Phil Hellmuth

Well they did it again. The ESPN coverage of Day Five of the main event of the World Series of Poker has changed the events as they actually happened. I am referring to the last five minutes where they show Phil Hellmuth going "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" on Cristian Dragomir. They got the hand, they got about 50% of Phil's antics and all of Dragomir's reation. They missed the great sideshow with the audience taunting Phil and they missed Mike Matusow, who first laughs hysterically and then later tells Phil he is "way out of line" and he should stop.

I understand they have to edit something out but they completely ignored the penalty given to Phil for his behavior. It was a one orbit penalty, which would have meant over 80,000 of Phil's remaining stack of 720,000 would be blinded off before he was allowed to take this seat the next day. The penalty was a one orbit or nine hand infraction.

But overnight, after an early morning meeting with WSOP commissioner Jeffery Pollack and Tournament Director Jack Effel, the Hellmuth penalty was lifted. Now the Poker Shrink will tell you that the penalty should never have been given and I am not going to argue with him because he was at the feature table at the end of play on Day Five. My complaint is not with the penalty or the reversal of the penalty. I want to know why ESPN is ignoring it.

They had no problem listing Chino Rheem's police record during the show and mentioning Mike Matusow's now five year old run in with the law but a penalty given to albeit the biggest name in poker is not worth mentioning? So much for independent coverage of the Series. Just who is in who's back pocket here?

There is a battle coming over player conduct at the poker table. This all started before Scotty Nguyen's drunken performance during the WSOP H.O.R.S.E. event. But I want to go on record right now and say: "Enough is Enough!"

Now you might be thinking, well the Poker Shrink is going to wail on Scotty and Phil and Mike and Sheiky and Hevad for their behavior at the tables. Wrong! I am completely opposed to the politically correct lynch mob that wants to turn poker into a tea party. Don't kid yourself for a moment that is precisely what some moralistic busybodies are trying to do.

Now should Scotty have been reined in by the WSOP staff during the $50K H.O.R.S.E. event; well, of course. But they did nothing and as I have said before that is not the fault of the Assistant Tournament Director running that final table. All evidence in the past at WSOP events is that "some players" get a pass on the rules because quite frankly, it makes for good TV. Right now the WSOP is writing new rules for player conduct. I hope they don't go too far. I have written to Jeffery Pollack, Jack Effel and Ty Stewart with my opinion on this matter but I am sure they are hearing from many sources.

If you want to see what I mean by "going too far" take a few minutes to read the World Poker Association Code of Ethics. Tell me after reading those rules that you don't feel like some romantic poetry or perhaps a long walk on the beach at sunset.

The problem with giving any group of individuals the power to make laws is that they will invariably make laws, whether they are needed or not. Do you want the goody two-shoes of the world running poker? I don't.

Should there be rules for player conduct? Well, of course there should. But the key in my opinion is the enforcement at the tables and that must include a clear, unmistakable warning system. I have suggested that something like the "yellow card" in soccer. You see when the yellow card is shown, the referee requires that the player acknowledge the warning. They know they have been warned. Let my give you a recent example of the current fuzzy rules.

Phil Hellmuth was given a one round penalty at the end of play on Day Five in this year's WSOP main event. As you know that penalty was rescinded before Day Six began. Now, I was there for that incident and I can tell you that no penalty should have been given. Why? Was Phil not out of line? No, he definitely was. However, Phil has been warned many times in the past and never, repeat never given a penalty. Why would he think the warning meant anything different this time. Secondly, when he finally given the penalty, Phil looked at the Tournament Director and said: "You think they put my on the television table to be quiet?" Of all the lines I have ever heard Phil deliver that was the most telling. Phil is a draw, they want him to be Phil and yet at some point they decided it was what? Too much Phil? How is he supposed to know where that line is? So in this case, based on the rules as they now stand, I completely agree with the penalty being rescinded.

You want rules, fine; how about we let poker players decide on what is and is not a good rule. The F-Bomb has been modified and now, in theory, is only, enforced if you direct the expletive at a player or staff person. The old 100% ban was just not well thought out and fortunately has been changed. However, a floor may, at any time, warn a player that their language is out of line and must stop or they will receive a penalty. Either of those clauses could have and should have been invoked in the case of Scotty Nguyen; they were not. So why should Scotty change his behavior, it made for great TV and no one told him to stop.

