Phil Hellmuth is one of the easiest targets in all of poker. He always sets himself up for a barrage of criticism, even though it is clear that he can never take even the slightest jabs. Some players get under Hellmuth’s skin so as to give themselves an advantage, while others do it solely for the comedic value.
Whichever the reason, it always provides for great entertainment. Phil Hellmuth is the king of self-promotion, and any audience is made fully aware of this whenever he is at the table. Hellmuth’s obnoxious promotional techniques might be quite tacky, and they might also be annoying, but no one can deny that his methods have helped to make him as popular as he is.
#1-His Table Talk
Phil Hellmuth is one of the most talkative players at almost any table he sits at. Even Mike Matusow gives way to the never-ending Hellmuth jabber. Sometimes his talk is funny, if only because of how delusional it always is. Other times, Hellmuth’s talk is just flat out ridiculous. When he critiques other players or points out what he would have done differently, it is common to see other players laugh at him. His approach to the game is often so ABC and old school, that any respect he used to have has now gone out the window. If Hellmuth learned to keep quiet at the table, he might gain some fans, but then again, he might lose some too.
Jun 22 2010
Phil Laak Plays Poker for an Unbelievable 115 Hours
written by: John Comments: Comments Off
Playing poker for more than 24 hours is a difficult feat under any circumstances, but even more so under the very strict Guinness World Record rules, which require an inordinate amount of paper work, medical supervision, and frequent blood pressure and acuity testing (vision checks), and very limited breaks.
It all went down at the Bellagio, which is one of the busiest poker rooms in Vegas. Laak played at a relatively low-limit table where the blinds—the compulsory antes that each player at the table takes turns playing—are ten and twenty dollars. Anybody could play with him when a seat was open.
Thirty-seven-year-old Laak began playing on Wednesday, June 2nd of this year a little after noon and by Saturday night at 8:41 p.m. (PT), he surpassed the 78 hour, 2 minutes, and 41 second record set in 2009 by British poker pro Paul Zimbler. Zimbler called Laak around the 75th hour to support him and to tell him he wished he was there to play with him during this marathon. Just six hours before, Laak had broken the official Guinness world record of 72 hours and 2 minutes that had been set by Larry Olmstead and could hardly believe he had made it that far. (Olmstead had set the record six years ago back in 2004 and actually wrote a book about it.)
There are two types of poker games, cash games and tournaments. Cash games are played with your own money, and the blinds do not increase. Tournaments are played by paying an entry fee, and you play with tournament chips until only one player wins all the chips in play. In tournaments the blinds and antes do go up at times intervals, and a certain number of places are paid at the tournament’s end.
The World Series of Poker is being played right now, and it’s the biggest poker event in the world, taking place in Las Vegas. Players can quickly become millionaires if they play smart and Lady Luck is on the right side. The top WSOP players have amassed millions and here are the top five:
#1 Phil Ivey – $12,813,990 – He may not be doing so hot so far at this year’s WSOP, but Phil Ivey is one of the best all around players to ever play the game. This year, he has proven himself to be poker’s all time tournament winnings leader. In January 2010, he finished in second place in the Aussies Millions $100,000 (Australian dollar) buy-in, winning $600,000 Australian dollars and surpassing Daniel Negreanu as the top all time money winner in tournament poker.
There is just no substitute for learning by experience, but you can still benefit from adding the advice from the world’s best poker players. For a long time, the classic Super System by Doyle Brunson was the only reliable book out there, but now there is no shortage of books on poker. One click on Amazon and you get over a thousand selections. So here are few books that show up over and over on “The Best to Read” lists for aspiring poker pros…
DOYLE BRUNSON’S SUPER SYSTEM II—You are going to get a lot for your money in this consistent best seller. The book gathers together the greatest players, theorists, and world champions and expands upon the original with more games, new authors, and most importantly, more professional secrets from the best in the business. It is even believed by many people that Brunson and his colleagues have given away too much information, allowing poker amateurs to catch up with the experts. The sections on NL Texas Hold ‘em and Seven Card Stud Hi are as important today as when Super System was first written 30+ years ago, considered by many to be the bible of poker. But Super System II updates its predecessor to address poker as a modern game. The concepts are powerful, yet easy to understand. The best part is how Doyle takes his massive poker intellect and directs it towards the world of online poker, something many professional players do not have the capacity to do with such insight. You can’t afford not to read it.
Many professional poker players like to throw their money around…let’s face it, a gambler is a gambler and is likely to bet on anything! Thus, prop bets are made.
A prop bet is a side bet based on some proposition or challenge. It is a way to spice up the game. Players aren’t grinding just for the profits from the tables; there is the possibility for lots of extra cash from the side bets to make that grinding even more worthwhile. Poker players are competitive and just like any other sport, it is fun to see how far people will go and just what they are capable of accomplishing.
Like to bet? Check out SportsBook!
#5 PHIL IVEY AND HIS MILLION DOLLAR PROPS
Phil Ivey is the winner of seven World Series of Poker bracelets, including two he scored in 2009. Career live tournament winnings exceeds $12.8 million as of May 2010, ranking him as the number one all-time money winner at time of writing. He had a great showing at the 2009 World Series of Poker when he finished 7th place in the Main Event, which garnered him $1.4 million. Ivey is one of only five players to have ever won three WSOP bracelets in one year. But all of this just doesn’t seem to be enough for Ivey. He loves the side action of big money props.
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