Pros Rail on Twitter Against Hellmuth

Read that headline however you like, but whatever Phil Hellmuth may think of his fellow professional players, it seems that one thing is for sure – he is not liked by a huge number of them if recent events are anything to go by!

Ike Haxton, Fedor Holz, Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates and a host of others took to Twitter to question the decision of Tim Ferriss to choose 14-time bracelet winner Hellmuth as the star for his new podcast named ‘Fear (less)'.

The NYT and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Ferriss tweeted:

What would you like me to ask (or explore with) the incredible @phil_hellmuth, famed professional poker player?

— Tim Ferriss (@tferriss) November 15, 2016

…doubtless expecting Hellmuth’s fans to supply him with a list of interesting questions. Instead he received a barrage of anti-Hellmuth tweets from some of the world’s best players!

Terrence Chan started the deluge of criticism when he responded to Ferriss’ request with…

@tferriss echoing the comments of hardcore poker fans here. PH is a pure self-promoter, not on par with the ppl you usually interview

— Terrence Chan (@tchanpoker) November 15, 2016

and then Isaac ‘Ike’ Haxton took a swipe at big Phil…

@ConnorDrinan@tchanpoker@tferriss he's not competitive at an elite level, not interesting speaker, promoted a site that robbed customers.

— Isaac Haxton (@ikepoker) November 16, 2016

which was followed soon afterwards by Connor Drinan who stated…

@tchanpoker@tferriss agree 100% w this. There are much better options for interesting poker players. Your audience won't be impressed

— Connor Drinan (@ConnorDrinan) November 16, 2016

The new show, produced by actor Vince Vaughn, “features in-depth, long-form conversations between bestselling author, entrepreneur, and investor Ferriss and top performers, focusing on how they’ve overcome fears and made hard decisions, embracing discomfort and thinking big,” according to the blurb. As well as Hellmuth, "guests will include ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, illusionist David Blaine, and comedian Bill Burr.”

Hellmuth, one of the greatest players in poker history, is also known as one of the all-time egotisical self-promoters in the game, and consistently makes the list of ‘Poker’s Biggest Assholes’ regardless of who is compiling it. He tweeted of the Ferriss show…

I'll be on "Fear (less) w Tim Ferriss" @TFerriss Weds L.A., join the audience: https://t.co/n3KC4riTdA Tim's show downloaded 100 MILLY times

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) November 15, 2016

It was Jason ‘cuntycakes123’ Mo, however, who ventured the most brutal reply to the idea of Hellmuth being chosen for such a big show, writing in his usual no-holds-barred style…

“@tferriss @phil_hellmuth ask about what he did with the millions he made promoting a poker site that stole every last dollar of player funds”

@tferriss@phil_hellmuth ask about what he did with the millions he made promoting a poker site that stole every last dollar of player funds

— Jason Mo (@cuntycakes123) November 16, 2016

Even Justin Schwartz – not noted for being well-liked in the poker community – chimed in…

@ConnorDrinan@tchanpoker@tferriss not trying to promote obv, i'd rather see /listen to anyone other than phil and good enough to see that

— stealthmunk (@stealthmunk) November 16, 2016

Hellmuth, as is his usual style, didn’t respond to any of the criticism – focusing instead on his wardrobe for the podcast interview with Ferriss…

Wife LOVES this @3BetClothing hoodie for @TFerriss show tomorrow in LA. Of course, with @AriaLV hat! pic.twitter.com/gyZ1BcPF4j

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) November 16, 2016

And as the tweets piled up slagging Phil for his past misdemeanors and possibly worse, the ‘Poker Brat’ was simply ignoring things and getting on with his life…

After fun 3 hour interview w @TFerriss yesterday, went straight to Hollywood Hills for high stakes poker till 4 AM #RunningFast#Exhausted

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) November 17, 2016

…and sharing his tweet and banal philosophy….

My Mom's sign I talked about in my interview w @TFerriss

You are what you think,
You become what you think
What you think becomes reality

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) November 17, 2016

For those who don’t know him, Ferriss, who has millions of followers of his podcast and books, is the author of bestsellers The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef. His‘The Tim Ferriss Show’ podcast has exceeded 100 million downloads, and his latest book is Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers.

Poker pro Sam Greenwood isn’t all that impressed, however, tweeting…

@ConnorDrinan@tchanpoker@tferriss OTOH maybe the guy bragging about how many 5 star reviews his podcast has deserves Hellmuth.

— Sam Greenwood (@SamGreenwoodRIO) November 16, 2016

…but Steve O’Dwyer’s plea fell on deaf ears…

@ConnorDrinan@tchanpoker@tferriss anyone but Phil Hellmuth please.

— steveodwyer (@steveodwyer) November 16, 2016

So Hellmuth was the star of the show again, which in all honesty I have to agree is not the best thing for poker considering the wealth of young talent out there who could have promoted the game much better. Still, all publicity is good publicity isn’t it? At least in Hellmuth’s world!