What's your opinion of Phil Hellmuth?

OK, sure he's one of the best in the world...if you don't think so, just ask him. But to say he is cocky is an understatement. When he said "If it wasn't for luck, I'd win every time...", GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

On on telecast on ESPN, he made a huge performance out of laying down I believe it was pocket 10's when at least one overcard came out on the flop and after he checked his opponent bet. Said something like "There are very few players in the world capable of making this play". Again, come on, give me a break!

In that Tournament of Champions he was called out by Brunson for being a camera hog. Then when it goe to heads up vs. Annie Duke on practically every hand he told Annie that he had a good idea of what she was holding.

And he thinks getting beaten on the turn or the river is a total catastrophe, and that the other player is an idiot for calling on the flop, even if the other player is world class. The game is SEVEN card hold-em, not five card. And the nature of the game is even if you play a hand perfectly and get your money in when you are the favorite, nothing is certain after that. I ge tso tired of hearing him say "I play these hands so perfectly, and look what happens...".

And he constantly refers to all the bracelets he has won in the WSOP. But if I read or heard this right, every single on has been in no-limit hold-em. Not one time has he ever won a tourney in other forms of poker, although he plays every game there is.

I am not saying he is not one of the best players of all time, that is a fact. But he certainly is not the ONLY player capable of making the plays he boasts so often about.

Actually I think his image has been sort of bad for the game, as there are Phil clones showing up all over the place, wise guys who think they know the game inside out, instead of gracious quiet players like Dan Harrington and T.J. Cloutier, who accept bad luck as part of the game, to name just a couple.

Hehe you throw T.J. Cloutier's name into the mix of GRACIOUS and QUIET? I don't think you know T.J. or his reputation too well. I have several first hand instances with T.J. and even more second hand information that would put him at or near the top of the list of poker scumbags. He should write a book, "How to Squander Your Tournament Winnings: A Memoir by the Leading Tourney Winner of All-Time". He is busted, disgusted, and certainly cannot be trusted. (Note I did not insult his play, there is no fault there)

You know Madman, after I put his name down, I was thinking to myself "I could have come up with a better example". Cause I have heard among other things that he has a bad temper and he has been known to berate other players, but acts different on TV. That was not the best choice I could have made, for sure. You said enough without saying too much, nicely put.

I really enjoy your posts, BTW. Thanks.

Well, aside from all of the above named on TV, I have no first-hand real-life knowledge about them. However, and this is a safe bet, I would won't to be in a heads up match with any of them if my life depended on it. Boy, THAT'S a glowing compliment to their abilities huh?

As for Phil 'the mouth' Helmuth, I do understand what you're saying. But two things come to mind. First are his nine bracelets. If anyone has a 'right' to mouth off (and I'm not saying he does), then he would get some serious consideration. Finally, with all of the TV cameras around the pro poker players nowadays, I was wondering if or, perhaps, how long it would be before it turned into another WWF (World Wrestling Federation) show. With Helmuth, Matusow and the guy from Denmark (or Sweden) who is always jumping up, sucking air and screaming on every hand, it appears to me that Helmuth has his work cut out for him to grab camera time!

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One bad call can wipe out five good raises.

Good post, Knight. Like so many other sports, it seems the days of being a gracious winner are long gone. Now guys like Mike the Mouth, they cross the line - to me anyway. Perhaps it's part of his schtick (sp?) to act like he does, but I sure hope some of the up-and-coming players don't adopt his style.

Hellmuth might say some things that are somewhat outrageous, and make plays that he claims few players in the world would make, but at least he doesn't act like some of the newer players I have seen on TV. And he does know the game inside out, that's obvious, but I can't understand why he gets so upset when he is favored after the flop - but is not a prohibitive favorite - and loses at the end.

And not that this has anything to do with poker, but he does seem to be a pretty decent guy.

Perhaps this should be a new string, but I will put it here anyway. 9 Bracelets is ALOT, but poker in the past 2 years has become so much more difficult to play. Helmuth won the glut of his tourneys in the distant past because he knows how to play against pros. He has a real struggle playing against amateurs. He makes too many moves and amateurs are too concerned with their own hand to be "moved" on. Good players are able to adjust. We will see if he adjusts instead of just ranting. I can put a finger on his frustration. When you feel and prove that you are a top notch player, long streaks of futility can really eat at a weak psyche. As for Cloutier I will give only 1 example because I don't like tearing a guy down too much. I am sure most of you have heard of "staking" a player in a tourney. A standard stake is 4% for every 1k paid (in the WSOP main event). Most people will only sell up to 50% of their stake in a tourney. Cloutier will sell up to 200%. That is interesting since you can only win 100% of the money. Get my point. He over sells and then busts out quick locking up the profits. I could write for days on other things, but I think this is a nice example.

madman, maybe it should be a new string...but would you mind starting one and explaining the 'stake' stuff? It rang a bell with me because I was just reading an article by Tom McEvoy, in the latest edition of Card Player magazine, where he said something about staking a rather well known female player. That was all he said about it and it kinda left me hanging...wondering what the heck that meant.

And mule...I agree totally about Mike the mouth (I knew someone was called the mouth). He rubs me the wrong way and I loved the way Greg 'Fossilman' Raymer handled him in the 2004 WSOP main event. Josh Arieh is in the same wagon as far as I'm concerned.

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One bad call can wipe out five good raises.

I am pretty sure Tom may be staking Kathy Leibert or has in the past. They are close friends. Staking is just selling a piece of your action. Most of the time players use stakes to enter events that are a bit out of their bankroll limits. Stakes are also traded amongst good players who want a better chance of getting some money out of an event. It is quite common for players to trade "stake" in the world series. They will give each other 5% in exchange for 5% of the other person's winnings. That way if one of the players hits it big the others recover some of their buy-in. Some investors stake lots of players as a for-profit business. Ted Forest has done this in the past to the best of my knowledge. I know Ted and have seen him do it.

It was indeed Kathy Leibert! So, that's what it amounts too. Thank you sir! I learn something new each day but in poker.....it's almost by the hour.

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One bad call can wipe out five good raises.