Dan Colman Comes Out Guns Blazing Against Phil Hellmuth

Following Phil Hellmuth's interview on Brian Koppleman's podcast, the 2 + 2 forums served as a stage for a real drama that took place the last couple of days. Main protagonists: Phil Hellmuth and Dan Colman (although predominantly Colman).

Both of those names are well-known to the poker public. Dan Colman pretty much came out of anonymity earlier this year when he started winning tournament after tournament, with the biggest one being the Big One for One Drop. I would be hard-pressed to believe there is anyone reading these lines without at least some knowledge of the 'Dan Colman controversy' that followed his victory. The young gun refused to do the winner's interview, and afterwards explained his actions by stating his deep conviction that poker is a dark game that has led to the demise of many.

Phil Hellmuth clearly needs no introduction. Their poker-playing abilities aside, these two are completely different characters. The ‘Poker Brat’ has always been known to enjoy the attention of the media and talks often about poker as something challenging, fulfilling and gratifying.

So in Phil’s classic interview with Koppleman (writer of ‘Rounders'), Hellmuth was being Hellmuth with his classic boasting and somewhat dismissive attitude towards online poker / maths and the like.

Trolls gonna troll, that’s hardly news for anyone in the poker world, so it was a small wonder to see a ‘Hellmuth bashing’ thread pop up on 2 + 2 not long after the interview appeared online. However, Dan Colman took it to another level.

Enter Dan Colman

This wasn’t your average trolling of the ‘Phil this, Phil that’ type. It was an outright and full scale attack on one’s character. Some users joined in piling on, while others were supporting Colman in his statement, and, not surprisingly, the UltimateBet story resurfaced once again. In the midst of all this, someone probably warned Phil about the thread and his only comment about it was left on his Twitter feed.

Ouch, I was just attacked big time on a terrific poker forum: TwoPlusTwo. It was personal and it hurts, but I am proud of the man I am!
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) November 14, 2014

As for the UltimateBet matter, Phil Hellmuth was heavily involved with the company as their sponsored pro and it was during his involvement that two big incidents occurred – first the super-user cheating scandal and then player funds disappearing into nothing after Black Friday.

While players are somewhat willing to believe that Hellmuth could have been in the dark about the whole cheating issues (although some have their doubts), the fact that he continued to receive payments from the company even after Black Friday is what really bothers the majority.

Sins of the Past

As several users have pointed out, it clearly doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Hellmuth’s behavior and attitude during the entire UltimateBet demise was at least questionable. Even after the whole thing came crashing down, he pretty much refrained from making any statements.

The fact that Hellmuth wouldn’t cut his ties with the company even after the whole cheating scandal does speak somewhat about his character. Why he would remain silent in the midst of everything, sticking with the people who were ‘sticking’ it to the players is somewhat unclear. The only real motive that makes any kind of sense is – the money.

So Phil is not without fault, there is no denying that. But neither are many of the other top pros of the older generation, in one way or another. Many things have transpired, leaving quite a few tarnished reputations. Is it really fair to come out calling Hellmuth a cancer? (Even Colman realized his wording was too strong and tried to ‘soften the blow’ a little further in the thread).

Some posters pointed out that Hellmuth is way smarter and cunning than we are led to believe by his TV appearances and public behavior, and this is probably true. After all, this is a man who spent most of his adult life as a part of poker and gambling circles, he must have picked up a trick or two.

The Merge

I don’t like to take sides in situations where there is no clear evidence to support a thesis of any kind. Everything going on here is very personal and it really depends a lot on individual views. As Greg Merson explained in one of his posts, Phil is a much different person when there are no cameras around.

But there is one thing I find kind of ironic. If we look back at Colman’s statement from a while back, when he was describing poker as a dark, shady game (in which he still willingly takes part), even if his statements were true, I fail to realize from where his anger and frustration comes.

If he believes what he constantly says about poker, than even if everything he said about Hellmuth was true, he shouldn’t be surprised or outraged. In his opinion, this is what the poker world looks like and he decided to remain a part of it despite his beliefs.

Why didn’t Hellmuth leave UB after the cheating scandal? Was the reason money? Quite possibly. Why does Colman keep playing the game that he seemingly loathes so much? Could the reason be… money?

I am not saying it is the same situation, of course, nor trying to defend Hellmuth. As stated earlier, there is some responsibility that he should be taking, and avoiding facing the UB music is not doing him any favors.

What I am saying is (and this may not be very popular) professional poker players are in it for the money. Dan is right in his statements to a certain degree, poker is not a game played by kindergarten teachers. People playing and thriving in this game need to be smart, cunning, and sometimes even ruthless.

So Phil may have danced a fine line. He is the cancer? You are shocked? Really? Poker is a great game, but we need to be realistic about the people who spent 20+ years in poker and were successful. They did not get where they are just by being good players, but also by playing the right cards (for them) away from the tables. Not saying it’s right or wrong, just kind of stating the obvious.

And a final thought – if a guy comes up to you to shake your hand after winning the second biggest prize in tournament poker ever, maybe he genuinely wants to congratulate you. Maybe he is also a little bit jealous, but I really don’t think one should read too much into this gesture. If I was there, it would be my first impulse to get on there and congratulate the winner even if I’ve never met him before.

Maybe everyone should take a step back and calm down a bit.