because he is one of the worst when it comes to verbal attacks on other players "You gotta have Heart!" "I'm going to destroy you" are just two of the phrase's he has mouthed off at other players, He needs a gag and would never win a poker game if he was not allowed to use his big mouth.

When the fun Stops, STOP!

 

[elJenio8]

I think it is. He has some horrible luck in cash games so people think is bad in that, we he is one of the best too

In tournaments no doubt he is the best, and in cash games he is on the top too, he won a High Stakes HU tournament and reach the final 2 in other one.

When Hellmuth gets angry he is dangerous, he raise any hand, its better to keep him calm.

 

[lSadaFHl]

both players are very good in their own way! without Phil Hellmuth - poker would be much more boring! PHIL IS A LEGEND!

 

[spectralwave]

In the year 2020, living legend Doyle Brunson named the best poker player of all time. Amidst so many names that have established themselves in the sport, including Brunson himself, the 88-year-old legend had the humility to elect the "best player of all time". In his own words "Tex Dolly", who has 10 bracelets under his belt, didn't think twice to say: "The greatest player of all time is Chip Reese. Nobody comes close."

 

[zipocool]

Phil Hellmuth is the best player in the world according to Phil Hellmuth)) of course he is very good offline due to his experience, but on the internet the high stakes regulars will just tear him apart)

 

[jsnake716]

Doyle Brunson stated in a tweet yesterday, "I just saw Phil Helmuth has cashed 154 times at the WSOP so he has probably entered 200 tournaments. He is the best NLH tournament player in the world, in my opinion."

So, is Doyle Brunson right? What do you think?

Doyle Brunson Says Phil Hellmuth is the Greatest No-Limit Hold’em Player in the World

It seems what everyone is missing in this discussion is the fact that live tournament poker is just 1 format of poker. Is Phil very good at navigating through a field of tournament players? Absolutely, I would not want to be at his table in a live setting.

Is Phil the BEST cash game player ever? I say NO, not even close. Is Phil the best heads-up player? Again, Phil wins heads-up sit n go format. This is not a heads up cash match, like Dnegs and Polk played. So no, Phil is not a great heads up player. I don't understand how people cannot accept that poker has many different formats. I really do not think it is possible to pick 1 player as the best player at every kind of poker.

Phil H. has definitely put all of his energy into being the most famous poker player and I think he has definitely pulled that off. Much respect to Phil, he has enjoyed a great life, because of his love for the game.