Phil Helmuth’s Funniest Tilts

Phil Helmuth didn’t pick up the nickname ‘the poker brat’ by accident. Although his 11 bracelets make Helmuth the most successful player in the history of the World Series of Poker, Helmuth’s talent and success are often overshadowed by his childish reactions to bad beats and players who out-bet him when he’s holding medium-strength cards.

Helmuth seems to believe he has a special relationship with the poker gods, and that he is immune to the gut wrenching bad-beats that even the best players have to deal with from time to time. This tendency to see himself in a special light has seen Helmuth immortalized in some of the funniest bad beats and tilts in poker history.

Phil Helmuth Tilt # 1 – 2005 World Series of Poker

Phil Helmuth provided one of the classic moments in World Series history while playing in the main event of the 2005 World Series. The hand started with Chip Pitman getting dealt a JK suited and raising the blinds by $15,000. Phil Helmuth then looked down at an AK unsuited and promptly raised Pitman by another $17,000.

Pitman thought for a second before announcing an all in bet, and watched as Helmuth made an instant call and flipped his cards over. With the stronger hand, Helmuth was gloating even before the flop came up 442. The turn came up 9, leaving Pitman requiring a J to win the pot – which is exactly what came up on the river.

Helmuth’s reaction was the epitome of bad sportsmanship, given that his opponent had made the correct call with a big suited hand. Helmuth got what he deserved 5 minutes later when he went all in with an AQ against a pair of 7s:

Phil Helmuth Tilt #2 – 2005 National Heads Up Championship

While Helmuth’s next bad beat didn’t cost him a title, it’s still one of the worst bad beats he’s suffered in a major tournament. The incident occurred at the final of the 2005 National Heads Up Championship when Helmuth came up against Chris Ferguson.

Helmuth won the first match, and went into the second of the three matches looking to seal the title. Midway through the match Ferguson picked up 92 unsuited and raised Helmuth’s A3 unsuited by $24 000. Ferguson then picked up 2 pairs on the flop, while Helmuth hit a gutshot straight draw. Ferguson raised $40,000 and Helmuth called.

The next card came up a 4, giving Helmuth a 5 high straight. With the action on Ferguson he checked, wary of his opponent being on a straight or flush draw. Helmuth responded by betting $40,000, and was surprised when Ferguson tested the strength of his hand by re-raising to $120,000. Knowing that he had the nuts, Helmuth went all in.

This left Ferguson with a tough decision, and he spent a few moments pondering his next move before calling. Phil flipped over his cards thinking he’d won, and stood up to watch the dealer lay down the river:

Phil Helmuth Tilt #3 – 2007 World Series of Poker

Phil Helmuth’s next bad beat came courtesy of WSOP rookie Beth Shak, who encountered Helmuth at the final table of the $2,000 No Limit 2007 World Series event. Phil had already been skirmishing with the other players at the table before his A10 suited came up against Shak’s KQ suited.

Helmuth raised to $120,000 with his A high suited and watched Shak call the remaining $80,000 from big blind. The flop was a disaster for Helmuth, coming up 6Q10. Shak immediately went all in, leaving Helmuth to make a call on middle pair with all his chips.

Had Helmuth not spent the previous half hour trash talking the other members of the table and getting himself worked up, he might have laid his hand down. Instead, tired of other players coming over the top, Helmuth pushed in his whole stack:

Phil Helmuth Tilt #4 – 2008 Heads Up Championship

Helmuth’s next poker lesson came from 21 year old internet player Tom Dwan. Up against Dwan in the Heads Up Poker Championship, a super-confident Helmuth found himself holding AA, while Dwan picked up a pair of 10s. Dwan raised to $11,000 and watched Helmuth raise to $36,000.

Thinking Helmuth was sitting on a high card, Dwan went all in to push Helmuth off the bet, and watched Helmuth call and flip over pocket rockets. The flop came up perfectly for Helmuth with a 2K7, however things turned sour for the poker brat on the turn:

Phil Helmuth Tilt #5 – High Stakes Poker

Daniel Negreanu has proved to be Phil Helmuth’s undoing on more than one occasion, and has inspired some of Helmuth’s most infamous tilts. A high stakes poker game between Helmuth and Negreanu provoked a classic Helmuth moment.

Cards were dealt giving Helmuth an A4 and Negreanu an A10. Helmuth raised the pot and Negreanu called. Things went wrong for Phil from this point on as Negreanu bet $10 000 before even seeing the flop, and promptly hit two pairs, while Helmuth paired his ace. Negreanu’s early bet convinced Helmuth that he was holding a pair, and the poker brat went on to play the pot according to this mistaken assumption.

When a 2 came up on the turn Negreanu raised the pot again, and Helmuth did some trash talking, read Negreanu’s cards as a pair of queens and made the call. The river then came up 7 with Helmuth already beat. Negreanu then raised the pot by $40,000 and Phil called, prompting a classic meltdown: