Phil Hellmuth is probably the most famous poker player in the world. He holds the record for the most championship bracelets at the World Series Of Poker (14, including the Main Event in 1989 and the Main Event of the WSOP Europe in 2012) as well as the most final tables and the most cashes. He’s won over $21 million in poker tournaments and was inducted into the Poker Hall Of Fame in 2007. He’s a regular on Poker Night In America and ESPN’s coverage of the WSOP Main Event. Now he’s written his autobiography, “Poker Brat.”
Among the questions I asked during our conversation:
- Who gave you that nickname?
- What’s the answer to the question in Chapter 14: why do you act like a jerk sometimes?
- Why verbally abuse players who play badly — don’t you want them to do that?
- Do you root for players like John Hesp, the middle-aged Englishman who finished 4th in this year’s WSOP Main Event?
- Which celebrities are fun to play with?
- What can be done to get more women to play poker?
- What is the biggest mistake most poker players make?
Listen to our conversation here.
Previously on Harris Online…
- A Final Table conversation with Phil Hellmuth about why he’s still haunted by hands he played in the past (8/2/11).
- A Final Table conversation with Phil Hellmuth about coaching players who make the WSOP Final Table (11/3/09).
- A Final Table conversation with Dusty Schmidt, author of “Don’t Listen To Phil Hellmuth” (5/11).