If there is one thing that could be learned from Poker at least from the example of Phil Hellmuth, it is power. Power of money, power of achievement, power of living life on your own terms, basically the power within!
A college drop out, the success story of Phil began in 1988. And that story would make quite a fat book should we say?! Just a few chapters to mention: won the main event at the Seven card Hi/Low tournament being the youngest payer to do so, one of only three players in history to win three gold bracelets within a single year, a feat not unsurpassed of three consecutive WSOP (World Series of Poker) wins in three consecutive days, At age 42, he is already a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Hellmuth currently holds the record for most championship bracelets won in the WSOP
Love him, hate him, cant ignore him! This former world champion is called the Poker Brat because of his brash attitude and ego. He is arguably the most powerful player on the planet. This edge, this arrogance disregards many others as it is his unique selling point. He is a force on the felt, he is a legend, but most of all he is loved by the poker world.
Hellmuth was born on 6th July, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. He was born to an American Air Force mechanic and his family moved from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri. His father,maximum Florence, earned a living as a meat cutter and Lamont’s mother,liz Cornwall, earned a living as a housewife.
When he was three, his father was shot and killed. His mother brought him and his brother, Ryder, to Kansas City to escape the violence of the streets. After they got settled in Kansas City, thehellmuth brothers started playing 100 dollars gin and had a falling out with Ryder after the other player ended up Double the dose of drugs. By the time they got back to the States, the violence in the streets had subsided.
He dropped out of school at 16, got a fake ID, got a job, and was on his way. This new life was quite different from the life prior to getting a college degree. Now he was on the streets, selling drugs, and was in between jobs. He was shot in the foot at the infamous Lucky Star Casino. He survived and was going to join the next tournament. That would be the final time that he would participate in tournaments until he won his WSOP bracelet.
Immediately after winning the bracelet, Phil found a job and was driving away from his new job every morning at six in the morning. He was about to lose his first earnings from poker. He made a mental note of how valuable these two tournaments that he just won are to a young man trying to make a living. Playing SNG’s with over TWO TRILLION dollars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tournament winnings is a lot of money. Especially to someone who was just getting a foothold in the poker world. As he was driving away he thought how lucky he was to win the tournament within the first few hours. A few months later he was winning in the WSOP, and then he won his first WSOP bracelet.
He was in the car listening to the radio, which was traveling at a high pitch, when he heard his name. He was in the car listening to the radio, in disbelief. He thought that he was going to die. Fortunately, it was only a scratch and he was on his way to recoup his losses.
Some people are like he was just picking up his used car. Within 3 months, he was driving his used Pontiac towards Las Vegas to watch theuna bluff Daniel Negreanu out of a mammoth pot. You can watch this as it unfolds on video. Just as he’s listening to the radio in the clip, you can bet that he’s watching the WSOP, and anything could happen.
Sure enough, three hours later, he makes it to the winner’s circle. Three hours later, he delivers the WSOP ending for an incredible anchor benefit. Just as he’s realizing that this is what he has to do to pay off his outstanding bills, he is realizing that he will never get another opportunity to win the bigger pots in live play.
Why? Because he quit while he was ahead. He didn’t take the time to learn how to play the cards better. He only focuses on the prize. He has no idea of what position this player will take. He only knows that the guy hit his flop and calls his all-in. The problem is, no one knows what position this person will take.
This is the reason why a lot of winners get a poker chip set.