Now, wait you say, why shouldn't we have stricter rules to keep the poker table civil and friendly. The simple reason is that people making rules just don't know when to stop. Don't believe me. Here is another "rule" from the World Poker Association. WPA Rule #13. TV Final Table Clothing: Collared shirts and/or sports jackets are required for men; smart casual clothing for women. And let's make sure everyone has a manicure, you know all those close up shots of a player's hands; heaven forbid someone has excess cuticle.

Some people call it the toughest cash game in the world. Others say it is the most fun. Whatever it is, great poker television comes out of the Party Poker-Poker Den. The Den involves handful of the most-seasoned professional poker players fighting it out in a marathon high-stakes cash game in front of television cameras. Poker TV doesn’t get any better than this.

The poker pros set to make an appearance are some of the most colorful personalities in the game. Scheduled to play are Phil Hellmuth, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliot, Tony G, Jamie Gold, Brian Townsend, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Jennifer Tilly, Andrew Feldman, Sammy “Any Two” George, Robert Williamson III, Phil Laak, and Antonio Esfandiari.

This year the Den is going to be even more interesting for the players and the audience. While the first two Den Games were 24 hour events, this year, the Big Game will run for 36 hours straight.

Eddie Hearn, head of online gaming at Matchroom Sport said:

“The Poker Den has come a long way since we started back in the summer of 2005, the Big Game has been such a huge success, and the two series so far have attracted the best players in the world.”

Players will sit down with a minimum of $10,000 but no more than $20,000 and play with $25-$50 blinds. As usual, there will be a lot of straddling, guaranteeing a lot of action. Players are free to leave the table at any time; up, down or busted.

The show will be filmed September 30 and October 1; and will be shown on Channel 5 in the U.K. next year. Commenter Jesse May will be present during the entire duration of the event. To learn more about the cash game, go to Match Room Poker.

Whatever your favorite four letter word is, today is the time to mutter it under your breath. No need to shout it out loud, no need to shake your fist and rant to the gods, just mutter it quietly and dream of what might have been. There will be no "big" name at the World Series final table in November. I know the odds were long on someone making it but yesterday they played down to 27 and lost Hellmuth and Matusow. Damn that would have been great. Four months of either of those guys would have been just amazing for poker.

Now the publicity machines will have to focus on the nine who survive today and try to create some interesting characters. Tiffany Michelle is the one player remaining who it might be possible to elevate to some real level of celebrity. Also in the mix are Brandon Cantu and Phi Nguyen both are "know professionals" to the poker world. But it was sad and painful when Matusow left the field in 30th place. The last chance at a truly big show for November was resting on his shoulders and, of course, he got nailed by a 3 outer; but the real bad beat was delivered not to Mike but to the Fall Final.

Another packed final table goes off today in Event #28 $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/ rebuys. Johnny Chan is after bracelet number eleven and Phil Hellmuth, though short-stacked is in the hunt for number twelve. Add to that mix John Juanda, David Benyamine at another final table, Kirill Gerasimov, some kid named Daniel Negreanu, Phil Galfond enters as chipleader and local professional Brian Rast in second. This will be another of those special final tables.

Here is the line-up as they get ready to go at it later this afternoon.
[We are updating as players are eliminated, summary below]

2 AM: Phil Galfond's sixth WSOP cash is his biggest so far (by about $800,000), as is Adam Hourani's second WSOP cash (about $450K larger). Over 100 hands heads up were needed to settle the bracelet matter between these two well known internet players.

Phil Galfond (Madison, Wisconsin) -- 1st place
Adam Hourani (East Lansing, Michigan) -- 2nd place
David Benyamine (Las Vegas, Nevada) -- 3rd place
Johnny Chan (Las Vegas, Nevada) -- 4th place
Kirill Gerasimov (Moscow, Russia) -- 5th place
John Juanda (Las Vegas, Nevada) -- 6th place
Daniel Negreanu (Las Vegas, Nevada) -- 7th place
Phil Hellmuth (Palo Alto, California) -- 8th place
Brian Rast (Las Vegas, Nevada) -- 9th place

David Benyamine 3rd place. David played his Aces strong but ran into a set of Queens.

Johnny Chan 4th place and the bid for an 11th bracelet is over.

Kirill Gerasimov 5th place.

John Juanda 6th place, Daniel Negreanu 7th place, Phil Hellmuth 8th place Late in level three, three superstars were sent to the rail.

Brian Rast 9th place It took nearly two full levels and lots of chips moving around the table before we lost our first player. Brian Rast, local professional known to many internet players as tsarast, got it in ahead but was run down on the river by the current chipleader: Johnny Chan.

The Poker Den is back for a second season. Perhaps the most entertaining live cash poker game on television will try it again next week.

PartyPoker announced that ‘PartyPoker Poker Den: The Big Game II’ is set to take place on Friday 14th September and will be broadcast on television around the world next year. The format is simple; it is a 24 hour continuous cash game where each player will buy-in for a minimum of $10,000.

The first Poker Den was UK television last year was dominated by a performance by Phil Hellmuth which was described by commentator Padraig Parkinson as “half murder, half suicide.” Phil is expected to return and join a line-up that includes Dave “The Devilfish” Ulliott, Tony G, Roland De Wolfe, Brian Townsend, Liz Lieu, Ian Frazer, Dan Carter, Roy Brindley, Nikolaus Jedlicka, Ian Woodley, Anthony Hardy, Neil Channing, Dave Gregory and Phil Curtis. Names are still being added to the line-up.

Clips from PartyPoker Poker Den: The Big Game I programmes broadcast on Five in the UK earlier this year have become cult viewing on the internet, including:

Tony G and Phil Hellmuth
Tony G and Phil Curtis
Juha Helppi & Phil
More Tony & Phil

A PartyPoker spokesman said:

“Last time there were fireworks and we don’t expect anything different this time around. We are just worried that we’ll find a room big enough to accommodate their egos. Wembley Stadium wasn’t available so we had to settle for something smaller.”

Here is a very good promo clip from last year's Big Game

PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker FINAL TABLE starts airing on Channel 4 in UK on August 22nd. The final table schedule is:

Channel 4 August 22nd at 0:10am
Channel 4 Plus 1 August 22nd at 1:10am
Channel 4 Plus 1 August 29th at 1:10am

Premier League Poker is a new format which brings together 12 of the poker worlds' leading players. The challenging format is what makes the Premier League stand out from other poker events made for television. Each player was required to play six times, after which the leading four players would advance to the final table. The players in fifth to eigth places then played off in heads-up matches to qualify for the two remaining seats at the final table.

US ‘Poker Brat’ Phil Hellmuth enters as chip leader closely followed by Germany’s Eddy Scharf. Finland’s Juha Helppi and England’s Ian Frazer automatically qualified for the final table through their positions in the final league table. There were two play-off heads-up matches for the last two spots on the final table with Liz Lieu beating Kenna James and Vicky Coren seeing off Andrew Black.

Here is the complete list of Premier League Poker players:

Vicky Coren*
Andy Black
Liz Lieu*
Devilfish Dave Ulliottt
Ian Frazer*
Kenna James
Roland De Wolfe
Kirill Gerasimov
Juha Helppi*
Phil Hellmuth*
Tony G
Eddy Scharf*

PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker has been one of the best received televised poker formats on UK television in years and has been acclaimed by both players and viewers and acknowledged as a ratings winner. There is also a significant buzz about the tournament on the internet. A snippet can be seen HERE.

A World Series of Poker "Bracelet" Quiz today. See how much you know about the top 'multiple bracelet' winners. For those of you who think you are WSOP history masters, skip down past the break and try to list the top bracelet winners in order--for the rest of us humans--I will ask you questions and give you hints as needed to fill in the arms to wear the bracelets.

#1: If you don't get this one, give up the quiz immediately. Who is the only player with 11 WSOP bracelets?

#2: Name the two players with 10 bracelets each. You need to get the first two questions correct to qualify for the fast money round.

There will be a hint for question #3.

#3: Who is the only player with 9 WSOP wins?

