The Bernard Lee Poker Show 11-18: 15-time WSOP Champion, Phil Hellmuth

January 09, 2019

Bernard Lee Contributor

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In this episode of The Bernard Lee Poker Show on the PokerNews Podcast Network, Bernard Lee interviews the 15-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, including the 1989 WSOP Main Event, Phil Hellmuth.

Phil discusses his latest bracelet win in last summer’s WSOP Event #71: $5,000 no-limit hold’em (30-minute levels). Additionally, Phil discusses a novel event that he will be attending this coming weekend in Jersey City, New Jersey called DraftKings Sports Betting National Champion.

Show Time Stamps

0:00	Welcome to The Bernard Lee Poker Show as this week’s guest will be 15-time WSOP bracelet winner, including the 1989 WSOP Main Event, Phil Hellmuth.
0:04	Bernard discusses the inaugural $25,000 PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC), which is being held this week at the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) at the Atlantis Casino in the Bahamas. The tournament set a record for the largest $25,000 buy-in event with 1,039 entries and the first place is an astounding $5.1 million.
5:07	RunGood Gear Ad
5:50	Bernard welcomes Phil Hellmuth to the show.
6:41	Phil joins the show.
7:17	Phil explains how he felt winning his 15th WSOP bracelet last summer in Event #71: $5,000 no-limit hold’em (30-minute levels) and discusses his controversy during the 2018 WSOP Main Event versus James Campbell. “To me, it was weirdest, kind of the most negative social media has ever been on me in my life, followed by almost the most positive.”
11:13	Phil discusses why he already bought James Campbell into the 2019 WSOP Main Event. “Well, he handled himself perfectly.”
12:45	Phil recalls buying into and playing in the 2018 WSOP $5,000 no-limit hold’em tournament (Event #71), which he won for his 15th bracelet. “I’d like to say I had a good feeling, but I didn’t. I was not gung ho about playing in this tournament.”
14:01	Phil recalls the action of Day 2 including the final table of the 2018 WSOP $5,000 no-limit hold’em tournament. “I made it through the day (1), and now I knew I had a chance.”
15:43	Phil remembers coming back from dinner break and playing three-handed. “The very first hand I stuffed it with A-5 with 10 big blinds and got called by (pocket) kings. And I hit an ace and a five. And all of a sudden, I was right in there.”
16:16	Phil discusses heads-up play, including winning the last hand to win his 15th WSOP bracelet. “I was at a huge chip disadvantage at that point. I still on 3 million and I think he had 9 million. But whatever. I’ve had big chip leads and not won bracelets and I have small stacks and won bracelets heads-up. So, I just gave it my best shot.”
18:33	Phil reveals he had a herniated disc during the entire 2018 WSOP, which limited his tournament schedule. “I couldn’t even walk. I was having trouble walking to my room…I skipped so many $10,000 buy-in tournaments. I’ve never skipped (more than) one or two per summer. (This summer) I skipped like seven. I was in pain.”
21:20	Phil discusses how he set the goal of winning 24 WSOP bracelets in his career. “In 1993, that was the year I won three (WSOP bracelets) in one year and that put me at five. And it just stuck in my mind, you’re going to win 24 bracelets…And I said that this is a great thing to hang on to. 24. Let’s go for 24. I don’t why the number came or what it means, but it was something to cling to, kind of a nice lifetime goal.”
22:30	Phil recollects when Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan came out to present him with his 11th bracelet when Phil took over the sole lead of the WSOP bracelet race. Phil also explains why Doyle and Johnny stopped playing so many bracelet events. “Tournaments take a lot of effort. A lot of toil, not toll.”
26:01	Phil discusses the players who are his biggest threats in the WSOP bracelet race. “You think of Phil Ivey first…Daniel (Negreanu) with six is an amazing player…Joe Cada has a bunch (four) of bracelets and his results in no-limit hold’em remind me of my results in no-limit hold’em in the past.”
28:30	Bernard discloses and lauds Phil for winning six of his 15 WSOP bracelets after the Moneymaker boom with such large fields. “It’s almost just as easy to win a tournament with two or three thousand people in no-limit hold’em as it is to win a mixed game event because the mixed game has 120 of the world’s absolute best players…And my edge is small in these spots. Whereas, in my opinion, there is a cap on how good you can become. You can come up with the most beautiful mathematical theories ever devised, you still have to be able to bluff and not show that you are bluffing. You still have to be able to bet really strong hands and not show that you are betting really strong hands.”
32:06	Share My Pair Ad
32:38	Cabot Cheese/Creamery Ad
33:09	Bernard continues his interview with the 15-time WSOP bracelet winner, including the 1989 WSOP Main Event, Phil Hellmuth.
34:03	Phil discusses the first-ever DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship, which he will be attending this weekend (January 11-13, 2019) in Jersey City, New Jersey. “I like winning in other fields. I was playing on the blackjack tour and I won a title on the blackjack tour.”
34:43	Bernard and Phil examine the potential strategies in this contest whether to risk actual money to potentially win the $1 million first prize. “How many people will have the guts and the heart, and some people may say stupidity, to bet $100,000 all on the 2nd half of the last NFL playoff game on Sunday in order to try to win the million. Imagine, that is $100K of your money on the line…It’s going to be really fascinating to see all the strategies that come up.”
39:45	Bernard and Phil discuss how this differs from a poker tournament where there are just no value chips. “Imagine if (at) the World Series of Poker Main Event, you could cash out at any time. So many people would double up and quit.”
42:28	Phil discusses his favorite sports. “I love the NFL, but I also love the NBA. To me, they are very close. But come on, the NBA playoffs is amazing.”

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You can follow Phil Hellmuth on Twitter @Phil_Hellmuth.

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