Phil Hellmuth Finally Wins On TV

(Photo: Cardplayer.com)

Love the man or loathe him, Phil Hellmuth always makes for entertaining TV and often it’s because the 14 time WSOP bracelet winner can’t seem to do a thing right or catch a lucky break when he sits down at a cash game!

That’s why his Poker Night in America appearance was a thing of rare beauty – big Phil actually winning money and behaving (by his standards) with a restraint and decency unheard of in his many televised games.

The $20K max buy-in table saw Hellmuth facing off with the likes of Mark Kroon (known as ‘Poker Ho’ and also (dare I say it?) a real Ho in Maria, one of the most successful female players of all time with over $2million in winnings and commentating and ambassador roles aplenty.

As usual, a lively table full of chat and straddles and speculative betting was the order of the day for the PNIA stop at the Thunder Valley Resort near Sacramento, California – and this time Hellmuth’s bets and bluffs seemed to work, shoving Mike Ross off two pair with an an all-in on the river.

The lengthy banter before Ross folded saw Hellmuth quoting the legendary TJ Cloutier in response to the ‘Do you want me to call, flip a coin to decide?’ question - “Do as you please!” said Phil and then tabled the bluff.

But Phil wasn’t finished there, shortly afterwards using his earlier bluff factor to take Ross to the cleaners with a nicely timed river check-shove play, letting his opponent hang himself.

“You own me Phil, you own me!” confessed Ross as Hellmuth dragged in the $21,475 pot and proved that he could, after all, win on TV.

So legendary is Phil’s inability to pull in money when the cameras are on him that even the commentary team of Joe Stapleton and Chris Hanson were getting excited by now.

"Are we about to see Phil Hellmuth have a televised poker win?”

Well, yes! Not that it was all one-way-traffic however, Hellmuth taking a call and then revealing to the table he’d just had to pay out $40K, apparently on an OFC loss!

The big man was in a very relaxed mood, although it doesn’t always stay that way – his moniker ‘Poker Brat’ having been very well-earned for going off the rails when lady luck has gone against him. Not this time though!

And it wasn’t all Phil Hellmuth either, the other players making the game fun to watch including an amusing hand involving Maria Ho and Alan Richardson, Ho’s river tank being interrupted by Ross receiving a text from his father berating him for his fold to Helmuth’s earlier bluff.

“I don’t want to receive that same text from my mom!” exclaimed Ho, and then proceeded to make a pretty bad call, though in an admittedly difficult situation.

All-in-all it was a fun episode for the players and the viewers at home and Hellmuth actually coming out ahead in the side games might actually make it to the record books!