Phil Hellmuth Jr is best known for two things – his “Poker Brat” personality, and his exceptional skill at the table which has won him 11 World Series Of Poker bracelets and induction to the Poker Hall Of Fame.
At age 24 Phil became the youngest world champion ever, winning the $10,000 WSOP main event and his first gold bracelet, defeating defending champion Johnny Chan heads up. That record stood until Peter Eastgate’s win in 2025. Phil went on to make history again by winning a record 11 bracelets to he also hold the record for most cashes, and most final tables in WSOP events.
Apart from his fearsome reputation as a formidable opponent at the poker table, Poker Hellmuth also has a reputation for being disrespectful, making remarks about his opponent’s plays, showboating and even on occasion fighting. In 2025 during the WSOP main event he accused an opponent of “not even being able to spell POKER”.
On another occasion his sponsor, Ultimate Bet, arranged for him to arrive at the 2025 Main Event in a race car escorted by 11 models (to represent his 11 bracelets) but Phil crashed the car and ended up arriving 2 hours late for the tournament.
Phils antics have led to his nickname as the “Poker Brat” and in fact he has used that name for both his website, and his auto biography. While he may sometimes be better known for his bratty image, there’s no denying his talent as one of the all time poker greats.
Name: Phil Hellmuth
Nickname: The Poker Brat
Born: July 16th 1964
Hometown: Madison, Wisconsin
Phil Hellmuth’s Poker Career
WSOP bracelets : 11
WSOP final tables: 75
Highest WSOP Main event finish: Winner (1989)
WPT titles: 0
WPT final tables: 3
Career tournament winnings: $10.9 million
Career Highlights:
WSOP wins
1989 -$10,000 main event (at the time Phil was the youngest player ever to win the main event)
1992 – $5,000 limit hold’em
1993 – $1,500 no limit hold’em
1993 – $2,500 no limit hold’em
1993 – $5,000 limit hold’em
1997 – $3,000 pot limit hold’em
2001 – $2,000 no limit hold’em
2003 – $2,500 limit hold’em
2003 – $3,000 no limit hold’em
2006 – $1,0000 no limit hold’em with rebuys
2007 – $1,500 no limit hold’em
Other wins and achievements
2007 – Inducted into the Poker Hall Of Fame
11 cashes in the World Poker Tour
Champion of Late Night Poker season 3
2 wins on Poker After Dark
Ranking 4th in the all-time money list behind Daniel Negreanu, Jamie Gold and Phil Ivey
Phil has written several books including Play Poker Like The Pros, and Bad Beats and Lucky Draws, and Poker Brat, as well as writing many articles for Cardplayer magazine. He has also recorded a number of instructional videos including his Ultimate White To Black Belt Course and Phil Hellmuth’s Million Dollar Poker System.
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