HINT: He won the very first main event.
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ANSWERS: 1-Phil Hellmuth Jr.; 2-Johnny Chan & Doyle Brunson; 3-Johnny Moss. You need at least 3 out of 4 to continue.

Three coveted WSOP bracelets will be on offer in the inaugural events to be held in London from September 6th – 16th. The £10,000 buy-in and $3 million anticipated first prize for the Main Event is sure to attract all the World’s best players to the UK.

The inaugural WSOP Europe begins September 6 with a three-day, £2,500 HORSE event at The Casino at The Empire, LCI's newest casino in Leicester Square. The Empire will also be the host casino for a two-day, £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event starting September 8.

On September 10, the WSOP Europe Main Event - a six-day, £10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'Em Championship - will begin at three card rooms in The Empire, The Sportsman and Fifty. The playing field will be consolidated beginning September 13 at The Empire.

Pre-registration for the World Series of Poker Europe has been open for two weeks and already some of the biggest names in poker have paid the £10,000 entry fee to the Main Event.

Phil Hellmuth, Humberto Brenes, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Roland de Wolfe, John Juanda, Allen Cunningham, Jamie Gold, Todd Brunson, Eli Elezra, Howard Lederer and Jennifer Harman are just a few of the players already committed to playing the event.

These will be the first World Series event to be held outside of Las Vegas and despite some concerns about diluting the value of a WSOP bracelet, it would seem that the opportunity for a WSOP Championship is drawing a very strong field to London.

When it was announced in the Amazon Room at the World Series of Poker that Phil Hellmuth had won his record 11th bracelet there was a smattering of applause (OK, a few claps), mixed in with a few boos (OK, more than a few) but all in all general disinterest. You see the observable facts of life on the poker circuit and in nearly every poker room in the world are that generally poker players do not like Phil Hellmuth.

Sure, I know you have heard this all before, the “Poker Brat” stuff and the “Hellmuth Blow-ups” for the television cameras. But return with me now to the entire day of Phil’s record-breaking 11th bracelet and let me tell you about a different Phil Hellmuth. A Phil that might surprise you.

BELL GARDENS, CA--Layne Flack was scheduled to play tomorrow, but that didn’t stop him from hanging out at the Legends of Poker $10K tonight in between trips to the bar down the hall. When he wasn’t jawing with various members of the media, he was pacing around the room, occasionally stopping to punch in a message on his Sidekick. I had set up my laptop on a poker table in the area outside the ballroom that had been converted into a makeshift media row.

All of a sudden, Gavin Smith and Phil Hellmuth came flying out of the tournament area. They headed right to my table and took the 8 and 9 seats. Hellmuth had just been issued a 10-minute penalty for dropping the f-bomb in a conversation with Smith, who was giving him a friendly razzing from the rail. Gavin wasn’t playing today either, having just ended a broadcast of Card Player’s poker radio show “The Circuit.”

After joking around for a minute about the penalty, Gavin and Phil’s true degenerate gambling spirits emerged. Chinese Poker. $300 a point.

“I’ve only got 8 minutes. Deal fast, Layne.” Phil said.
“Actually you have two minutes” said the floorman.
“Then I’ll only play two hands. Who’s in?”

Layne Flack was in. So was Gavin Smith, as well as a third gentleman Phil didn’t immediately recognize.

ESPN has reports of another tell -- this one picked up by Phil Hellmuth on Jamie Gold.

Seriously ... Blackberries, cell phones, Sidekicks, Treos, flailing arms ... if live poker becomes part of the future of poker (which it should), then this sort of coaching and tell-telling will also become a very real issue.

(Football teams didn't put coaches high up in booths looking at instant replay way back in the day, after all.)

Multiple "major" $1,500 NLH events have been going on in the background for the past week without too many people paying attention. But here in the wee hours (6 am Vegas time) they're down to four players in Event #45 ... and Hellmuth is 2nd in chips. Another final table for Phil ... even if it is essentially a "second chance" tourney, will make for an interesting semi-uncovered side story ... imagine everyone waking up for the final day of the 2006 main event only to learn that Phil Hellmuth is officially the most decorated player in the history of the WSOP.