Phil Hellmuth has won 17 World Series of Poker bracelets. But the legendary 60-year-old still has the same kind of fiery temperament that got him the nickname “The Poker Brat” in his early days.
He recently proved it again. This week, the poker Hall of Famer had another one of his well-known foul-mouthed tirades, walking away from the table during a PokerGO livestream at the Aria Las Vegas.
He called various other players “f*****g morons” and “idiots” across several bad beat hands during the stream. Then, finally, he threw his microphone down on the table and walked out.
“I don’t know who you f***k who you are, and I’m not filming with you again,” Hellmuth said, before storming off the set.
The Bad Beats
Hellmuth started simmering when he lost a $109,000 pot against Hustler Casino Live coowner Ryan Feldman early in the session. It started out with his Ace-King-Hearts against Feldman’s Queen Pair. The 50/50 flop went Feldman’s way before Hellmuth went for another card – and also lost that.
“F**k you, Ryan. It’s not even fun playing against you, Ryan. The weird s**t you get away playing with,” Hellmuth said.
“F*****g morons running like this against me, it’s unbelievable.”
However, the most foul-mouthed tirade was saved for the finale. The explosion occurred after his two pair aces and queens lost to high-stakes player Humboldt Mike, who pulled a jack on the river for three of a kind.
The Beef
Initially, despite his previous outbursts, Hellmuth visibly tried to remain quiet and calm. But when Mike needled him with one or two comments and a bit of celebration for winning a $10,000-plus pot, Hellmuth exploded.
“Buddy, I told you, all right, you want me to quit? All right, I’m going to f*****g quit. I can’t play with you anymore. You’re such an a*****e, man,” he said.
“I don’t mind losing the flip, I really don’t. But come on, I asked you not to do that s**t. You have been more out of line to me than any other person. No, you’ve been more out of line to me than any other person has been to me in a year and a half.”
He then told the table that he didn’t like playing streams and would rather play private games with his super-rich friends than stream games with poker personalities.
It ended with Hellmuth walking out of the session after throwing his microphone onto the table and hurling more expletives at his tablemates.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
