Poker Player - Phil Hellmuth Jr
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Phillip J. Hellmuth Jr was born on the 16th July in 1964 in Madison, Wisconsin he currently resides in Palo Alto, California with his wife Kathy and two children. Phil started to play poker while attending the University of Wisconsin, which he attended for three years before dropping out to play poker on a full time basis. Phil began to develop his playing skills in local games in his hometown and the surrounding area but there was only so much money he could make in Wisconsin and he decided to branch out to Las Vegas. When Phil hit Las Vegas he hit it with a boom when in 1989 he became the youngest poker player to win the world champion of poker when he defeated two in a row winner Johnny Chan in the World Series of Poker main event costing Johnny his third consecutive title and at the time Phil was only 24. Phil didn't stop there and he soon became a force to be reckoned with on the poker scene and would later be voted by his peers to be the 'best all-round poker player in the world' and his list of accomplishments shows why.
In the World Series of Poker Events alone Phil has an impressive record list in 1989 when he beat Johnny Chan he was competing in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship event where he not only won a WSOP bracelet but also prize money of $755,000. In 1992 Phil went on to win his second WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 Limit Hold'em event winning prize money of $188,000, his fortune continued in 1993 when he won three WSOP bracelet's in one year the first was in the $1,500 Limit Hold'em were he won $138,000, at the $2,500 No Limit Hold'em event he won $161,400, in the $5,000 No Limit Hold'em event he won $173,000. Phil's next poker bracelet was won in 1997 at the $3,000 Pot Limit Hold'em event winning prize money of $204,000. 2001 saw Phil win a seventh WSOP bracelet at the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event taking home $316,000, in 2003 Phil went on to win a further two bracelets the first at the $2,500 Limit Hold'em event winning $171,400 and then he went on to the $3,000 No Limit Hold'em to win $410,860. Phil had become one of the most successful tournament players along with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan each holding ten WSOP bracelets, he has made a staggering 3.6 million dollars in winnings at the WSOP making him one of the all time top money winners.
The WSOP is not the only place that Phil has made his mark on the game of poker in April 2000 at the Jack Binon World Poker Open, Phil finished in first place in the No Limit Hold'em event winning $53,932, in July of the same year he won the Global Pot Limit No-Limit open winning $9,225 in the Pot Limit Hold'em and Omaha event. In September 2000 he won the No Limit Hold'em event in the Pot of Gold Tournament winning prize money of $8,092, followed by the Poker EM 2000 in October were he won the Limit Seven-card Stud event and $161,920 prize. In March 2001 Phil won the Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event in the Shooting Stars Tournament taking home the prize money of $13,875, in 2003 Phil won the L.A Poker Classic- World Poker Tour Season One, Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event scooping the $55,485 prize and in 2005 Phil came first in the No Limit Hold'em event at the National Heads-Up Poker Championship winning a half-a-million dollars.
Phil's success doesn't stop at only playing poker he also writes about it, Phil has produced three poker books to date with his first book 'Play Poker like the Pros' making the New York Times best seller list, after this books success he released 'Bad Beats and Lucky Draws' in 2004 and then 'Texas Hold'em' in 2005. Phil also has a book due for release which is autobiographical and is titled 'Poker Brat' the nickname given to him for his attitude and ego at the poker table, despite his reputation it is pretty clear that we will be hearing a lot more from Phil Hellmuth Jr.
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