Phil Hellmuth's "Reading Abilities" (1 Viewer)

justsomedude said:
I had some old poker clips running in the background while doing photo work tonight, and this classic popped up.

For my money it doesn't get any better than when Sheiky screams "reading abilities?!?!?!" (3:49)


I laugh at that sh*t every damn time! :ROFL: :ROFLMAO::p:D:p:D:p:ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

"Muck your hand - idiot."
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I’ve seen this many times and I’m 100% with the spirit of what Phil is saying. He has every right to be upset those other players are way out of line. A-10o is pretty much garbage to a 3 bet for all your chips so I don’t quite get what there is to think about. The other players are wrong here, IMO. Don’t needle someone when you’re not in the hand.
 
There's no rule that requires silence. Bad form? Maybe. Especially after Phil asked for quiet. But penalties? Phil lost his damn mind. I am not fan a Sheikhan, never have been. But he's right. Phil was the only one that deserved a penalty.

Would the table have done the same to a player they respect? I doubt it. And therein lies the crux of the issue.

He's wearing a Poker Brat jersey!
 
Yeah, I think demanding “penalties” is stupid but the other players are wrong needling someone during an all in decision. I’d be mad if people did this to me in a home game tourney with $30 on the line. He actually was rather polite when he asked them to shut up, that might be the most shocking part. XD
 
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Wrong for needling? Yes. Not deserving of a penalty, but wrong.

And Sheikhan was wrong when he made a big deal about Phil asking for quiet and then immediately talking. Phil's entitled to think out loud.

But knowing the cards, Sheikhan was right. There was not much of a decision... Phil didn't think Annie Duke was raising him with A8. He was just Hollywooding like we've seen him do a ton in the past. And once he told Sheikhan to shut the fuck up, Phil was wrong.

Just proves once again, that Poker Brat is not just a title. It's who he is.
 
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YouTube shows mostly Phil's blowups not his good reads. I seen him being bluffed but also folding loosing hands where most players would loose whole stack.
Phil plays poker for 20 years and he is still one of the best players. Daniel Negreanu who is making fun of Phil all the time called him "most hard working player he knows". People like to bluff him but at the same time it's so hard to get a value playing with him. He has very good sizing and is able to play so well when he in short stacked.
Having said that he has huge ego and his behavior at the table often does not reflect the same posture that he expects from other players. Above all that it was reported that he showed up late to the tournament when he was like 70 to 80 % stacked by people. That's unethical and generally bad business.
 
surfik said:
YouTube shows mostly Phil's blowups not his good reads. I seen him being bluffed but also folding loosing hands where most players would loose whole stack.
Phil plays poker for 20 years and he is still one of the best players. Daniel Negreanu who is making fun of Phil all the time called him "most hard working player he knows". People like to bluff him but at the same time it's so hard to get a value playing with him. He has very good sizing and is able to play so well when he in short stacked.
Having said that he has huge ego and his behavior at the table often does not reflect the same posture that he expects from other players. Above all that it was reported that he showed up late to the tournament when he was like 70 to 80 % stacked by people. That's unethical and generally bad business.
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Honestly I have a hard time believing that Phil is good at cash game though. I 100% think that he is a great tournament player, and he's obviously way better than the average cash game player, but he is not that good compared to other cash game pros. His playstyle can be exploited by good cash game players for sure.
 
Well, TV mostly shows his blowup and misfortunes. I agree that Phill is better at tournaments than cash games because he has his own preference and specially. He may not be in top 20 cash game players but nowedays bar is so high.
 
Phil definitely deserves all the grief he gets, though doing it during a hand is never cool. I guess my big problem with this clip has always been Shawn Sheikhan - 1) he is just eternally a giant dick and 2), Hellmuth actaully does have great reading abilities - mock him for flaunting it like an ass, but acting like it isn't true just makes you look dumb.
 
upNdown said:
Phil definitely deserves all the grief he gets, though doing it during a hand is never cool. I guess my big problem with this clip has always been Shawn Sheikhan - 1) he is just eternally a giant dick and 2), Hellmuth actaully does have great reading abilities - mock him for flaunting it like an ass, but acting like it isn't true just makes you look dumb.
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Agree 100%
 
I doubt anyone here would get rich playing against Phil. There would be some tapioca pudding served up to the chibes experts instead.
 
