Phil Hellmuth is the self-proclaimed Poker Brat. That’s no secret. It’s a brand he’s embraced wholeheartedly throughout his legendary poker career. It’s even the title of his New York Times bestselling autobiography.
Most of the time, his blow-ups are fun. But Hellmuth admits his behavior on the latest episode of No Gamble No Future – which included throwing his mic pack across the table – "crossed the line." If you haven't seen what went down in the clash with Humboldt Mike, you can watch the full video here.
It was filmed back in April and Hellmuth has had four months to think about what happened. We caught up with him shortly after the episode was aired last week.
Phil Hellmuth at the 2024 WSOPThe clip went viral a few days ago. How are you feeling now?
First off, when it happened, I was mortified. Because I remember throwing that mic pack at full speed, like a windup baseball throw. It could have hurt somebody. Luckily, it didn’t. But in my mind, it could have been a catastrophe.
What did you do when you left the stage?
I immediately called my wife, agent, and PokerGo’s President, Mori Eskandani. I wondered if it was worth asking Mori to delete the clip, and I also asked my agent to look at it.
Both of them thought that it was not bad enough to delete. Mori said, ‘We have never deleted a clip of you. We have all your worst moments caught on tape. It humanizes you. Anybody who watches will see that the guy attacked you continuously. You had asked Humboldt Mike to stop repeatedly. He had said he would. But he didn’t.'
What was it that set you off?
I was mad because he started saying the same stuff over and over, attacking my affiliation with companies such as Bitcoin Latinum and Ultimate Bet.
I represent more than 50 companies and have invested in 40. And not everything ends up perfect, right? He’s some random guy I've never met and he was attacking me.
When was this episode taped?
Last April. But it was still in my mind, and I was catastrophizing it all. I knew it would come out after the WSOP, and I was thinking, 'Oh, shit!' Because I know what will happen when a clip comes out of me losing it. There are usually 1,000 negative tweets about what an asshole I am. And in this spot, I'm guilty. It's my fault for losing it.
Did you have a chance to review the clip before it came out?
Thankfully, I did. I thought it was much worse than it was. I was very relieved. It wasn't as bad as I remembered. But I still felt terrible.
I have people tell me every day about how much they love me. Which is kind of amazing, right? I just don't like getting attacked. I have great relationships with everyone at that table except the unknown guy. The day before, the same thing happened with another player I didn’t know.
I told the PokerGo staff that if they brought a hitman into the game to create controversy, I would be quitting the game early. I know it’s good television, but come on. They said they would never do that to me again.
Soon after the clip aired, you immediately owned up to your behavior.
I did. I knew I was out of line. You can justify it all you want. But no one should ever throw anything. It's a little bit better that it happened amongst people I know. But it still crossed the line. I'm 100% guilty. It won't happen again.
When was the last time you felt this abused at the table?
It was in the heads-up match versus Eric Persson during the PGT Heads-up Showdown event a few years ago [2022]. I had been warned that something was coming. He started attacking me and questioning my credentials as a poker player.
I've won so much money playing hold ’em in private games, Las Vegas games, and other venues. I handled that situation with Eric very poorly. I started screaming back at him.
Eric Persson got under Hellmuth's skin in a high-stakes heads-up gameYou two eventually buried the hatchet, correct?
We did. I went back and apologized for my part in all of it. Then we filmed together, shook hands, and it was like there was never an issue. It was over.
Was it your instinct to go back and apologize to Humboldt Mike?
Yes. I thought about returning to the studio to shake hands with the guy. Hopefully, he would have accepted my apology. I spoke with some staff at the studio, and they told me I shouldn't do it.
But I was still thinking about apologizing so we could move on from it all. That’s what I like to do. But again, I was told by people at the studio that he was way out of line and that I shouldn't apologize.
I don’t know if I like ending it like that, though. But in that moment, I forgave him.
