In 1999, Phil Hellmuth, in classic John McEnroe style, has proven himself to be both one of the most proficient tournament poker players of all time and one of the most cantankerous poker figures of all. Perhaps it's because he is the smartest guy at the table, or perhaps it's because he just thinks it, but he always seems to get upset when someone beats him, whether by luck or skill. but its pretty obvious that Phil doesn't consider getting beaten by skill a possibility. Whether true or not (does it even matter), from a fans perspective it's very transparent and despicable, and in a nut shell that's why fans love to root against Phil Hellmuth Jr.

Unfortunately, for Phil Hellmuth, whose lifetime ambition is to be the greatest poker player of all time, he may well achieve his goal, but ultimately go into the poker history books more for his ill-gotten public perception. And the sad part is he's probably a nice guy.

Phil Hellmuth's poker prowess is unmatched. He's the top World Series of Poker money winner of all time, and has 9 wins tying him with poker legends Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, and he's still very young. In 1998, at 24, he was the youngest World Series of Poker Championship Event winner ever. With the poker world absolutely exploding in popularity, Phil Hellmuth is positioned well to achieve his ambitions on a much larger stage than even he ever imagined. Hopefully, he lets his cards and peers do his bragging for him, and gets out of the way.

Phil Hellmuth Trivia

1. Four Hall of Fame Poker titles, ranking him #1 among his peers

2. Commentator for numerous poker tournaments

3. Frequent guest on ESPN and featured in 20+ TV specials on poker and Las Vegas

4. Writes a regular column for Card Player Magazine

Phil Hellmuth Wins

1. Nine World Series of Poker (WSOP) titles and the bracelets to prove it

2. At the head of the WSOP money list over $3.5 million in earnings

3. 1995 Hall of Fame Big One Championship

4. 2000 European Championship (World's biggest seven-card stud event in Vienna)