Known as “The Poker Brat” because of a tendency toward temper tantrums after being outdrawed, Phil Hellmuth did not become interested in poker until he attended college. Born 16 July, 1964 in an upper middle class family in Madison, Wisconsin, his father was a college dean. However, Phil’s family didn’t play poker at home; he became involved in low stakes poker and then higher stakes games with professors while attending the University of Wisconsin.

After a few years of college, Hellmuth went to Las Vegas with about $20,000. He lost most of it and earned more money playing in poker games at college in Wisconsin. Phil loved the game of poker and headed out to Vegas at least 10 times even though he lost more than he won there. He was still able to earn enough money playing poker at college to pay all his school debts and live a richer life than most college students.

In his third year of college, Phil actually won some money in Las Vegas. When he told his parents his dream of becoming a professional Vegas poker player, they actually disowned him. Happily, they eventually came to terms with their son’s passion and can often be seen in the crowds watching their son play at poker events.

Phil Hellmuth did reach success soon after his decision to start playing poker as a career. He won a $15,400 prize in the 1988 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for fifth place in the Seven-Card Stud Split event. Just a couple of days after that win, he placed 33rd in the WSOP Main Event – not bad at all for a newcomer. Hellmuth had still another win in 1988 – this time it was $125,000 as the winner of the Diamond Jim Brady Tournament.

In 1989, Phil Hellmuth beat Johnny Chang as the $755,000 WSOP Main Event Champion. This win made him the youngest winner of the Event. Hellmuth won 11 WSOP bracelets between 1989 and 2007 which is a record number. One of his most memorable wins was beating Chris “Jesus” Ferguson in 2005 at the National Heads-Up Poker Championships. Perhaps Hellmuth’s most memorable loss is his 2002 defeat to Robert Varkonyi when he had given permission to Varkonyi to shave his head if he lost to him. Hellmuth kept his word and lost his hair.

Getting to the position of leading in professional poker with 11 WSOP bracelets is especially a big deal since Hellmuth is at least 20 years younger that the two players with 10 bracelets – Johnny Chang and Doyle Brunson. Besides just venting as “The Poker Brat” when he loses, Hellmuth seems to enjoy the expressive side of poker. He has hosted American poker fantasy camps and is featured on poker websites such as Ultimate Bet. Phil Hellmuth even hosted Celebrity Poker Showdown with comedian Dave Foley for a season in 2006. He also writes poker articles and has written three books in addition to owning Phil’s House Publishing. Phil lives in Palo Alto, California with his wife, Kathy, a psychologist, and their two sons, Philip III and Nicholas.