One of those 2 guys is an all-time bracelet winner at the WSOP and maybe the best tourney player in history. The other is a convicted child molester and has only cashed at the World Series twice since 2011. I would say Phil is 100% correct and Shawn should have shut up. Not saying Phil is an angel, but one time somebody said "its just a game" to him. His response "this is how I make my living. It isn't just a game to me".
 
ando5k said:
One of those 2 guys is an all-time bracelet winner at the WSOP and maybe the best tourney player in history. The other is a convicted child molester and has only cashed at the World Series twice since 2011. I would say Phil is 100% correct and Shawn should have shut up. Not saying Phil is an angel, but one time somebody said "its just a game" to him. His response "this is how I make my living. It isn't just a game to me".
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Shick was convicted?
 
ando5k said:
One of those 2 guys is an all-time bracelet winner at the WSOP and maybe the best tourney player in history. The other is a convicted child molester and has only cashed at the World Series twice since 2011. I would say Phil is 100% correct and Shawn should have shut up. Not saying Phil is an angel, but one time somebody said "its just a game" to him. His response "this is how I make my living. It isn't just a game to me".
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It may be the same one or a different one but I remember him saying “to you it’s just poker but to me it’s my life. “. I appreciate that part of it. I’m a passionate person and I’m usually either all in or all out in all aspects of my life, I like that phil has no problem admitting that while it is just a game to him it is way more than a game.
 
I think Phill makes what separates" poker player" from "recreational players".

Let me explain...
I have a friend with whom I have played once a week low stakes tournament. This guy is a really sweet kid but terrible player......he always bests strong hands and cheacks medium ones...you got the idea, and worst thing ..he always plays the same no matter what. For 3 years playing with him I saw no variation of his game. Once he asked me if I consider him a good player ....i said "No" and he looked little offended....
I said "You are not a good poker player, not even poker player, neither am I, we are both recreational players,.....sort to speak "tourists in strange land"....
 
BGinGA said:
Helmuth is a total asshat, and deserves every little bit of grief he receives in life in return for his outrageous antics towards innocent players. Karma, baby.
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In my limited, in-person experience, on-camera Phil you is very different than off-camera Phil.
 
APatHand said:
In my limited, in-person experience, on-camera Phil you is very different than off-camera Phil.
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So what? Doesn't make him any less of an asshole. He needs to learn respect for others if he wants to get any in return.
 
I do remember Norman's Chad reaction when he found out Phil's wife is a psychologist....
 
BGinGA said:
So what? Doesn't make him any less of an asshole. He needs to learn respect for others if he wants to get any in return.
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The fact that he acts as an asshole does not make him bad player, you do not have to hang out with him after the game. Fact he is a good friend with Mike Matusow also says a lot about Phill. Mike one e said that Phill helped him a lot when Mike was struggling with drug addiction.
 
Guys, guys, guys!

No need for detailed rules/etiquette/poker breakdowns.

I posted this for the sheer entertainment of watching a couple of assholes being assholes. Not all TV poker is about poker. Sometimes it's just about grabbing a bowl of popcorn and watching the trainwreck of clashing personalities unfold before our eyes. :)
 
Well it comes to a question.. Would you like to sit with him and play some poker?
 
surfik said:
The fact that he acts as an asshole does not make him bad player, you do not have to hang out with him after the game. Fact he is a good friend with Mike Matusow also says a lot about Phill. Mike one e said that Phill helped him a lot when Mike was struggling with drug addiction.
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He’s friends with Mike and he routinely backs him. I wonder about that. I think it’s got to be more than a kind heart, on the part of Phil. They both seem to be incredibly annoying people - I wonder if they’re just buddies because they don’t have a lot of options.
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that Phil’s an asshole away from the table. Poker brings that out in him, I get it. But I have a hard time believing his annoying, egotistical personality changes that much away from the table.
 

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